Difference Between AMD Athlon Vs Intel Pentium [Expert View]

The cheap CPU segment is extremely challenging, and every small difference affects the processor market and consumer preferences.

Due to tight budgets, the scope for change is very limited. Hence, manufacturers mostly focus on specific customer requirements and thus diversify.

In this article, I’ll let you know the dissimilarities between Athlon and Pentium, and provide the tested benchmark and gaming performance.

So, let’s start.

Overview of AMD Athlon and Intel Pentium

AMD Athlon and Intel Pentium, both are low-level processors and made with the x86 architecture. Most of the Athlon and Pentium processors are manufactured for the desktop market, but they also took their place in laptops due to their low price and power efficiency.

There are differentiations in various types of CPU models in Athlon & Pentium series, and the following will give you an overview of the processor.

AMD Athlon

The AMD Athlon is the least powerful processor in the entire AMD family. Athlon is made for both desktops and laptops and is popular for its cheap pricing. See the list below to understand the positioning of Athlon in the AMD hierarchy.

The 32-bit architecture CPU, Athlon, is at the bottom of the AMD hierarchy and is considered an entry-level processor in the AMD segment.

Here are some of the popular CPUs in the AMD Athlon:

Similarly to the AMD Athlon, the Intel Pentium also comes for the desktop and laptop. Read the following to get a summary of the Intel Pentium models.

Intel Pentium

The Intel Pentium is a low-segment processor and sits at the end of the Intel hierarchy. The following list will give you a clear idea about the position of Pentium CPUs in the Intel family.

If you go through the article, the difference between Intel Atom vs. Celeron vs. Pentium CPUs, you’ll see that Intel Pentium is better than Celeron processors, but is far behind the flagship segment.

Here are the lists of popular Intel Pentium Processors:

Pentium and Athlon, both serve in the low budget desktop and laptops. However, there are lots of differences between them, and I’ve described all of them in the following passage.

What’s the Difference Between AMD Athlon and Intel Pentium

The AMD Athlon and Intel Pentium differ in cores and thread counts, CPU frequency, turbo speed, cache size, max TDP, maximum memory support, and internal graphics. Also, they have differences in performance, socket type, and most importantly in pricing.

Intel Pentium Gold G7400 and the AMD Athlon Gold PRO 3150G are the latest and most powerful processors from Intel and AMD for a desktop computer.

On the other hand, the Athlon 3000G is one of the most popular processors in the budget segment and offers the ability to overclock the CPU. 

The following table will show the differences between the AMD Athlon and Intel Pentium processors and give you a proper idea about the pricing and performances.

The Intel Pentium Gold G7400 offers a higher clock speed than the Athlon 3150G & 3000G, and a same core & thread count as the 3000G. However, the Athlon 3150G has 2 more cores compared to the Pentium G7400 and Athlon 3000G.

Pentium G7400 offers a larger L2 & L3 cache than 3150G & 3000G, but falls behind in the fastest L1 cache.

With the 46W max TDP, the Intel G7400 sits in the middle of the Athlon 3150G and 3000G, and also differs in the socket type.

In contrast to the Intel UHD 710 in Pentium G7400, the Athlon 3150G & 3000G is equipped with more powerful Radeon Vega 3 integrated graphics and offers a better out-of-the-box graphical performance.

AMD Radeon Vega 3 has the advantage in the shading units over the Intel UHD 710, with 192 shading units compared to 128.

But, the most important comparison for the entry-level processor comes in the price segment. The Intel Pentium Gold G7400 is priced at $89.99, while the AMD Athlon 3000G comes at $50—almost half of the Pentium G7400.

The Athlon 3150G is relatively packed with a better spec, compared to the other two. However, it’s an OEM processor, and it doesn’t come to the processor market. It goes directly to a manufacturer and comes with a pre-built PC.

By looking at the above specification, it’s difficult to judge the processors’ performance in real applications.

Therefore, I’ve provided an in-depth benchmark comparison below to help you pick the better processor.

AMD Athlon Vs Intel Pentium: Which One is Better?

Both AMD Athlon and Intel Pentium have good CPUs for the entry-level market and have specialties in different categories. The Athlon has better multi-core and out-of-the-box performance, while the Pentium offers single-core superiority and better gaming with a discrete GPU.

The processor performance is measured and compared with each other with the synthetic and real-life application benchmarks. Additionally, we evaluate the CPU value by calculating the ratio with performance and price.

The following passage will demonstrate the benchmark in simulation & games, and provide a better value-for-money processor.

Single & Multi-Thread Benchmark

To perform a simulation and evaluate the single and multi-core performance, we’ve used Cinebench R23, Geekbench 5, and CPU-Z in the Intel Pentium and AMD Athlon.

The following chart will show you the head-to-head benchmark of single and multi-thread between Pentium G7400 and Athlon 3150G & 3000G.

The Intel Pentium G7400 has scored better than Athlon 3150G & 3000G in single-thread performance in Cinebench R23, Geekbench 5, and CPU-Z.

On the other hand, the 4-core Athlon 3150G has performed better in multi-threading, compared to the others.

However, the Athlon 3000G stays far behind the Pentium G7400 and Athlon 3150G in terms of single and multi-threading benchmarks.

Gaming Benchmark

When we come to real-world gaming performance, the advantage of AMD becomes more clear.

The AMD Athlon processors are equipped with Radeon Vega 3, which has more shading units and outperformed the Intel UHD 710 in out-of-the-box gaming performance.

We’ve tested both the Pentium G7400 and Athlon 3000G with their integrated graphics in different games. And as expected, AMD has provided a better gaming benchmark than Intel.

Check the following benchmark to understand the gaming ability of Pentium and Athlon with their iGPU.

Though having the same numbers of cores and threads count in Pentium G7400 and Athlon 3000G, the AMD CPU has performed exceptionally.

Depending on the games, our test has shown an average of 15% better FPS in the Radeon Vega 3 armed Athlon 3000G.

However, the result flipped completely when we tested the two CPUs with a dedicated graphics card.

We’ve used a GTX 1650 and 16 GB RAM in our test rig to benchmark the games provided in the following charts.

In our tested games, the Pentium G7400 performs better than the AMD 3000G with a graphics card. It has shown an average of 14.5% better gaming benchmark in the Pentium G7400 with the GTX 1650.

Generally, you don’t need many CPU cores in most games. Usually, a game uses the single-core performance of a CPU when using a discrete graphics card.

Because of the single-thread superiority of Intel, the Pentium G7400 got the upper hand over the Athlon series in gaming performance.

Value for Money

Money is the main and most important factor when building an entry-level PC. In that case, the CPU value ratio comes in handy when choosing a good CPU for your budget.

To calculate the value for the money processor, we are using the Passmark Score as the base and using the price to estimate the ratio.

Follow the table below to understand the Passmark and value comparison of Pentium and Athlon processors.

The Intel Pentium Gold G7400 has a better Passmark score compared to AMD Athlon 3000G, but priced almost double than it.

Even though the Athlon 3000G is behind in Passmark, it’s way cheaper and has a better CPU value than the Pentium CPU.

The benchmark and pricing are different and show the advantage of Pentium & Athlon in different circumstances. However, the perfect choice comes with usage and the specific task you are using it for.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which CPU is better between Intel Pentium and AMD Athlon?

Intel Pentium is better for productivity and gaming with a dedicated GPU, and AMD Athlon is better in out-of-the-box performance and gaming with iGPU.

Is there an Intel Pentium processor for a laptop?

Yes, there are Intel Pentium processors for laptops. For example, Intel Pentium Gold 8505, Intel Pentium Gold 5405U, and Intel Pentium Gold 4410Y.

Is there any efficient core in Intel Pentium processors?

Yes, the new generation’s Intel Pentium processor has efficient cores. The efficient core has been introduced with the 12thn gen Intel processor.

Conclusion

It’s usual to get confused when choosing an entry-level processor. The possibilities with the budget CPUs are limited. So, the customer needs to be sure about all the dissimilarities and characteristics of the processors.

This article has explained all the differences between AMD Athlon and Intel Pentium and helped you pick the best one.

If you have any queries, tell them in the comment box below, and I’ll help you with my best.

Cheers!