AMD Athlon 200GE vs Intel Pentium Silver N6005 Comparison

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark split is unusually clean: the AMD Athlon 200GE wins in Geekbench, while the Intel Pentium Silver N6005 wins every Cinebench test. This is not a case of one chip being uniformly superior; instead, the workloads expose different strengths. The Athlon 200GE takes both Geekbench tests, with a 30.2% lead in multi-core (1912 vs 1469) and a massive 64% lead in single-core (925 vs 564). The Pentium Silver N6005, by contrast, sweeps all five Cinebench entries, from Cinebench R15 multi-core to Cinebench R23 single-core, with a consistent 21.7% margin in every single one.

What does that mean in practice? If the workload is Geekbench-style, which tends to stress memory latency, branch prediction, and integer throughput per thread, the AMD part is the clear choice. Its single-core score of 925 versus 564 is not a marginal edge; it is a dominant one. For Cinebench, which is heavily threaded and rendering-oriented, the Intel part wins decisively, and it wins by the same percentage across every Cinebench version, suggesting a structural advantage rather than a test-specific quirk.

The wins tally reflects this: 5 wins for the Intel, 2 for the AMD. But the magnitude of the AMD wins in Geekbench single-core (64%) is far larger than the Intel's 21.7% margins in Cinebench. So the "winner" depends entirely on which benchmark family matters more to the user. The data does not support a blanket recommendation for either chip.

Architecture Differences

The two processors come from very different design philosophies. The Athlon 200GE is a 2-core, 4-thread part built on AMD's Zen architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It uses the AMD Socket AM4 platform, targets the desktop market, and remains in active production. Its die size is 209.8 mm², and it packs 4,950 million transistors. The cache layout is per-core: 96 KB L1 and 512 KB L2 per core, plus a shared 4 MB L3.

The Pentium Silver N6005 is a 4-core, 4-thread part using Intel's Tremont architecture, built on a 10 nm process at Intel. It is a mobile segment chip on Intel BGA 1338, and it has been marked as end-of-life. Its die size is much smaller at 63.8 mm², and Intel does not list a transistor count in the database. The cache structure differs: 64 KB L1 per core, but a shared 1.5 MB L2, and a shared 4 MB L3. Note the Athlon has no shared L2, while the Pentium has no per-core L2; this is a fundamental difference in how each chip feeds its cores.

Memory support also diverges. The Athlon uses DDR4 with dual-channel access and a recorded memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. The Pentium supports both DDR4 and LPDDR4, also dual-channel, with a slightly higher bandwidth of 46.9 GB/s. Neither supports ECC. Both use PCIe Gen 3 with 8 CPU lanes. The integrated graphics differ: the Athlon has Radeon Vega 3, the Pentium has UHD Graphics 32EU. The Athlon has a base clock of 3.20 GHz with no boost, while the Pentium has a base clock of 2000 MHz (2.00 GHz) and a boost clock of 3.30 GHz. The Athlon's 35 W TDP is more than triple the Pentium's 10 W TDP, which reflects the desktop vs mobile positioning.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The Cinebench results are striking for their uniformity. In Cinebench R15 multi-core, the Pentium scores 447 versus the Athlon's 350, a 21.7% difference. In Cinebench R20 multi-core, it is 1866 versus 1461, again a 21.7% gap. Cinebench R20 single-core shows 263 versus 206, same margin. Cinebench R23 multi-core: 4444 versus 3479, same margin. Cinebench R23 single-core: 627 versus 491, same margin. Five tests, five identical percentage deltas. This strongly suggests the Pentium's architecture delivers a consistent per-workload advantage in Cinebench's rendering pipeline, regardless of core count or threading model.

The Geekbench results flip the script entirely. In Geekbench multi-core, the Athlon scores 1912 versus 1469, a 30.2% lead. In Geekbench single-core, the Athlon scores 925 versus 564, a 64% lead. The single-core gap is the largest delta in the entire comparison. The Athlon's Zen core, despite being older and running at a fixed 3.20 GHz, is far more efficient per thread in Geekbench's mixed workload. The Pentium's Tremont cores, despite a 3.30 GHz boost clock, cannot match that level of per-thread performance in this test.

There is an important asymmetry: the Pentium's Cinebench wins are narrow but consistent, while the Athlon's Geekbench wins are wide but confined to one benchmark family. The 64% single-core lead in Geekbench is more than three times the 21.7% Cinebench margin. If a user's software relies on Geekbench-style integer and floating-point patterns, the Athlon is not merely better; it is dramatically better. If the software is Cinebench-like, the Pentium is moderately better across the board.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear split: choose the AMD Athlon 200GE for Geekbench-style single-thread and multi-thread workloads, and choose the Intel Pentium Silver N6005 for Cinebench-style rendering workloads. There is no overall victor because the two benchmark families disagree so sharply.

The Athlon's Geekbench single-core score of 925 puts it 64% ahead of the Pentium's 564. That is a decisive advantage for any application that depends on per-thread responsiveness, such as lightly threaded desktop tasks, older software, or code that does not scale well across cores. Its Geekbench multi-core score of 1912 is 30.2% ahead, which means even in multi-threaded Geekbench scenarios, the AMD part holds a solid edge despite having only 2 cores versus 4.

The Pentium's Cinebench performance is the counterweight. Its 21.7% lead across all five Cinebench tests, including Cinebench R23 multi-core at 4444 versus 3479, makes it the better choice for rendering, 3D modeling, or any workload that resembles Cinebench's compute pattern. The 4-core design and boost clock up to 3.30 GHz clearly help in this specific benchmark.

The percentile data adds context: both chips sit at the 34th percentile among all CPUs, and their average benchmark scores are close (1261 for the Athlon, 1218 for the Pentium). The Athlon's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-3615QM with a delta of 0%, and the Pentium's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-3632QM with a delta of -0.1%. These are not distant performers; they are adjacent in the overall ranking. The choice between them is not about class superiority but about workload fit.

FAQ

Q: Which processor has a higher single-core Geekbench score?

A: The AMD Athlon 200GE, with a score of 925 versus the Intel Pentium Silver N6005's 564, a 64% advantage.

Q: Does the Intel Pentium Silver N6005 win any benchmark?

A: Yes, it wins all five Cinebench tests: R15 multi-core, R20 multi-core, R20 single-core, R23 multi-core, and R23 single-core, each by a 21.7% margin.

Q: How does the multi-core Geekbench score compare?

A: The Athlon 200GE leads with 1912 versus 1469, a 30.2% advantage for the AMD part.

Q: What is the TDP difference between the two chips?

A: The Athlon 200GE has a 35 W TDP, while the Pentium Silver N6005 has a 10 W TDP, reflecting the mobile versus desktop design.

Q: Which chip has more cores?

A: The Intel Pentium Silver N6005 has 4 cores, while the AMD Athlon 200GE has 2 cores. Both have 4 threads.

Q: What is the cache configuration difference?

A: The Athlon has 96 KB L1 and 512 KB L2 per core plus a shared 4 MB L3. The Pentium has 64 KB L1 per core, a shared 1.5 MB L2, and a shared 4 MB L3.

Specification Differences

| Field | AMD Athlon 200GE | Intel Pentium Silver N6005 |

|---|---|---|

| Cores | 2 | 4 |

| Threads | 4 | 4 |

| Base clock | 3.20 GHz | 2000 MHz (2.00 GHz) |

| Boost clock | None | 3.30 GHz |

| TDP | 35 W | 10 W |

| Socket | AMD Socket AM4 | Intel BGA 1338 |

| Architecture | Zen | Tremont |

| Codename | Zen | Jasper Lake |

| Process node | 14 nm | 10 nm |

| Foundry | GlobalFoundries | Intel |

| Transistors | 4,950 million | Not listed |

| Die size | 209.8 mm² | 63.8 mm² |

| L1 cache | 96 KB (per core) | 64 KB (per core) |

| L2 cache | 512 KB (per core) | 1.5 MB (shared) |

| L3 cache | 4 MB (shared) | 4 MB (shared) |

| Memory support | DDR4 | DDR4, LPDDR4 |

| Memory bandwidth | 42.7 GB/s | 46.9 GB/s |

| Integrated graphics | Radeon Vega 3 | UHD Graphics 32EU |

| Market segment | Desktop | Mobile |

| Production status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release date | 2018-09-05 | Not listed |

| Launch MSRP | $55 | None listed |