CPU Comparison

The Intel Core i5-4590T and Intel Celeron G6900E represent two very different eras of Intel desktop silicon, yet their average benchmark scores place them within 1.4% of each other (1340 vs 1321). The data shows a clear split: the older Haswell part offers four physical cores, while the newer Alder Lake Celeron counters with a much higher clock speed and superior single-thread performance. The Celeron G6900E wins every single head-to-head benchmark listed, but the i5-4590T is not without merit for specific workloads. Choose the Celeron G6900E for general responsiveness, single-threaded tasks, and modern platform features. Choose the i5-4590T only if you specifically require four physical cores for multithreaded scaling and are constrained to the older Socket 1150 platform.

FAQ

Q: Which CPU has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The Intel Core i5-4590T has a slightly higher average benchmark score of 1340, compared to the Intel Celeron G6900E's 1321. This places the i5-4590T in the 36th percentile of all CPUs, while the Celeron sits in the 35th percentile.

Q: How big is the single-core performance gap?

A: The Celeron G6900E is significantly faster in single-core tests. The largest delta is in Geekbench single-core, where the Celeron scores 1561 versus the i5's 911, a 41.6% advantage. In Cinebench R23 single-core, the Celeron leads 512 to 486, a 5.1% difference.

Q: Does the i5-4590T ever win any benchmark?

A: No. In the head-to-head benchmark data, the Celeron G6900E wins all 7 tests. The i5-4590T records zero wins across all listed Cinebench and Geekbench tests.

Q: What are the core and thread counts?

A: The i5-4590T has 4 cores and 4 threads. The Celeron G6900E has 2 cores and 2 threads. Despite having half the cores, the Celeron still manages to outperform the i5 in all multicore tests listed.

Q: Which CPU supports faster memory standards?

A: The Celeron G6900E supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, while the i5-4590T is limited to DDR3. Both use a dual-channel memory bus.

Q: What is the difference in their production status?

A: The i5-4590T is end-of-life, released in 2014. The Celeron G6900E is active, released in 2022.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two chips is vast. The i5-4590T is built on Intel's Haswell architecture, using a 22nm process node with 1,400 million transistors on a 177 mm² die. It uses the older Intel Socket 1150 platform. In contrast, the Celeron G6900E uses the Alder Lake-S architecture on a 10nm process node and requires the newer Intel Socket 1700.

The cache structures differ significantly. The i5-4590T allocates 64 KB of L1 cache and 256 KB of L2 cache per core, with a shared 6 MB L3 cache. The Celeron G6900E has a larger per-core allocation: 80 KB of L1 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, but a smaller shared 4 MB L3 cache. This reflects the shift in design philosophy, where the newer chip prioritizes per-core resources.

Memory support is another major divergence. The i5-4590T is locked to DDR3 memory, while the Celeron G6900E supports both DDR4 and DDR5. PCIe connectivity also differs, with the i5 offering Gen 3 with 16 lanes (CPU only) and the Celeron offering Gen 5. Integrated graphics are present on both, with the i5 featuring Intel HD 4600 and the Celeron featuring UHD Graphics 710. Neither chip supports ECC memory, and both have locked multipliers.

Specification Differences

The core count is the most obvious difference: the i5-4590T has 4 cores and 4 threads, while the Celeron G6900E has 2 cores and 2 threads. Clock speeds tell a different story. The i5-4590T has a base clock of 2000 MHz and a boost clock of 3.00 GHz. The Celeron G6900E has a higher base clock of 3.00 GHz and no boost clock listed.

Thermal design power (TDP) is counterintuitive. The older i5-4590T has a lower TDP of 35 watts, while the newer Celeron G6900E has a higher TDP of 46 watts. This is notable given the Celeron has fewer cores.

Memory bandwidth figures are only listed for the i5-4590T, which shows 25.6 GB/s. The Celeron G6900E's memory bandwidth is not provided in the data. The i5-4590T has a launch MSRP of $192; the Celeron G6900E has no launch MSRP listed. The i5-4590T has a part number of SR1S6, while the Celeron's part number is not listed.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The data is unambiguous: the Celeron G6900E wins every benchmark, but the margins vary wildly. In Geekbench single-core, the Celeron's advantage is massive. It scores 1561 versus the i5's 911, a 41.6% lead. This is the single largest performance gap in the entire comparison. The Celeron's newer architecture and higher base clock are the likely drivers.

The multicore results are much closer. In Cinebench R15 multicore, the Celeron scores 366 against the i5's 347, a 5.2% lead. The same 5.2% margin appears in Cinebench R20 multicore, with scores of 1525 and 1446 respectively. Cinebench R23 multicore shows a 5.1% lead for the Celeron, scoring 3632 versus 3445. Geekbench multicore shows a 6% lead, with the Celeron scoring 2702 against 2540.

Single-core results in Cinebench follow a similar pattern to the multicore tests, not the huge Geekbench gap. In Cinebench R20 single-core, the Celeron leads 215 to 204, a 5.1% difference. Cinebench R23 single-core shows 512 versus 486, also a 5.1% lead. The 41.6% Geekbench single-core result stands out as an outlier, suggesting the Geekbench test is more sensitive to the architectural differences between Haswell and Alder Lake.

The Celeron's consistent wins across all 7 tests, despite having half the cores, indicate that the per-core performance advantage is substantial enough to overcome the i5's core count advantage. The i5-4590T never gets close to winning a test; its best relative performance is in the 5.1-6% range across most tests, with the single Geekbench single-core result being a blowout loss.

Where Each One Wins

The Celeron G6900E wins in every measurable category in this data set. It is the clear choice for any workload that benefits from high clock speeds and modern IPC improvements. The 41.6% lead in Geekbench single-core suggests it is particularly well-suited for lightly-threaded applications like web browsing, office productivity, and legacy software that relies on a single fast core. Its support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory also makes it a more future-proof option for a new build on Socket 1700.

The i5-4590T's only theoretical advantage is its 4-core design, which could help in highly parallelized workloads that scale linearly with core count. However, the benchmark data shows the Celeron still wins all multicore tests by 5-6%, meaning the i5's extra cores do not translate into a real-world win. The i5's lower 35W TDP is a point in its favor for power-constrained builds, but the Celeron's higher 46W TDP is not excessive.

For a builder today, the Celeron G6900E is the logical pick. It is active, on a modern platform, and simply faster in every test. The i5-4590T is an end-of-life part that would only make sense if you already own a Socket 1150 motherboard and want a low-power quad-core upgrade without changing platforms. Even then, the data suggests the Celeron will feel quicker in most tasks. The i5's 4 threads are a nominal advantage, but the Celeron's higher clock speed and newer architecture render that advantage moot in every benchmark measured. If you must have four physical cores for a specific application, the i5-4590T is the only option here, but expect it to be slower than the dual-core Celeron in general use.