Intel Core i3-5157U vs Intel Pentium G4600T Comparison

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The Intel Pentium G4600T wins every benchmark in the head-to-head comparison, taking all five recorded tests. The Intel Core i3-5157U records zero wins. For workloads measured by Cinebench, the Pentium G4600T is consistently about 15% faster, with the smallest recorded gap at 15.3% and the largest at 15.6%. The average benchmark score in the database also favors the Pentium: 895 versus 877, a difference of 18 points. The Pentium G4600T sits at the 24th percentile of all CPUs, one point above the i3-5157U at the 23rd percentile. Any user choosing purely on measured compute performance should select the Pentium G4600T. The i3-5157U remains a viable option only for systems that require its specific mobile platform characteristics, lower power envelope, or integrated graphics capability, but not for raw rendering throughput.

Architecture Differences

Both processors are built by Intel on the same 14 nm process node, but they belong to different architectures and target different market segments. The Core i3-5157U is a Broadwell-U part, a mobile processor with a 28 W TDP, while the Pentium G4600T is a Kaby Lake desktop chip with a 35 W TDP. The i3-5157U uses the Intel BGA 1168 socket, a ball-grid array that is soldered to the motherboard, whereas the G4600T uses Intel Socket 1151, a desktop socket that supports user-installed processors. The i3-5157U was released in early 2015 and is listed as end-of-life, while the G4600T was released in early 2017 and remains in active production.

The integrated graphics differ substantially. The i3-5157U carries Intel Iris 6100, a higher-tier mobile GPU, while the G4600T uses Intel HD 630. Neither processor has a boost clock, so both run at fixed frequencies: the i3-5157U at 2.50 GHz and the G4600T at 3.00 GHz. The memory interface also diverges. The i3-5157U supports DDR3 over a dual-channel bus with a recorded bandwidth of 29.9 GB/s, while the G4600T supports DDR4 over a dual-channel bus with 38.4 GB/s. PCIe connectivity favors the desktop part as well: the G4600T provides Gen 3 with 16 lanes, while the i3-5157U provides Gen 2 with 12 lanes. Neither part supports ECC memory, and neither has an unlocked multiplier.

Cache organization is identical on paper. Both have 64 KB of L1 per core, 256 KB of L2 per core, and 3 MB of shared L3. Transistor count and die size are recorded only for the i3-5157U, at 1,900 million transistors and 133 mm²; no figures are listed for the G4600T.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded head-to-head data covers five Cinebench tests, and the Pentium G4600T wins all of them. In Cinebench R15 multi-core, the G4600T scores 262 against 222 for the i3-5157U, a 15.3% advantage. The same 15.3% delta appears in Cinebench R20 multi-core, where the G4600T scores 1092 and the i3-5157U scores 925. Cinebench R23 multi-core repeats the pattern: 2602 for the G4600T versus 2203 for the i3-5157U, again 15.3%. The consistency of this margin across three generations of Cinebench multi-core tests suggests a fixed performance gap driven by clock frequency and memory bandwidth rather than workload-specific scaling.

Single-core results show a slightly larger gap. In Cinebench R20 single-core, the G4600T scores 154 against 130 for the i3-5157U, a 15.6% delta. Cinebench R23 single-core shows 367 versus 311, back to the 15.3% margin. The single-core advantage is marginally larger in R20, but the overall pattern is stable. The Pentium's 3.00 GHz base clock versus the i3's 2.50 GHz base clock, a 20% frequency advantage, explains most of the recorded performance difference; the remaining shortfall likely comes from the older Broadwell architecture and slower DDR3 memory interface.

The nearest rival data places both processors in similar company. The i3-5157U has an average score of 877, sitting within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 3 2300U, AMD PRO A12-8870E, Intel Core i3-1000NG4, and AMD Phenom II X6 1035T. The Pentium G4600T has an average score of 895, matching the Intel Core i5-5300U and AMD PRO A10-8770E exactly, and running 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 3 3200U and 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core i3-6100. The Pentium's nearest rivals are, on average, slightly faster than the i3's nearest rivals, which reinforces the conclusion that the two parts occupy adjacent but distinct performance tiers.

Specification Differences

The following fields differ between the two processors in the database:

• Base clock: 2.50 GHz (i3-5157U) versus 3.00 GHz (G4600T)
• TDP: 28 W (i3-5157U) versus 35 W (G4600T)
• Socket: Intel BGA 1168 (i3-5157U) versus Intel Socket 1151 (G4600T)
• Architecture: Broadwell (i3-5157U) versus Kaby Lake (G4600T)
• Codename: Broadwell-U (i3-5157U) versus Kaby Lake (G4600T)
• Generation: Core i3 (Broadwell-U) versus Pentium (Kaby Lake)
• Process node: 14 nm for both, no difference
• Transistors: 1,900 million (i3-5157U), not recorded for G4600T
• Die size: 133 mm² (i3-5157U), not recorded for G4600T
• Memory support: DDR3 (i3-5157U) versus DDR4 (G4600T)
• Memory bandwidth: 29.9 GB/s (i3-5157U) versus 38.4 GB/s (G4600T)
• PCIe: Gen 2, 12 lanes (i3-5157U) versus Gen 3, 16 lanes (G4600T)
• Integrated graphics: Intel Iris 6100 (i3-5157U) versus Intel HD 630 (G4600T)
• Market segment: Mobile (i3-5157U) versus Desktop (G4600T)
• Production status: End-of-life (i3-5157U) versus Active (G4600T)
• Release date: 2015-02-28 (i3-5157U) versus 2017-01-02 (G4600T)
• Launch MSRP: $315 for the i3-5157U, no recorded MSRP for the G4600T
• Part number: SR26M (i3-5157U) versus SR35R (G4600T)

Fields that are identical between the two parts include core count at 2 cores, thread count at 4, L1 cache at 64 KB per core, L2 cache at 256 KB per core, L3 cache at 3 MB shared, ECC support at false, and unlocked multiplier at false. The foundry is Intel for both. The average benchmark score for the i3-5157U is 877, while the G4600T averages 895. The percentile ranking is 23 for the i3-5157U and 24 for the G4600T.

FAQ

Q: Which processor has a higher base clock speed?

A: The Intel Pentium G4600T runs at 3.00 GHz, while the Intel Core i3-5157U runs at 2.50 GHz. Neither processor has a boost clock, so these are fixed operating frequencies.

Q: Are these processors comparable in their memory bandwidth?

A: No. The Pentium G4600T supports DDR4 memory with a recorded bandwidth of 38.4 GB/s, while the Core i3-5157U supports DDR3 with 29.9 GB/s. Both use a dual-channel memory bus.

Q: How much faster is the Pentium G4600T in multi-core workloads?

A: In Cinebench R23 multi-core, the Pentium G4600T scores 2602 versus 2203 for the Core i3-5157U, a 15.3% advantage. The same 15.3% margin appears in Cinebench R15 and R20 multi-core tests.

Q: Does the Core i3-5157U have any advantage in single-core performance?

A: No. The Pentium G4600T leads in every single-core test as well. In Cinebench R20 single-core, it scores 154 versus 130, a 15.6% gap, and in Cinebench R23 single-core it scores 367 versus 311, a 15.3% gap.

Q: What is the difference in integrated graphics between the two?

A: The Core i3-5157U features Intel Iris 6100, while the Pentium G4600T features Intel HD 630. Both are integrated graphics solutions, but they are different models.

Q: Which processor is still in production?

A: The Intel Pentium G4600T is listed as active, while the Intel Core i3-5157U is end-of-life. The i3-5157U was released in 2015, and the G4600T was released in 2017.