Intel Core i5-6350HQ vs Intel Pentium G4600 Comparison

The Intel Pentium G4600 and the Intel Core i5-6350HQ land in an unusual statistical dead heat in the database's overall rankings, yet the head-to-head record tells a one-sided story. Both chips sit at the 29th percentile of all recorded CPUs, with average benchmark scores separated by a mere ten points (1056 for the G4600 against 1046 for the i5-6350HQ). That aggregate parity, however, masks the fact that the Core i5 sweeps every single direct comparison in the recorded Cinebench data, winning all five matched tests with a remarkably consistent margin of roughly fifteen percent.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded results are unusually uniform. In Cinebench R15 multi-core, the Core i5-6350HQ scores 364 against the Pentium G4600's 309, a 15.1 percent gap. The same gap appears in Cinebench R20 multi-core, where the i5 posts 1518 to the G4600's 1289, and again in Cinebench R23 multi-core, where the i5 records 3616 versus 3070 for the Pentium.

Single-core results follow the same pattern, which is the more surprising finding given the G4600's higher clock. In Cinebench R20 single-core the i5-6350HQ scores 214 against 181 for the G4600, a 15.4 percent lead, and in R23 single-core the i5 scores 510 to the G4600's 433, another 15.1 percent separation. The database records five tests total, and the Core i5 wins all five.

Why the aggregate averages end up so close despite this clean sweep comes down to the composition of each chip's benchmark set. The i5's database record includes a Cinebench R15 single-core entry scoring 51, an unusually low figure that drags its average down, while the G4600 has no R15 single-core entry at all. Strip out that outlier and the i5's per-test dominance would be fully reflected in the averages. For direct comparison purposes, the five matched head-to-head tests are the more reliable signal, and they unanimously favor the quad-core chip.

Context from each chip's surrounding rivals reinforces how closely matched their neighborhoods are. The G4600 sits within a fraction of a percent of the Intel Core i7-2760QM, the AMD Ryzen 5 2500U, the Intel Core i3-4350, and the AMD FX-8320E in average score. The i5-6350HQ is equally hemmed in by the AMD PRO A10-8770, the AMD Athlon X4 950, the AMD PRO A10-9700, and the Intel Pentium Gold G5620. Both chips anchor essentially the same performance tier from opposite directions: the i5 arrives with more cores at lower clocks, the Pentium with fewer cores at higher clocks.

FAQ

Q: Which CPU is faster overall in the recorded benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i5-6350HQ. It wins all five head-to-head Cinebench tests by margins between 15.1 and 15.4 percent, covering both multi-core and single-core workloads.

Q: How can the two chips have nearly identical average scores if one wins every direct comparison?

A: The average score fields include different test sets. The i5's database record contains an additional low-scoring Cinebench R15 single-core entry (51 points) that the G4600's record lacks, pulling the i5's average down to 1046 versus 1056 despite its sweep of the matched tests.

Q: Which CPU has the higher clock speed?

A: The Pentium G4600, with a 3.60 GHz base clock and no boost clock listed. The i5-6350HQ runs a 2.30 GHz base with a 3.20 GHz boost. Despite the clock deficit, the i5 still wins the single-core tests by about fifteen percent.

Q: Are these two chips interchangeable in terms of platform?

A: No. The G4600 is a desktop processor using Intel Socket 1151, while the i5-6350HQ is a mobile processor soldered to Intel BGA 1440, meaning it cannot be swapped or upgraded by the user.

Q: Which integrated graphics solution is stronger?

A: The recorded data indicates the i5-6350HQ's Intel Iris Pro 580 is the higher-tier option compared to the G4600's Intel HD 630, though the database does not record graphics benchmark scores for this comparison.

Q: Are either of these chips still in production?

A: The Pentium G4600 is listed as Active, while the Core i5-6350HQ is listed as End-of-life.

Architecture Differences

Both processors come from Intel and are fabbed on the same 14 nm process at Intel's own foundries, but they represent different generations and market segments. The Pentium G4600 belongs to the Kaby Lake generation of the Pentium line, released at the start of January 2017. The Core i5-6350HQ belongs to the Skylake-H generation of the Core i5 line, released in late January 2016. So the desktop Pentium is roughly a year newer silicon, even though the node is identical.

The core topology is the fundamental divider. The G4600 pairs 2 cores with 4 threads via hyper-threading; the i5-6350HQ offers 4 cores with 4 threads, one thread per physical core. In heavily threaded rendering workloads the physical-core advantage shows up directly as the 15.1 percent multi-core lead across R15, R20, and R23.

Cache allocation also favors the i5: 6 MB of shared L3 versus 3 MB for the Pentium, double the last-level cache capacity. Per-core L1 (64 KB) and L2 (256 KB) figures are identical between the two. The i5's record also includes physical details the Pentium's does not: 2,300 million transistors on a 171 mm² die.

Memory and platform support diverge modestly. The i5-6350HQ accepts both DDR3 and DDR4 memory over a dual-channel bus, with 34.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The G4600 supports DDR4 only, also dual-channel, but with higher recorded bandwidth of 38.4 GB/s. Both lack ECC support and both provide PCIe Gen 3 with 16 CPU lanes. The graphics blocks differ meaningfully, with the i5 carrying the Iris Pro 580 and the Pentium the HD 630. TDP is close, 51 W for the desktop Pentium against 45 W for the mobile i5, and neither chip has an unlocked multiplier.

The Verdict

The data points to the Core i5-6350HQ for anyone prioritizing raw processing performance. It is faster in every recorded test, in every category, by a consistent margin of about fifteen percent. It also carries twice the L3 cache, four physical cores, the stronger Iris Pro 580 integrated graphics, and slightly lower TDP.

The Pentium G4600 argues for itself on platform grounds. It is a desktop Socket 1151 part, meaning it is installable and replaceable, while the BGA 1440 mobile i5 is permanently soldered and end-of-life. The G4600 is still listed as Active, offers higher memory bandwidth at 38.4 GB/s, and represents a newer architecture generation (Kaby Lake versus Skylake). Its 3.60 GHz base clock is also the highest frequency figure between the two, even though that did not translate into single-core wins in the recorded Cinebench runs.

The launch MSRP recorded for the i5-6350HQ is $306. No comparable figure exists in the database for the G4600.

Specification Differences

The fields where the two chips diverge:

• Cores: 2 (G4600) versus 4 (i5-6350HQ)
• Threads: 4 (G4600) versus 4 (i5-6350HQ)
• Base clock: 3.60 GHz (G4600) versus 2.30 GHz (i5-6350HQ)
• Boost clock: none listed (G4600) versus 3.20 GHz (i5-6350HQ)
• TDP: 51 W (G4600) versus 45 W (i5-6350HQ)
• Socket: Intel Socket 1151 (G4600) versus Intel BGA 1440 (i5-6350HQ)
• Architecture: Kaby Lake (G4600) versus Skylake-H (i5-6350HQ)
• L3 cache: 3 MB shared (G4600) versus 6 MB shared (i5-6350HQ)
• Memory support: DDR4 (G4600) versus DDR3 and DDR4 (i5-6350HQ)
• Memory bandwidth: 38.4 GB/s (G4600) versus 34.1 GB/s (i5-6350HQ)
• Integrated graphics: Intel HD 630 (G4600) versus Intel Iris Pro 580 (i5-6350HQ)
• Market segment: Desktop (G4600) versus Mobile (i5-6350HQ)
• Production status: Active (G4600) versus End-of-life (i5-6350HQ)
• Release date: January 2017 (G4600) versus January 2016 (i5-6350HQ)
• Launch MSRP: not recorded (G4600) versus $306 (i5-6350HQ)

Identical between the two: 14 nm process, Intel foundry, 4 threads, per-core L1 and L2 cache sizes, dual-channel memory bus, absence of ECC, PCIe Gen 3 with 16 CPU lanes, locked multipliers, and the 29th percentile placement against the full CPU database.

Where Each One Wins

Where the Core i5-6350HQ wins: everywhere in the recorded compute data. Multi-core rendering is its strongest case, with 364 versus 309 in R15, 1518 versus 1289 in R20, and 3616 versus 3070 in R23. Notably, it also wins single-core, 214 to 181 in R20 and 510 to 433 in R23, so lightly threaded applications do not rescue the Pentium either. Workloads that lean on integrated graphics get the Iris Pro 580 rather than the HD 630, and workloads sensitive to L3 cache capacity benefit from 6 MB rather than 3 MB.

Where the Pentium G4600 wins: on the platform side, not the performance side. It is the only one of the two that fits a standard desktop socket and can therefore be chosen for a build or a replacement, its higher memory bandwidth of 38.4 GB/s is the best figure in this pairing, and it is the only one still listed as Active in production. For a socketed desktop system where a low-percentile-tier chip is acceptable, it remains a viable pick; for anyone chasing the better numbers in this matchup, the i5-6350HQ's five-from-five record is decisive.