Intel Pentium G6950 Processor Review

Intel Pentium G6950 Processor Review

The one and only Pentium range processor for the LGA1156, the G6950 costs about RM 320 but is it worth the price?

The Processor

Intel Pentium G6950 Processor Review

Here’s the CPU-Z capture of the processor.
Intel Pentium G6950 Processor Review

Here’s the CPU-Z capture of the processor on overclock, rather than my usual 20% overclock, I decided to try the 33% overclock to see how it fares against the rest. After all, it’s already a pricey dual-core.

Intel Pentium G6950 Processor Review

Official product page

Test Setup

The test setup used for this review.

Processor Intel Pentium G6950
RAM OCZ 1066mhz 4GB Dual-Channel Kit
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H
Graphic card Galaxy GT240
Cooler Stock heatsink
Monitor 20″ Dell Ultra-sharp Wide-screen LCD
Power Supply Gigabyte Odin GT 550w
Operating System Windows Vista 32bit

Benchmarks

The Pentium G6950 5 is benched in both stock and overclocked state, it will be compared to the various i3-530 and 2 other Athlon processors of similar price range.

Super PI 1.5 Mod

The value chosen for Super PI was 1M.

G6950 G6950 OC X3 425 X4 620 i3-530
16.037 12.480 29.032 29.999 14.508
* Lower the better

At 2.8Ghz – it’s already very close to the i3-530. Overclocking makes it the winner here.

CINEBENCH R10

Processor G6950 G6950 OC X3 425 X4 620 i3-530
Rendering (Single CPU) 3096 4088 2316 2237 3323
Rendering (Multiple CPU) 6005 7851 6178 8088 7511

The benchmark was done with default settings. Here’s where you can download MAXON CINEBENCH R10.

It’s pretty close to the X3 on idle and comes close to X4 after overclock (and beating i3-530).

PCMark Vantage

G6950 G6950 OC X3 425 X4 620 i3-530
4366 5057 5090 5352 5392
* Higher the better

Looks like it only shines here after overclocking.

Fritz Chess Benchmark

Processor G6950 G6950 OC X3 425 X4 620 i3-530
Relative Speed 8.02 10.37 9.67 12.52 10.93
Kilo Nodes/second 3851 4977 4643 6011 5246

The G6950 just barely beat the X3 425 on stock despite nearly 1Ghz boost in speed after overclocking. Number of cores affect the benchmark.

SiSoft SANDRA Lite

Processor G6950 G6950 OC X3 425 X4 620 i3-530
Aggregate Arithmetic 21.44
GOPS
28.47
GOPS
27.11
GOPS
32.59
GOPS
34.6
GOPS
Dhrystone ALU 24.86
GIPS
33
GIPS
27.52
GIPS
30.9
GIPS
36.45
GIPS
Whetstone iSSE3 18
GFLOPS
24
GFLOPS
26.7
GFLOPS
34.28
GFLOPS
32.74
GFLOPS
Aggregate Multi-Media 38.75
MPixel/s
51.43
MPixel/s
57
MPixel/s
73.15
MPixel/s
58.79
MPixel/s
Multi-Media Int 46.2
MPixel/s
61.35
MPixel/s
79.25
MPixel/s
101.83
MPixel/s
64.64
MPixel/s
Multi-Media Float 31.3
MPixel/s
41.52
MPixel/s
34.64
MPixel/s
44.46
MPixel/s
53.00
MPixel/s
Multi-Media Double 16
MPixel/s
27.51
MPixel/s
18.9
MPixel/s
24.0
MPixel/s
31.47
MPixel/s

Thermal Performance

Tests were done with the stock heatsink, room temperature about 25°c

Processor G6950 G6950 OC
Idle 27°C 31°C
Load 43°C 63°C

Conclusion

I think it’s not difficult to conclude that this processor is something not worth getting unless you’re just hell-bent on getting an LGA1156 Intel setup at the lowest cost possible.

The G6950 costs about RM 320. That’s about 33% more than the X3 425 (approx RM 240) and just about RM 5 behind the X4 620 but performs far from both of them at stock speed. Even at 3.7+ghz, it still loses to the X3 and X4 quite often. Compare that to the i3-530 that’s about RM 390 that cost 20% more but provides so much more performance.

I know, it’s dual core vs tri core, quad core and dual-core with hyper-threading but it’s important to know also what you’re paying for and what you’re getting. The X2 wasn’t in the benchmark because I find it not worth paying for, in this case – the G6950 suffers the same fate.

My take is add that RM 70 and get the i3-530 if you have the budget. If you need quad-core power without having to rob a bank, AMD is the way to go.

13 thoughts on “Intel Pentium G6950 Processor Review

  1. To say this processor is not worth getting is a little shallow sighted. I got mine for less than half of the MSRP and it is worth every sen.

    Depends what you’re trying to do. If you’re looking for a hardcore gaming rigskip this and the I3 series. If you want a low power processor on the cheap you can’t go wrong with the G6950. At stock speeds without considering hyperthreading, it performs on par with my old E8400, but at MUCH less power.

    A local retailer had a combo with BOXED(not tray) G6950 and MSI H55M-E33 motherboard for $74USD(About 240RM), and YES that is the price for the processor and motherboard(after $25 rebate). I picked up a fanless ATI 5450, 2gig of cheap DRR1333(to give me some OC headroom), already had an extra case with Antec Neo 550HE power supply as well as a pair of old 1TB WD drives. So for $165USD(About 530RM) and some leftover parts, I put together a NICE HTPC that pulls about 40w at idle and about 95w under load(less than 1w in standby). I have since added a Samsung BluRay drive which the same local retailer had for $60USD now I have a system that plays bluray flawlessly, surfs the web without a single stutter and even has enough horsepower to play World of Warcraft at 1080P on my 55″ LED TV with almost every setting on high, all the while pulling less than a 100w.

    To put things into perspective my main rig which is a water cooled Q9650 running at 4.2GHz(Swiftech Apogee GTZ water block, it will run at 4.5Ghz although I have to make the radiator fans SCREAM to keep it cool) with 8GB DDR3 1333, a pair of GTX 480s(Danger Den water blocks in a separate loop) on a 790i (eK Northbridge and MCP blocks)same water loop as the processor) and it uses about 25w in Standby, about 400w at idle, and close to 1000w under load. As I don’t need the brute force of my big machine most of the time, using the G6950 machine pays for itself in electricity bill savings.

    Low power, great performance, reasonable gaming(forget the onboard graphics for anything other than web surfing) and the cost of what you can actually pay for one and the G6950 is a happy little processor

  2. Not sure how the pricing is like in the USA (best references i have are like newegg and the rest) but from what you posted – it’s a damn good deal you got there but that doesn’t change a fact that it’s only RM 100 away from the i3-530 that offers a whole lot more. do note that my review isn’t based on any deals.

    in Malaysia, it’s impossible to get both the H55 and G6950 for the price you got it for, even without the 25 USD rebate. Looking at the prices in Malaysia, the combo comes to about RM 600 but for RM 700 you get the i3-530!

    and if low power consumption and being cheap is a matter of concern, then an E6500 + G31 combo is only about RM 400. that also I’ve not gone into AMD’s offerings.

    the unfortunate thing about the Malaysian market is what while the Ringgit has strengthened, the prices of goods, though based on USD, will not be reflected immediately.

    🙂 i believe our culture, and also the price difference in goods, makes it different in the way we perceive matters. that doesn’t in anyway make us being in any way shallow sighted.

    I’ve put this G6950 on sale for over a month now, I think and the response has been very poor. Seeing that it’s on a high-traffic local tech site, it’s a clear sign that people are avoiding it unless necessary (sucky to me of course). most people are still looking for P/C2D Exxxx / Core / AMD processors.

    In fact I’m not surprised the local retailer you mentioned bundled it at such unbelievable price was desperately trying to clear stock. 😀 I would’ve taken no 2nd thought to grab such a great deal as what you got if I do come by any.

  3. I know you guys have pretty bad prices, especially comparing salary to prices, then it’s even worse. One of my Malaysia buddies always says Americans get such great prices because we must be poor :p I spend about 3 months of every year up in Ipoh. Well weekdays in Ipoh, weekends are usually down in KL or visiting friends in CJ or JB 🙂

    I was off by $5, had to look at my receipt :p The combo from the retailer(Fry’s Electronics) was $105 for the processor and motherboard then a $25 rebate. I actually bought the combo expecting to throw the processor away, then I still got a solid cap H55 motherboard that is $99USD retail for $80. http://newspaperads.mercurynews.com/FSI/Page.aspx?advid=200177&loc=53824&fsi=13648&facing=false&version=Mercury Not sure if the link will go through but that’s the ad. After playing with the processor I’m pretty content with it though. I’m amazed at 2 threaded applications it stands toe to toe with my E8400 at stock speeds. With the stock intel fan I managed to overclock it to 4.0ghz at stock voltage and it didn’t get that hot, which is pretty impressive to go from 2.8 to 4. It was also right at 50C under load with the stock intel fan. The G6950 isn’t a real powerhouse, but when I saw it pulling similar cpu benchmarks as my old E8400 rig, it really surprised me. On apps that can run more than 2 threads the E8400 would stomp it into the ground and my Q9650 absolutely crushes it, but thread to thread it’s a pretty decent processor.

    I guess in the end, if you can get a great deal on it, then go for it, but the I3 is a great little processor for the money as well. While it does have the same TDP as the I3 530 and 540 I’d be willing to bet it uses a bit less. I just thought it was unfair to say it isn’t worth buying, because I’m really surprised at how well it actually runs.

  4. I’m still hoping someone would buy the G6950 from me! 😛

    😀 yes prices here were so bad, I once thought of ordering the Radeon 9500 Pro from the USA. I calculated that the goods + shipping still costs less than the retail unit in Malaysia………….. I didn’t proceed with it due to the distance when it comes to warranty, which could in the end cause more if shit happens.

    I can’t deny the processing power is great compared to Core2Duos even the E8xxx series but even their time has passed and looking at what’s available, it’s not that appealing anymore.

  5. It never fails, 2 weeks after I pick up the 6950 and H55 board the same retailer has the same motherboard now with an I3-530 for $10USD more lol. or the 540 for $25 more than the 6950 :p Sometimes building computers sucks. I think after I build one I need to stay away from advertisements for the next 6 months lol. $100USD for the MSI H55 board and an I3-540 grrrrrr. Oh well I’ll be in Ipoh in a week so I can drink and sweat my worries away lol.

  6. I think this is among the most vital info for me. And i am glad reading your
    article. But should remark on few general things, The site style is ideal,
    the articles is really nice : D. Good job, cheers

  7. For most recent information you have to visit world-wide-web and on
    web I found this website as a most excellent web page
    for hottest updates.

Comments are closed.