Intel Pentium G4400 Processor Review – Budget Skylake
Intel Pentium G4400 Skylake Processor – A Low-Cost Gamers Skylake Processor?
When Intel releases a new processor family, we immediately start seeing reviews and opinions on the enthusiast grade processors such as the i5-6600K and the i7-6700K, both of which are great processors, however there is a downside; they are some of the more expensive processors. Not everybody wants to spend a lot of money on a new processor nor does everybody need the added features and power of these processors. Because of this, Intel releases a range of processors that start at $64.99 with free shipping, such as the Intel Pentium G4400, and quickly moves up in price depending on your need.
Why would somebody want to look at a processor such as the Pentium G4400? For a low cost processor, its specifications are pretty decent for an average home use type processor. It is a dual core processor that can handle 2 threads at a time at 3.3GHz with a TDP of 54W. Beyond that, it has many of the features of other Skylake processors such as support for up to 64GB of DDR4 or DDR3L memory in dual channel. Integrated graphics are provided by the Intel HD Graphics 510, that will utilize a maximum of 1.7GB of memory, in addition it provides for resolutions up to 4096×2304 @60Hz using Display Port in addition to supporting up to 3 displays.
Other more advanced technologies that is supported by the G4400 is Virtualization, AES N-I, and Secure Key. What it doesn’t support though is Turbo Boost, vPro, Hyper-Threading and a few other Intel Technologies that many home users will have little use for.
Taking a look at the Intel Pentium G4400, the Integrated Head Spreader has the typical markings on it. Here we see the S-Spec of SR2DC and the clock speed of 3.3GHz. We then find the batch number which is X540C198.
Taking a look at the bottom of the processor, it looks identical to other Skylake processors, which makes sense as it uses the same motherboard chipset. The Pentium G4400 is a LGA 1151 socket processor. Like other recent Intel processors, it has the capacitors in the middle, with the usual pins arranged around it. As we expect, with each new chipset, Intel changes the pin and key location to make sure you are installing the processor into the right socket.
The Intel Pentium G4400 includes a basic CPU cooler that is designed to keep the processor running within it’s thermal tolerance. Those that are familiar with coolers know that the include CPU cooler doesn’t do a great job at cooling the processor, but it does work.
We will be using the EVGA Z170 FTW motherboard to benchmark and test the Intel Pentium G4400. Let’s take a quick look at the test system for the Intel Pentium G4400 before we get to doing some benchmarks.