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Intel Celeron N4020 vs Intel Pentium Silver N5030

Intel Celeron N4020

► remove from comparison Intel Celeron N4020

The Intel Celeron N4020 is a slow dual-core processor (SoC) of the Gemini Lake refresh product family; as such, it is designed for use in laptops and mini-PCs of the most affordable flavor. The Celeron was launched in Q4 2019. Its CPU cores run at 1.1 GHz to 2.8 GHz, the latter being a moderate 200 MHz upgrade over the preceding N4000 chip. Other key specs include a DDR4/LPDDR4 memory controller (up to 2,400 MHz and up to 8 GB, with independent reports claiming as much as 32 GB will work just fine) and an integrated UHD 600 graphics adapter.

Architecture & Features

Just like Apollo Lake family products, the ever-popular N3350 included, the N4020 is manufactured on a really old, as of late 2023, 14 nm process. What makes the newer Celerons different are the slightly improved processor cores with double the L2 cache and also, somewhat counterintuitively, a reduction in physical size.

The Goldmont Plus microarchitecture is not much different from what was used in Gemini Lake processors like the N4000. A relatively large 4 MB L2 cache features prominently on the rather short list of N4020's strong sides, allowing for a marginal increase in performance-per-MHz figures compared to processors of previous generations. Still, Gemini Lake refresh processors are a clear step down from Core i3/i5/i7/i9 series processors, both in performance and in features.

The N4020 has six PCI-Express 2.0 lanes at its disposal. While very few N4020-based SBCs, nettops and laptops feature an NVMe M.2 slot, you can use an NVMe SSD as a boot drive with this processor (read/write rates will be limited to 2 GB/s, though). Furthermore, partial Wi-Fi 5 support is built into the CPU. The Celeron also supports up to eight USB 3.0 ports and two SATA III storage devices.

Please note this is not a user-replaceable CPU. They solder it straight to the motherboard for good (BGA1090 socket interface).

Performance

While slightly faster than the outgoing Celeron N4000, the average N4020 in our extensive database only just manages to match the N6211, as far as multi-thread performance is concerned. These three chips deliver multi-thread CB R15, CB R20 and CB R23 scores that are so low, they lag behind a single-thread score of any half-decent CPU such as an i5-1135G7. In other words, these Celeron N chips are good enough for basic tasks only such as word processing and Web browsing with two or three tabs open at a time.

The Celeron N4120, a quad-core chip with a similar name, has little trouble leaving the N4020 behind in most workloads - which is not to say it is a fast CPU.

Jacking the long-term power limit value up to something like 9 W will help improve system responsiveness noticeably.

Graphics

The UHD Graphics 600 is based on Intel's Generation 9 architecture, much like the  HD Graphics 520 or the UHD Graphics 615 or other widespread Intel iGPUs found in Core i3/i5/i7/i9 processors of generations six to ten.

Just like the HD Graphics 500, the UHD Graphics 600 is DX12 compatible. The iGPU's 12 EUs can run at up to 650 MHz. The Iris Plus G7 iGPU that certain 10th Gen Ice Lake processors have packs 64 EUs, for reference. As a low-end solution, UHD Graphics 600 will let you play some seriously old titles, but that's about as far as its talents go.

Perhaps more importantly, this graphics solution can drive up to 3 monitors with resolutions as high as 4096x2160@60. Furthermore, it will have no trouble HW-decoding AVC, HEVC and VP9-encoded videos. The newer AV1 codec will be decoded via software, with the limited CPU horsepower imposing a limit on video resolutions that can be played back without stuttering. 1080p60 videos are out of reach while 720p25 videos run fine, to give you an example.

Power consumption

The low 6 W TDP (also known as the long-term Power Limit) makes it easy for laptop makers to ditch the fan. Performance sustainability will be poor unless the long-term Power Limit is set to a value higher than the default 6 W and a fan is available to aid in heat dissipation.

The Celeron N4020 is built with one of the old 14 nm Intel processes for poor, as of mid 2023, energy efficiency.

Intel Pentium Silver N5030

► remove from comparison Intel Pentium N5030

The Intel Pentium Silver N5030 is a quad-core SoC primarily for inexpensive notebooks and was announced late 2019. It runs at 1.1-3.1 GHz (Single Core Burst) and is based on the Gemini Lake platform. The 5030 is the refresh of the older Pentium 5000 and offers a 400 MHz higher Boost clock. Similar to the Apollo Lake predecessor, the chip is manufactured in a 14 nm process with FinFETs but offers slightly improved processor cores, double the amount of L2 cache, a smaller package, a better GPU architecture and a partly integrated WiFi support. Besides four CPU cores, the chip also includes a DirectX 12 capable GPU as well as a DDR4/LPDDR4 memory controller (dual-channel, up to 2400 MHz). The SoC is not replaceable as it is directly soldered to the mainboard.

Architecture

The processor architecture is still called Goldmont Plus. Compared to the older Goldmont cores in Apollo Lake, they feature an increased level 2 cache (to 4 MB). That means the per-clock-performance should be a bit better, but not near the Core CPUs like Kaby Lake Y.

Performance

The average N5030 in our database proves unable to beat the AMD 3020e, an entry-level dual-core CPU of similar power efficiency, in multi-thread performance, rendering the Pentium a poor option for anything but the most basic day-to-day activities, as of late 2022.

GPU Performance

The UHD Graphics 605 (Gemini Lake) is based on Intel's Gen9 architecture, which supports DirectX 12 and is also used for the Kaby Lake / Skylake / Apollo Lake graphics adapters (like HD Graphics 520). Equipped with 18 EUs and a clock of up to 750 MHz, the performance should be roughly on par with the older HD Graphics 5300 and HD Graphics 505 (Apollo Lake).

The chip also includes an advanced video engine with hardware support for the playback of VP9 and H.265 material (8-bit color-depth).

Power consumption

Like most N-class Intel chips, the Pentium has a default TDP, also known as the long-term power limit, of 6 W. This is low and thus good enough for passively cooled tablets, laptops, mini-PCs and handhelds.

The Intel Pentium N5030 is built with one of the old 14 nm Intel processes making for poor, as of early 2023, energy efficiency.

ModelIntel Celeron N4020Intel Pentium Silver N5030
SeriesIntel Gemini LakeIntel Gemini Lake
CodenameGemini Lake refreshGemini Lake Refresh
Series: Gemini Lake Gemini Lake Refresh
Intel Pentium Silver J5040 compare2 - 3.2 GHz4 / 4 cores
Intel Pentium Silver N50301.1 - 3.1 GHz4 / 4 cores
Intel Celeron J4125 compare2 - 2.7 GHz4 / 4 cores
Intel Celeron N4120 compare1.1 - 2.6 GHz4 / 4 cores
Intel Celeron J4025 compare2 - 2.9 GHz2 / 2 cores
Intel Celeron N4020 « 1.1 - 2.8 GHz2 / 2 cores
Intel Pentium Silver J5040 compare2 - 3.2 GHz4 / 4 cores
Intel Pentium Silver N5030 « 1.1 - 3.1 GHz4 / 4 cores
Intel Celeron J4125 compare2 - 2.7 GHz4 / 4 cores
Intel Celeron N4120 compare1.1 - 2.6 GHz4 / 4 cores
Intel Celeron J4025 compare2 - 2.9 GHz2 / 2 cores
Intel Celeron N40201.1 - 2.8 GHz2 / 2 cores
Clock1100 - 2800 MHz1100 - 3100 MHz
L2 Cache4 MB4 MB
Cores / Threads2 / 24 / 4
TDP6 Watt6 Watt
TDP Turbo PL215 Watt
Technology14 nm14 nm
SocketBGA1090BGA1090
FeaturesDDR4-2400/LPDDR4-2400 RAM, PCIe 2, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, VMX, SMEP, SMAP, MPX, EIST, TM1, TM2, Turbo, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SHA, SGXDDR4-2400/LPDDR4-2400 RAM, PCIe 2, MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, SSE4.1, SSE4.2, VMX, SMEP, SMAP, MPX, EIST, TM1, TM2, Turbo, AES-NI, RDRAND, RDSEED, SHA, SGX
iGPUIntel UHD Graphics 600 (200 - 650 MHz)Intel UHD Graphics 605 (200 - 750 MHz)
Architecturex86x86
Announced
Manufacturerark.intel.comark.intel.com
max. Temp.105 °C

Benchmarks

Performance Rating - CB R15 + R20 + 7-Zip + X265 + Blender + 3DM11 CPU - Celeron N4020
16.1 pt (22%)
Performance Rating - CB R15 + R20 + 7-Zip + X265 + Blender + 3DM11 CPU - Pentium N5030
17.6 pt (24%)
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Multi Core
616 Points (1%)
911 Points (1%)
Cinebench R23 - Cinebench R23 Single Core
308 Points (13%)
430 Points (18%)
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Single Core)
min: 149.8     avg: 162.4     median: 162.4 (18%)     max: 175 Points
min: 171     avg: 182.5     median: 182.5 (20%)     max: 194 Points
Cinebench R20 - Cinebench R20 CPU (Multi Core)
min: 242     avg: 279     median: 279 (1%)     max: 316 Points
min: 360     avg: 425.5     median: 425.5 (1%)     max: 491 Points
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit
min: 110.1     avg: 127.1     median: 127.1 (1%)     max: 144.1 Points
min: 203     avg: 226     median: 226 (1%)     max: 248.9 Points
Cinebench R15 - Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64 Bit
min: 68.6     avg: 73.8     median: 73.8 (22%)     max: 78.9 Points
min: 75.8     avg: 80.9     median: 80.9 (24%)     max: 86 Points
Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64 Bit
1.7 Points (2%)
3.1 Points (4%)
Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64 Bit
0.9 Points (23%)
1 Points (25%)
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Single (32bit)
2184 Points (13%)
2498 Points (15%)
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Rend. Multi (32bit)
4427 Points (3%)
7724 Points (6%)
wPrime 2.10 - wPrime 2.0 1024m *
932 s (11%)
wPrime 2.10 - wPrime 2.0 32m *
29.7 s (6%)
14.7 s (3%)
WinRAR - WinRAR 4.0
766 Points (1%)
1163 Points (2%)
7-Zip 18.03 - 7-Zip 18.03 Multli Thread 4 runs
4498 MIPS (3%)
min: 6598     avg: 7238     median: 7238 (4%)     max: 7878 MIPS
7-Zip 18.03 - 7-Zip 18.03 Single Thread 4 runs
2456 MIPS (29%)
min: 2555     avg: 2645     median: 2645 (32%)     max: 2735 MIPS
X264 HD Benchmark 4.0 - x264 Pass 2
10 fps (3%)
17.6 fps (6%)
X264 HD Benchmark 4.0 - x264 Pass 1
50.1 fps (12%)
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 - HWBOT x265 4k Preset
min: 0.73     avg: 0.8     median: 0.8 (1%)     max: 0.92 fps
0.7 fps (1%)
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt Serpent
0.1 GB/s (0%)
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt Twofish
0.1 GB/s (2%)
TrueCrypt - TrueCrypt AES
1 GB/s (2%)
Blender - Blender 2.79 BMW27 CPU *
4064 Seconds (29%)
min: 3319     avg: 3450     median: 3449.5 (24%)     max: 3580 Seconds
R Benchmark 2.5 - R Benchmark 2.5 *
1.5 sec (33%)
min: 1.402     avg: 1.4     median: 1.4 (31%)     max: 1.473 sec
3DMark 06 - CPU - 3DMark 06 - CPU
2495 Points (5%)
3895 Points (8%)
Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 1M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 1M *
24.2 s (5%)
24.9 s (5%)
Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 2M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 2M *
53.9 s (2%)
Super Pi Mod 1.5 XS 32M - Super Pi mod 1.5 XS 32M *
1220 s (5%)
3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Physics
min: 1560     avg: 1650     median: 1650 (4%)     max: 1740 Points
min: 2326     avg: 2377     median: 2377 (6%)     max: 2428 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Physics
23701 Points (19%)
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme Physics
23621 Points (19%)
3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited Physics
min: 26682     avg: 31360     median: 31360 (26%)     max: 36038 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Physics
1286 Points (3%)
min: 2155     avg: 2183     median: 2182.5 (6%)     max: 2210 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Physics
min: 1852     avg: 1853     median: 1853 (3%)     max: 1854 Points
min: 3014     avg: 3209     median: 3209 (6%)     max: 3404 Points
3DMark - 3DMark Time Spy CPU
476 Points (2%)
704 Points (3%)
3DMark - 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme (ES 3.1) Unlimited Physics
2857 Points (34%)
3DMark - 3DMark Sling Shot (ES 3.0) Unlimited Physics
3123 Points (36%)
Geekbench 5.5 - Geekbench 5.1 - 5.4 64 Bit Single-Core
min: 319     avg: 418.7     median: 462 (19%)     max: 475 Points
min: 431     avg: 491.7     median: 512 (22%)     max: 532 Points
Geekbench 5.5 - Geekbench 5.1 - 5.4 64 Bit Multi-Core
min: 663     avg: 786     median: 836 (1%)     max: 858 Points
min: 1039     avg: 1263     median: 1221 (2%)     max: 1529 Points
Geekbench 5.0 - Geekbench 5.0 64 Bit Single-Core
356 Points (2%)
Geekbench 5.0 - Geekbench 5.0 64 Bit Multi-Core
1177 Points (4%)
Geekbench 4.4 - Geekbench 4.1 - 4.4 64 Bit Single-Core
min: 1989     avg: 2004     median: 2004 (20%)     max: 2019 Points
2176 Points (22%)
Geekbench 4.4 - Geekbench 4.1 - 4.4 64 Bit Multi-Core
min: 3404     avg: 3433     median: 3433 (4%)     max: 3462 Points
5662 Points (6%)
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Kraken 1.1 Total Score *
min: 2300     avg: 2488     median: 2488 (3%)     max: 2676 ms
min: 1914     avg: 2410     median: 2170 (3%)     max: 3145 ms
Sunspider - Sunspider 1.0 Total Score *
355.8 ms (4%)
Octane V2 - Octane V2 Total Score
min: 21894     avg: 21899     median: 21899 (20%)     max: 21904 Points
WebXPRT 4 - WebXPRT 4 Score
min: 49.4     avg: 55.3     median: 55.3 (16%)     max: 61.1 Points
WebXPRT 3 - WebXPRT 3 Score
min: 76.2     avg: 80.2     median: 80.2 (17%)     max: 84.2 Points
min: 91.3     avg: 100.9     median: 95.4 (20%)     max: 116 Points
PCMark for Android - PCM f. Android Computer Vision
8984 Points (47%)
PCMark for Android - PCM f. Android Storage
31170 Points (67%)
PCMark for Android - PCM f. Android Work Score 2.0
9447 Points (62%)
PCMark for Android - PCM f. Android Work Score
13200 Points (66%)
CrossMark - CrossMark Overall
310 Points (12%)
Power Consumption - Prime95 Power Consumption - external Monitor *
12.5 Watt (2%)
min: 9.09     avg: 9.8     median: 9.8 (2%)     max: 10.5 Watt
Power Consumption - Cinebench R15 Multi Power Consumption - external Monitor *
10.1 Watt (2%)
min: 7.98     avg: 8.8     median: 8.8 (2%)     max: 9.6 Watt
Power Consumption - Idle Power Consumption 150cd 1min *
6.9 Watt (8%)
4.6 Watt (5%)
Power Consumption - Cinebench R15 Multi Power Efficiency - external Monitor
14.3 Points per Watt (11%)
min: 25.4     avg: 25.7     median: 25.7 (19%)     max: 25.9 Points per Watt

Average Benchmarks Intel Celeron N4020 → 100% n=34

Average Benchmarks Intel Pentium Silver N5030 → 133% n=34

- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation

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v1.26
log 29. 02:46:16

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#1 checking url part for id 11531 +0s ... 0s

#2 not redirecting to Ajax server +0s ... 0s

#3 did not recreate cache, as it is less than 5 days old! Created at Thu, 28 Mar 2024 05:35:32 +0100 +0.001s ... 0.001s

#4 composed specs +0.044s ... 0.045s

#5 did output specs +0s ... 0.045s

#6 getting avg benchmarks for device 11535 +0.017s ... 0.062s

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#8 getting avg benchmarks for device 11531 +0.017s ... 0.135s

#9 got single benchmarks 11531 +0.019s ... 0.155s

#10 got avg benchmarks for devices +0s ... 0.155s

#11 min, max, avg, median took s +0.32s ... 0.475s

#12 return log +0.025s ... 0.5s

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Redaktion, 2017-09- 8 (Update: 2023-07- 1)