Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y vs Intel Pentium Silver N5030 vs Intel Celeron N4020

Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y

The Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y is a low power entry level processor for small laptops or tablets and based on the Kaby Lake architecture. It was announced in Q1 2019 and offers two processor cores clocked at 1.7 GHz (no Turbo Boost). Thanks to Hyper Threading, the processor can execute up to four threads simultaneously. The chips also includes the Intel HD Graphics 615 GPU, a dual-channel memory controller (DDR3L/LPDDR3) as well as VP9 and H.265 video de- and encoder. It is still produced in a 14 nm process with FinFET transistors. Compared to the much faster Core m3-7Y30, the Pentium 4425 offers no Turbo Boost, different CPU and GPU clock speeds, a smaller L3 cache and a higher TDP of 6 Watt. Compared to the predecessor Pentium Gold 4415Y from 2017, the Pentium Gold 4425Y is clocked 100 MHz higher (the CPU cores).

Architecture

Intel basically used the familiar micro architecture from the Skylake generation, so the per-MHz performance is identical. Only the Speed-Shift technology for faster dynamic adjustments of the voltages and clocks was improved, and the matured 14 nm process now also enables much higher frequencies and better efficiency than before. 

Performance

Due to the missing Turbo Boost, the Pentium 4425Y offers a significantly worse single thread performance than the more expensive Core m3-7Y30. This should be noticeable in daily tasks. Compared to older CPUs, the Pentium Gold should match a Core i3-4100U (100 MHz higher clock speed but older architecture).

Graphics

The integrated Intel HD Graphics 615 GPU has 24 Execution Units (EUs) like the old HD Graphics 515 and runs with clocks between 300 and 850 MHz in combination with this processor. The performance heavily depends on the TDP limit as well as the memory configuration; with fast LPDDR3-1866 RAM in dual-channel mode, the GPU should sometimes be able to compete with the HD Graphics 520, but can also be much slower in other scenarios. Modern games from 2016 will, if at all, only run smoothly in the lowest settings.

Contrary to Skylake, Kaby Lake now also supports hardware decoding for H.265/HEVC Main10 with a 10-bit color depth as well as Google's VP9 codec.

Power Consumption

The chip is manufactured in an improved 14 nm process with FinFET transistors, so the power efficiency was once again improved significantly. The TDP is rated at 6 Watt and can be reduced to 4,5 Watt (cTDP down).

Intel Pentium Silver 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.

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.