The Intel G4560 is one of the first Pentium processors to feature Hyper-threading. This means that although the G4560 only has two physical processing cores, it is able to process four threads in parallel by sharing resources between the physical cores. This typically results in a 50% performance improvement over two physical cores alone. Comparing performance between the lowest spec Kaby Lake i3 7100 and the Pentium G4560 shows that in terms of both performance and specs, very little separates them (even virtualization technology VT-d is present on the Pentium). The Pentium does lack AVX 2.0 (Advanced Vector Instructions) and it trails the i3 7100 by 400 MHz (10%) but there is no longer a clear divide between Pentiums and Core i3s. Intel have achieved an almost continuous distribution of performance levels for each price point from the cheapest Pentium to the top end i7-7700K. [Jan '17CPUPro]
Intel’s latest 10-core i5-12600K Alder Lake desktop processor offers an impressive 50% 64-core performance improvement over it's predecessor. The 12600K combines six hyper-threaded Golden Cove P-cores with clock speeds up to 4.9 GHz and four energy efficient Gracemont E-cores for a total of 16 threads. Alder Lake CPUs have a new LGA 1700 socket which requires new cooler brackets and a new Z690 motherboard. Z690 brings several new features including PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 memory. Most Z690 boards will ship in both DDR4 and DDR5 variants. DDR4 is likely the better option, at least until DDR5 prices settle. With an MRSP of just $290 USD, the 12600K is both cheaper and faster than the competition in both single and, notably, multi-core performance. As a result, even AMD's prolific marketing infrastructure (youtube, reddit, forums etc.) will struggle to drive sales, at least until Zen 4 launches (est. late 2022). In the meantime, Intel's i5-12600K is the obvious choice for consumers that do not wish to pay over the odds for almost unparalleled performance in the majority of workloads including gaming. That said, gamers that already own a K series CPU from the 8th gen. or higher will see limited gains in the majority of titles when paired with a 3060 (or lower) tier GPU. In some cases (e.g. PUBG or Overwatch) gamers will see fewer frame drops by disabling the E-Cores all together. If recent history is a guide, stock levels at MSRP are likely to deplete rapidly. [Nov '21CPUPro]
We calculate effective speed which measures real world performance for typical users. Effective speed is adjusted by current prices to yield a value for money rating. Our calculated values are checked against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors to bring you the definitive list of top CPUs. [CPUPro]
Welcome to our PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best value for money upgrades.