Intel Adds Hyper-Threading to Its Kaby Lake-based Pentium CPUs

[Raevenlord]

Intel Corporation has made a slight tweak to its product line: the addition of Hyper-Threading to some of its processors which, traditionally, didn't carry it. This includes the Pentium G4620 (3.7 GHz base frequency and integrated graphics HD 630, $93) and G4600 (3.6 GHz base frequency, $82), both at 51 W TDP; G4560 (54W TDP at 3.5 GHz and integrated HD 610 graphics, $64); and the Pentium G4600T (3 GHz, HD 630, $75) and G4560T (2.9 GHz, HD 610, $64) slot in as the low power Pentium offerings with a 35W TDP. All of these processors now carry 2 physical cores, which the system sees exposed as 4 logical cores due to their Hyper-Threading enablement.





In a bid to differentiate these microprocessors from their i3 line (which seem dangerously close in specs now), the Pentiums forgo the Advanced Vector Instructions 2 (AVX2) extension set, of which generally database processing and video editing tend to take advantage, though these are probably use cases for which the particular market for this processors won't be planning on running them as a priority.

Pricing is the key difference between the two, as the Kaby Lake-based i3 chips command a ~$53-$63 premium over these Pentium counterparts, with an expected performance delta being much, much less than that value (the base frequency difference between the i3 7100 and the Pentium G4620 stands at a mere 200 MHz in favor of the former).

All in all, an interesting, if long coming, change to Intel's line. That we still have to contend with dual-core, four-threaded CPUs in 2016 is a sign of the stagnant CPU market we've been living for a few years now; but it's definitely much, much better than last year's proposition, where you'd have to contend with a mere two cores in a low-end system. Whether or not this is a sign of Intel preparing for the Ryzen onslaught, only the Intel higher-ups know, though it does seem strange for that being the reason, considering that Ryzen is supposed to tackle, at its minimum, a completely different segment of the market.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Sempron Guy]

We are already in 2017, and dual core is still a household term, the horror!!!

 

[neko77025]

Hell yea, time to build my home sever / Nas it seems.

 

[ShurikN]

This should have happened 5 years ago with i3 moving to 4c/4t.

 

[chaosmassive]

This should have happened 5 years ago with i3 moving to 4c/4t.

but, they decided just to do it for pentium right now. because incoming war in few months
so we got i3 cores/thread for under 100?
then intel ought to do something with i3 current configuration

 

[Sempron Guy]

hope a 4c/4thread ryzen will push these pentiums to extinction

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

Even with hyper threading, I wonder if these pentiums will still feature crippled cores. Back in the ivy bridge/haswell days, a core i3 scored twice what a pentium did in benchmarks like intel burn test, suggesting that the pentium cores were crippled in some way (my guess was cache speeds). This was noticeable in some games, such as saints row the third, and in any game with dual GPUs (ah, the days of 550ti sli)

If so, this is a cool idea, but the pentiums still wont beat a cheap i3.

hope a 4c/4thread ryzen will push these pentiums to extinction

Dual cores wont go extict anytime soon. Dual cores with iGPUs are huge in the business and education worlds, where quad cores are not needed, as well as in machines built to play games like DOTA, SC2, and LOL, where single threaded performance is still king, AND HTPCs that dont need quad core power. And that is where the majority of intel's money outside of the server space comes from. Dont count on them abandoning it (especially since ryzen has no iGPU, meaning it will not compete in the office space. That falls to raven ridge, which is expected end of 2017 ish.)

 

[HopelesslyFaithful]

Even with hyper threading, I wonder if these pentiums will still feature crippled cores. Back in the ivy bridge/haswell days, a core i3 scored twice what a pentium did in benchmarks like intel burn test, suggesting that the pentium cores were crippled in some way (my guess was cache speeds). This was noticeable in some games, such as saints row the third, and in any game with dual GPUs (ah, the days of 550ti sli)

If so, this is a cool idea, but the pentiums still wont beat a cheap i3.
Dual cores wont go extict anytime soon. Dual cores with iGPUs are huge in the business and education worlds, where quad cores are not needed, as well as in machines built to play games like DOTA, SC2, and LOL, where single threaded performance is still king, AND HTPCs that dont need quad core power. And that is where the majority of intel's money outside of the server space comes from. Dont count on them abandoning it (especially since ryzen has no iGPU, meaning it will not compete in the office space. That falls to raven ridge, which is expected end of 2017 ish.)

I dont know what your smoking. I see my dual core max out while just web browsing and i see my quad core 4.8Ghz 6700K max out while browsing in chrome (select heavy media pages max the cpu/opening multiply pages). I also notice load times on pages are far worse on dual core vs quad due to cpu limitation. Slick deals, netlfix, hulu are all good examples but all pages load slower but its painfully slower on those media type pages. Pages are stupidly media intensive now and i loathe using my i7 U6500 vs my desktop. It is super fucking slow in browsing verse my desktop and thats not even really "tough cpu stuff"

 

[Jetster]

Good

 

[Aquinus]

enablement

Marriam-Webster says that "enablement" isn't a word.

It should be more like:

4 logical cores due to the addition of Hyper-Threading.

 

[Raevenlord]

Marriam-Webster says that "enablement" isn't a word.

It should be more like:

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/enable

See under derived forms.

 

[Frick]

I dont know what your smoking. I see my dual core max out while just web browsing and i see my quad core 4.8Ghz 6700K max out while browsing in chrome (select heavy media pages max the cpu/opening multiply pages). I also notice load times on pages are far worse on dual core vs quad due to cpu limitation. Slick deals, netlfix, hulu are all good examples but all pages load slower but its painfully slower on those media type pages. Pages are stupidly media intensive now and i loathe using my i7 U6500 vs my desktop. It is super fucking slow in browsing verse my desktop and thats not even really "tough cpu stuff"

And I don't know what you are smoking, my Pentium G3220 behaves just fine, in avarage desktop use no different from machines with more threads. The only time I wanted more threads was when I tried the BF1 beta.

This is excellent news. Celeron = 2c/2t, Pentium = 2c/4t, i3 = 4c/4t, i5 = 4c/8t, i7 = 6-8c/12-16t. Without raising prices! One can dream anyway... Utopia (or close to it) would be fully unlocked CPUs across the range, all of them.

 

[Raevenlord]

This is excellent news. Celeron = 2c/2t, Pentium = 2c/4t, i3 = 4c/4t, i5 = 4c/8t, i7 = 6-8c/12-16t. Without raising prices! One can dream anyway... Utopia (or close to it) would be fully unlocked CPUs across the range, all of them.

That would be my guess as well, with regards to Intel's future product lines. Seems like a way to make a gradual transition into another product stack organization. Would also let Intel compete with Ryzen whilst keeping a (tentative) nomenclature superiority with the i3 and i5 being bumped up one ladder of their relative positioning without users even noticing (core count increase with same nomenclature scheme).

 

[Aquinus]

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/enable

See under derived forms.

It's also the only dictionary I could find that has even a mention of "enablement," other than a wikipedia article that cites a seemingly non-existent resource and has flags for issues with validity and content. If Cambridge, Oxford, and Marriam-Webster don't have it, I would stay away from it. This is honestly the first time I've ever seen "enablement" show up in writing.

 

[ShurikN]

This is excellent news. Celeron = 2c/2t, Pentium = 2c/4t, i3 = 4c/4t, i5 = 4c/8t, i7 = 6-8c/12-16t. Without raising prices! One can dream anyway... Utopia (or close to it) would be fully unlocked CPUs across the range, all of them.

This will only happen if a 4c Zen has better price/perf.

 

[Frick]

It's also the only dictionary I could find that has even a mention of "enablement," other than a wikipedia article that cites a seemingly non-existent resource and has flags for issues with validity and content. If Cambridge, Oxford, and Marriam-Webster don't have it, I would stay away from it. This is honestly the first time I've ever seen "enablement" show up in writing.

It sounds like something I would use when slightly drunk.

 

[hojnikb]

G4560 is a pretty insane value for budget gaming builds. Couple that with a 1050Ti/470 and you got yourself a pretty capable rig.

No wonder amd decided to wait with bristol ridge on desktop; this completely shames something like an athlon x4 950.

 

[Raevenlord]

It's also the only dictionary I could find that has even a mention of "enablement," other than a wikipedia article that cites a seemingly non-existent resource and has flags for issues with validity and content. If Cambridge, Oxford, and Marriam-Webster don't have it, I would stay away from it. This is honestly the first time I've ever seen "enablement" show up in writing.

Enablement is a noun, composed by "enable" and the suffix "-ment", which in this case, denotes an action, the action of "enabling" more logical cores through Hyper-Threading. In that sense, it does exist, since it respects the rules of word formation. Also, dictionaries don't tend to carry and specify every possible permutation of every word - that's why there are suffixes, prefixes, compound words, hyphens... You name it. Those are also rules for word creation - and with enablement being a derivative noun of the "enable" verb, I think it's not unusual for it to be in absentia of dictionaries.

While I get where you're coming from - and don't take our discussion the wrong way, for I see it as you caring with the quality of the news articles on what is surely your favorite website - I am also certain that I've read it before and that my usage of it was correct. While this isn't the particular case where I read it, here's a link for a paper which uses it: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/proceeding.aspx?articleid=2526466

And also a quick Google scholar search for papers presents numerous hits on the word:
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=pt-BR&q=enablement&btnG=&lr=

Every word was a relative unknown before it hit the mainstream, and many of them didn't even exist before they began being used. In June 2016, Oxford added.... that amount of words: http://public.oed.com/the-oed-today...ed/june-2016-update/new-words-list-june-2016/. So I think we can agree that neither of us has read maybe even a third of all the existing words in the English language =)

And thanks for pointing it out to me, though, because I do make mistakes, and I ask you to not stop pointing out this kind of things if you feel they're detrimental to the article. I actually thought "obviessence" was a word ( meaning "obviously of the essence") for quite a while. Luckily, I only ever thought about it while replaying Halo: Combat Evolved's cutscenes in my mind

 

[peche]

well, dual cores are a great option for budgetish builds... also are great for minimal works, like the people that use computers just for storing music, pics, videos and other personal information, such my mommy does, and also quite interesting part of family and friends do, not all people all around the globe use the computer for gaming, mining, extreme overclocking and that kind of interesting stuff we like....

Also working machines for ultra light work, education on several schools and also computers for kids, might be based on Dual core CPU's... so petium will never be extinguish ...

Regards,

 

[xorbe]

See what a little pending competition provides.

 

[TheLaughingMan]

AMD Ryzen is not even out yet and Intel is already making competitive moves. Either they are on the hype train with us or they know something we don't.

 

[captainskyhawk]

I see my dual core max out while just web browsing and i see my quad core 4.8Ghz 6700K max out while browsing in chrome

There is... something wrong with your computer(s). If they're on the same network, you might want to do a good virus/spyware scan ASAP.

 

[damric]

Good news for ultra low budget gaming rigs, but...

The timing is suspicious, and leads me to believe that they have been sandbagging this idea forever and that technically any Intel processor of the last decade could have HT enabled with a mere BIOS manipulation.

$$$

 

[xorbe]

Good news for ultra low budget gaming rigs, but...

The timing is suspicious, and leads me to believe that they have been sandbagging this idea forever and that technically any Intel processor of the last decade could have HT enabled with a mere BIOS manipulation.

$$$

Anyone would tell you that HT is merely disabled / fused off, that's not a big deal or secret. Just like AVX2 feature is simply fused off.

 

[Captain_Tom]

It's about time i3's had 4c or 3c/6t, i5's have 4c/8t, and i7's have 6c/8t (or more).


Either they do this soon, or zen will thoroughly crush their entire line-up.