Intel Pentium Gold G5500 2-core LGA 1151

The Pentium Gold G5500 scores 3865 in PassMark multi-thread, which puts it at the 36th percentile. Single-thread is better at 2255 points, so basic tasks feel okay. But with only 2 cores and a gaming score of 43.2 out of 100, this is strictly an office chip. Don't pay more than CAD 200 for it.

Let's talk numbers. The G5500 scores 3865 in PassMark multi-thread. That's below average for desktop CPUs in our database, landing at the 36th percentile. For context, that means roughly two-thirds of the CPUs we track beat it in multi-core workloads. Single-thread is a different story: 2255 points puts it at the 65th percentile, which is solid. So everyday stuff like web browsing, email, and light productivity will feel okay. The 4.2GHz boost clock helps there.

But here's the catch: this is a 2-core, 4-thread chip with only 4MB of L3 cache. The cache is tiny. When you fire up anything that wants more than two real cores, you'll feel it. Gaming is rough. The gaming score is 43.2 out of 100, and one customer review mentioned it struggled on an MSI H370 Gaming Plus board. The integrated UHD Graphics 630 is fine for video playback and basic display output, but it's not a gaming GPU. Not even close. And the AI score? 31.2 out of 100. This thing was never built for that kind of workload.

The G5500's top competitors in our database are a strange mix. The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is in a completely different universe, that's a flagship gaming chip with 8 cores and 3D V-Cache. Comparing them is almost unfair. The G.Skill Trident Z Neo is RAM, not a CPU, so that's a data quirk. The MICRO CENTER 265KFPRO890WIFI bundle and the PC Server and Parts E5-2697 v2 are both multi-core monsters aimed at completely different buyers. The E5-2697 v2 has 12 cores and 24 threads, which would absolutely crush the G5500 in multi-threaded work. But the Pentium has a much higher single-thread score, so for basic desktop use, it might actually feel snappier. The be quiet! Ryzen 3 Dark Rock Pro 5 is a cooler, not a CPU, so again, data noise. The real takeaway: this Pentium only makes sense if you need a cheap LGA 1151 chip for a 300-series board and you're not doing anything demanding.

Pricing on this chip is all over the place. In Canada, you can find it for CAD 193. In the UK, it's GBP 295. And in Europe, listings range from EUR 372 to EUR 406. Those European prices are frankly absurd for a dual-core Pentium from 2018. You could buy a much newer, much faster CPU for that kind of money. The CAD 193 price is more in line with what this chip should cost, but even then, it's a tough sell. The affordability score sits at the 43rd percentile, which means it's not even a great budget option compared to other CPUs in our database. If you're paying more than CAD 200 for this, you're getting ripped off.

The Pentium Gold G5500 lands in a weird spot. It's a dual-core chip with Hyper-Threading, so you get 4 threads, and it boosts to 4.2GHz. That sounds fine on paper, but the PassMark scores tell the real story: 3865 multi and 2255 single. In our database, that puts multi-thread performance at the 36th percentile. Not great. Single-thread is better at the 65th percentile, which means it can handle basic tasks without feeling completely sluggish. But the moment you ask it to do anything heavy, those two cores start sweating.

The feature score is actually the bright spot here, sitting at the 89th percentile. That's mostly thanks to the integrated UHD Graphics 630 and the included boxed cooler. Intel throws in a thermal solution, which is nice for a budget build. But the efficiency score is 44.1 out of 100, and the 54W TDP on a 14nm process isn't exactly a sipper. It's a chip that makes sense for one specific use case: a cheap office box or a basic home PC that never touches anything demanding.

Skip this if you do anything beyond basic office work. The multi-thread PassMark of 3865 is at the 36th percentile, which means most CPUs in our database beat it. Gamers should look elsewhere, the gaming score is 43.2 out of 100. And if you're seeing European prices of EUR 372 to EUR 406, run. That's highway robbery for a dual-core chip from 2018. Even the CAD 193 price is hard to justify when newer budget CPUs offer way more performance per dollar.

The Pentium Gold G5500 is a chip with a very narrow lane. If you have an old 300-series motherboard lying around and you need a basic CPU for an office PC or a media box, it'll get the job done. The single-thread performance is decent, the integrated graphics mean you don't need a GPU, and the boxed cooler saves you a few bucks. But the multi-thread score of 3865 is a real limitation, and the gaming performance is weak. At CAD 193, it's a maybe. At EUR 372 to EUR 406, it's a hard pass. There are better options for less money in most markets.