Intel Celeron G5925 2-core LGA 1200

The Intel Celeron G5925 is a budget dual-core desktop CPU that handles basic tasks like web browsing and office work fine, but struggles with multitasking and can't game at all. At $56-60 in the US it's a reasonable stopgap for existing LGA 1200 builds, but European pricing is wildly inflated. No cooler is included, so factor that into your budget.

In our database, the G5925 posts a PassMark multi-thread score of 2881 and a single-thread score of 2246. That single-thread number lands around the 65th percentile for desktop CPUs, which sounds okay until you remember this is a 2-core chip competing against processors with 6, 8, or 16 cores. The multi-thread score sits at the 30th percentile, which is about what you'd expect from a dual-core in 2025. For basic tasks like launching apps, loading web pages, and running Office, it feels responsive enough. But open 15 browser tabs while a Windows update runs in the background and you'll feel the ceiling fast.

The 4MB of L3 cache helps a bit with everyday snappiness, and the 58W TDP means it runs cool and quiet in small form factor builds. But the lack of hyper-threading means those 2 cores are all you get, and the 1.1GHz boost clock is essentially meaningless since the base clock is already 3.6GHz. The integrated UHD Graphics 610 handles 1080p video playback and basic desktop rendering fine, but it's a weak spot for anything beyond that. Our efficiency score of 38.2/100 reflects the reality that you're getting very little performance per watt compared to modern budget chips.

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is in a completely different universe, with 6 cores, 12 threads, and modern Zen 5 architecture. It costs several times more, but the performance gap is even larger than the price gap. If you can stretch your budget at all, even a used Ryzen 5 3600 will run circles around the G5925 for around the same money on the used market. The Dell Xeon E5-2637 V2 and PC Server and Parts E5-2697 v2-cr are old server chips that show up in this price range, and while they're also dated, they offer more cores and threads for heavy multitasking. The trade-off is higher power draw and no integrated graphics.

For pure budget builds, the G5925's real competition is other Celeron and Pentium chips from the same era, plus used Ryzen 3 and Core i3 parts. The G5920 is essentially the same chip with a 3.5GHz base clock instead of 3.6GHz, so if you find that cheaper, grab it. The be quiet! Ryzen 3 Dark Rock Pro 5 and Thermal Grizzly Ryzen 7 CSF-AM5 are coolers, not CPUs, so they're not direct comparisons, but they do highlight that you'll need to factor in a cooling solution since this chip ships bare.

At $56-60 in the US, the G5925 is a reasonable buy if you already have an LGA 1200 motherboard and just need a working CPU. But that's a big if. The platform is dead, Intel moved on to LGA 1700 and now LGA 1851, so you're not building a new system around this chip. If you're starting from scratch, a used Ryzen 3 or even a newer budget Intel chip will give you far more performance per dollar. The CAD 80 price is tolerable, but the EUR 214 and GBP 156 listings are frankly insulting. Nobody should pay that for a dual-core Celeron in 2025.

The Intel Celeron G5925 is a budget dual-core desktop processor from Intel's Comet Lake lineup, built on the aging 14nm process. It sits at the very bottom of the LGA 1200 stack, aimed at basic office PCs, point-of-sale systems, and light home use. Pricing is all over the map depending on where you shop, with US listings around $56-60, Canadian listings near CAD 80, and some European listings asking absurd amounts like EUR 214 or GBP 156. If you're paying anywhere near those European prices, stop and walk away. This is a $60 chip, not a $200 one.

People searching for this CPU usually want to know two things: is it good enough for everyday computing, and can it handle gaming? The short answers are yes and absolutely not. With 2 cores, 2 threads, and a 3.6GHz base clock, it handles web browsing, email, spreadsheets, and video streaming without much fuss. But there's no turbo boost to speak of, and the integrated UHD Graphics 610 is about as basic as integrated graphics get.

One thing to watch: the retail box does not include a thermal solution. Some listings and Q&A answers claim a cooler is included, but Intel's official spec says no. If you're buying this bare chip, budget another $15-25 for a basic LGA 1200 cooler unless you already have one lying around.

Skip the G5925 if you're building a new PC from scratch, want to play games, or need to run demanding applications like video editing or 3D rendering. The dual-core design is a hard ceiling, and the LGA 1200 platform is a dead end with no upgrade path to newer Intel chips. If you need more performance on a budget, look at used Ryzen 3 or Core i3 parts instead. And if you're shopping in Europe where this chip lists for EUR 214 or GBP 156, absolutely skip it, that's a terrible deal for what you're getting.

Should you buy the Intel Celeron G5925? Only if you already own an LGA 1200 motherboard, need a cheap CPU to get it running, and your expectations are firmly set to 'basic computing only.' At $56-60, it's a functional stopgap for an office PC or a home server that just needs to exist. The integrated graphics mean you don't need a separate GPU, and the 58W TDP keeps things cool and quiet.

But if you're building a new system, or you want to do anything beyond web browsing and document editing, look elsewhere. The dual-core design is a real limitation in 2025, and the lack of a bundled cooler adds hidden cost. Our user sentiment score of 8th percentile tells the story: people who buy this chip don't love it, they tolerate it. It's a tool for a specific job, and that job is 'cheapest possible CPU for an LGA 1200 board.'