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[nextpage title=”Introduction”]
Entry-level CPUs are used in budget computers aimed at office applications and simple domestic tasks, like text editing and web surfing. Today, we will compare two processors from this class: the AMD A6-7400B and the Pentium G4400 “Skylake” from Intel. Which one will be faster? Let’s find out!
The A6-7400B from AMD is, actually, a model sold directly to computer manufacturers, which means you will not find it being sold alone in retail, but only inside branded computers. Its full name is actually “A6 PRO-7400B;” however, according to AMD, it is the same A6-7400K processor (except for this last one, as any AMD CPU ending with a “K,” having its clock multiplier unlocked for easy overclocking). So, the performance analysis of the A6-7400B is also valid for the A6-7400K, which is a retail CPU. The PRO models from AMD (models ending with a B) are aimed on enterprise applications, but their only differences from the “normal” models are regarding to warranty and purchase channel. AMD also offers a set of features for TI managing, called AMD PRO, but those features are only available on enterprise motherboards.
The A6-7400B we tested (as well as the A6-7400K) has two cores, 3.5 GHz base clock, 3.9 GHz turbo clock, Radeon R5 graphics engine, and uses FM2+ socket.
On the Intel corner, we tested the Pentium G4400, which is one of the most inexpensive models from the sixth generation of the Core i family, codenamed “Skylake.” It is a dual-core CPU with 3.3 GHz clock and Intel HD 510 graphics engine, and uses the new LGA 1151 socket.
Figure 1 shows the tested CPUs, side by side. They are direct competitors, having the same price tag.
Figure 1: the A6-7400B (left) and the Pentium G4400 (right)
Figure 2 shows the Pentium G4400 with its box and stock cooler. The A6-7400B comes without package or cooler, since it is aimed on OEM market.
Figure 2: the Pentium G4400 processor
We also included in our performance charts the A10-7870 and the Core i3-6100 that we tested recently. Besides being processors from a higher price range, they are the stronger brothers of the A6-7400B and the Pentium G4400, respectively. Therefore, we thought it would be interesting to check the performance difference between the mainstream CPUs and their less expensive versions.
Let us compare the main specs of the reviewed CPUs in the next page.
[nextpage title=”The Reviewed CPUs”]
In the tables below, we compare the main features of the CPUs included in our review.
| CPU | Cores | HT | IGP | Internal Clock | Turbo Clock | Core | Tech. | TDP | Socket | Price |
|
A6-7400B |
2 |
No |
Yes |
3.5 GHz |
3.9 GHz |
Kaveri |
28 nm |
65 W |
FM2+ |
USD 65* |
|
Pentium G4400 |
2 |
No |
Yes |
3.3 GHz |
– |
Skylake |
14 nm |
54 W |
LGA1151 |
USD 65 |
|
A10-7870K |
4 |
No |
Yes |
3.9 GHz |
4.1 GHz |
Godavari |
28 nm |
95 W |
FM2+ |
USD 135 |
|
Core i3-6100 |
2 |
Yes |
Yes |
3.7 GHz |
– |
Skylake |
14 nm |
51 W |
LGA1151 |
USD 130 |
Prices were researched at Newegg.com on the day this article was published. TDP means Thermal Design Power, the maximum amount of heat the CPU can dissipate.
* This price refers to the A6-7400K model.
Below you can see the memory configuration for each CPU.
| CPU | L2 Cache | L3 Cache | Memory Support | Memory Channels |
|
A6-7400B |
1 MiB |
– | Up to DDR3-1866 | Two |
|
Pentium G4400 |
2 x 256 kiB |
3 MiB |
Up to DDR4-2133 or DDR3L-1600 |
Two |
|
A10-7870K |
2 x 2 MiB | – | Up to DDR3-2133 | Two |
|
Core i3-6100 |
2 x 256 kiB |
3 MiB |
Up to DDR4-2133 or DDR3L-1600 |
Two |
Below we have a comparison of the graphic engine of each CPU.
| CPU | GPU | DirectX | Clock | Cores |
| A6-7400B | Radeon R5 |
11.2 | 756 MHz |
256 |
|
Pentium G4400 |
Intel HD 510 |
12 |
350/1,000 MHz |
12 |
|
A10-7870K |
Radeon R7 |
12 | 866 MHz |
512 |
|
Core i3-6100 |
Intel HD 530 |
12 |
350/1,050 MHz |
24 |
[nextpage title=”How We Tested”]
During our benchmarking sessions, we used the configuration listed below. Between our benchmarking sessions, the only variable device was the CPU being tested, besides the motherboard and memory, which had to be replaced to match the different CPUs.
Hardware Configuration
- Motherboard (socket LGA1151): ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K6+
- Motherboard (socket FM2+): ASRock FM2A88X Extreme6+
- CPU Cooler: Intel/AMD stock
- Memory (DDR3): 8 GiB DDR3-2133, two G.Skill Ripjaws F3-17000CL9Q-16GBZH 4 GiB memory modules configured at 2,133 MHz
- Memory (DDR4): 8 GiB DDR4-2400 two G.Skill Ripjaws 4 F4-2400C15Q-16GRR 4 GiB memory modules configured at 2133 MHz
- Boot drive: Kingston HyperX Savage 480 GB
- Video Card: integrated
- Video Monitor: Philips 236VL
- Power Supply: Corsair CX500M
Operating System Configuration
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
- NTFS
- Video resolution: 1920 x 1080 60 Hz
Driver Versions
- AMD driver version: 15.11
- Intel Inf chipset driver version: 10.0
Software Used
- 3DMark 1.5.915
- Adobe Photoshop CC + Retouch Artist Speed Test 1.0
- Cinebench R15
- DivX 10.2.4
- DVD Shrink 3.2
- Media Espresso 6.7
- PCMark 8 2.4.304
- Battlefield 4
- Dirt Rally
- GTA V
Error Margin
We adopted a 4% error margin. Thus, differences below 4% cannot be considered relevant. In other words, products with a performance difference below 4% should be considered as having similar performance.
[nextpage title=”PCMark 8″]
PCMark 8 is a benchmarking software that uses real-world applications to measure the computer performance. We ran three tests: Home, which includes web browsing, writing, light gaming, photo editing, and video chat tests; Creative, which includes web surfing, video editing, group video chat, video conversion, and gaming; and Work, which runs tasks such as writing documents, web browsing, spreadsheets, editing, and video chatting. Let’s see the results.
On the Home benchmark, the Pentium G4400 was 27% faster than the A6-7400B.
On Creative benchmark, the Pentium G4400 was 42% faster than the A6-7400B.
On the Work benchmark, the Pentium G4400 was 23% faster than the A6-7400B.
[nextpage title=”3DMark”]
3DMark is a program with a set of several 3D benchmarks. Sky Diver measures DirectX 11 performance, and is aimed on average computers. The Cloud Gate benchmark measures DirectX 10 performance, and the Ice Storm Extreme measures DirectX 9 performance and is targeted to entry-level computers.
On the Sky Diver benchmark, the A6-7400B was 46% faster than the Pentium G4400.
On Cloud Gate, the Pentium G4400 was 9% faster than the A6-7400B.
On the Ice Storm Extreme benchmark, the A6-7400B was 21% faster than the Pentium G4400.
[nextpage title=”Photoshop CC and Cinebench R15″]
Photoshop CC
The best way to measure the performance of a CPU is by using real programs. The problem, of course, is to create a methodology that offers precise results. For Photoshop CC we used a script named “Retouch Artist Speed Test,” which applies a series of filters to a standard image and gives the time Photoshop takes to run all of them. The results are given in seconds, so the less, the best.
In this test, the Pentium G4400 was 124% faster than the A6-7400B.
Cinebench R15
Cinebench R15 is based on the Cinema 4D software. It is very useful to measure the performance gain obtained by the presence of several processing cores while rendering heavy 3D images. Rendering is an area where a bigger number of cores helps a lot, because usually this kind of software recognize several processors (Cinebench R15, for example, can use up to 256 processing cores).
We ran the CPU benchmark, which renders a complex image using all the processing cores (real and virtual) to speed up the process. The result is given as a score.
Here the Pentium G4400 was 85% faster than the A6-7400B.
[nextpage title=”Video encoding”]
DivX
We used the DivX converter, a tool included in the DivX package, in order to measure the encoding performance using this codec. The DivX codec is capable of recognizing and using all available cores and the SSE4 instruction set.
We converted a Full HD, six-minute long .mov video file into a .avi file, using the “HD 1080p” output profile. The results below are given in seconds, so the lower the better.
On DivX encoding, the Pentium G4400 was 57% faster than the A6-7400B.
DVDShrink
DVDShrink is an old but still very useful program to “shrink” video DVDs that have more than 4.7 GiB of data to fit single-layer DVD media. We used it to compress the DVD of “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” DVD to 4.7 GiB. The results below are given in seconds, so the lower the better.
On this test, the Pentium G4400 was 47% faster than the A6-7400B.
Media Espresso
Media Espresso is a video conversion program that uses the graphics processing unit of the video engine to speed up the conversion process. We converted a 1 GiB, 1920x1080i, 23,738 kbps, .mov video file to a smaller 320×200, H.264, .MP4 file for viewing on a smartphone. The results below are given in seconds, so the lower the better.
Here the Pentium G4400 was 41% faster than the A6-7400B.
[nextpage title=”Gaming Performance”]
Battlefield 4
Battlefield 4 is the latest installment in the Battlefield franchise, released in 2013. It is based on the Frostbite 3 engine, which is DirectX 11. In order to measure performance using this game, we walked our way through the first mission, measuring the number of frames per second three times using FRAPS. We ran this game at 1280 x 720, setting overall image quality at “low.”
The results below are expressed in frames per second (fps) and they are the mean between the three collected results.
On Battlefield 4, the A6-7400B was 62% faster than the Pentium G4400.
Dirt Rally
Dirt Rally is an off-road racing game released in April 2015, using Ego engine. To measure performance using this game, we ran the performance test included in the game, in 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) resolution and image quality configured as “low” and MSAA off.
The results below are expressed in frames per second.
In this game, the A6-7400B was 29% faster than the Pentium G4400.
Grand Theft Auto V
Grand Theft Auto V, or simply GTA V, is an open-world action game released for PCs in April of 2015, using the RAGE engine. In order to measure the performance on this game, we ran the performance test of the game, measuring the framerate with FRAPS. We ran GTA V at 1280 x 720, with image quality set to the minimum.
The results below are expressed in frames per second.
On GTA V, both CPUs had similar performances.
[nextpage title=”Conclusions”]
In our most recent reviews where we compared value and mainstream CPUs from AMD and Intel, like the A10-7870K vs. Core i3-6100, or the A8-7670K vs. Pentium G3460, the conclusion was the same: the Intel competitor offered a little more CPU processing power, while the AMD model had a better GPU.
However, in this value CPUs comparison, the conclusion changed a little: while the Pentium G4400 shown a performance that was only a little below the Core i3-6100, and, in some cases, even higher than the A10-7870K, the A6-7400B presented a far lower performance than its brother in several benchmarks.
Even the GPU of the A6-7400B was frustrating, because even with a better graphics engine than the Pentium G4400, the overall gaming performance was limited by the reduced processing power.
Anyway, the user that is looking for a low cost CPU like the A6-7400B (or the A6-7400K, which is the version available in retail) or a Pentium G4400 is not looking for a processor for performance demanding tasks. Therefore, for simple applications like text editing, web surfing or media playing, any of the two CPUs can handle the job flawlessly.