Pentium Gold 6500Y vs i7-6500U

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-6500U and Pentium Gold 6500Y processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	1902	1979
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Series	Intel Core i7	no data
Power efficiency	12.99	35.94
Architecture codename	Skylake (2015−2016)	Amber Lake-Y (2018−2021)
Release date	1 September 2015 (9 years ago)	1 March 2021 (3 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$393	no data

Detailed specifications

Core i7-6500U and Pentium Gold 6500Y basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores	2 (Dual-core)	2 (Dual-core)
Threads	4	4
Base clock speed	2.5 GHz	1.1 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.1 GHz	3.4 GHz
Bus type	OPI	no data
Bus rate	4 GT/s	4 GT/s
Multiplier	25	no data
L1 cache	128 KB	128 KB
L2 cache	512 KB	512 KB
L3 cache	4 MB	4 MB
Chip lithography	14 nm	14 nm
Die size	98.57 mm2	no data
Maximum core temperature	100 °C	100 °C
Number of transistors	1750 Million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	+

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-6500U and Pentium Gold 6500Y compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configuration	1 (Uniprocessor)	1
Socket	FCBGA1356	BGA1515
Power consumption (TDP)	15 Watt	5 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-6500U and Pentium Gold 6500Y. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2
AES-NI	+	+
FMA	-	+
AVX	+	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Speed Shift	no data	+
My WiFi	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	+
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	+	+
Flex Memory Access	+	+
Smart Response	+	no data

Security technologies

Core i7-6500U and Pentium Gold 6500Y technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	-	-
EDB	+	+
Secure Key	+	+
MPX	+	+
Identity Protection	+	+
SGX	Yes with Intel® ME	no data
OS Guard	+	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-6500U and Pentium Gold 6500Y are enumerated here.

AMD-V	+	-
VT-d	+	+
VT-x	+	+
EPT	+	+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-6500U and Pentium Gold 6500Y. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3, DDR4	DDR3
Maximum memory size	32 GB	16 GB
Max memory channels	2	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	34.134 GB/s	33.3 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card Compare	Intel HD Graphics 520	Intel UHD Graphics 615
Max video memory	32 GB	16 GB
Quick Sync Video	+	+
Clear Video	+	+
Clear Video HD	+	+
Graphics max frequency	1.05 GHz	900 MHz
Execution Units	no data	23
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-6500U and Pentium Gold 6500Y integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	3	3
eDP	+	+
DisplayPort	+	+
HDMI	+	+
DVI	+	+

Graphics image quality

Maximum display resolutions supported by Core i7-6500U and Pentium Gold 6500Y integrated GPUs, including resolutions over different interfaces.

4K resolution support	+	+
Max resolution over HDMI 1.4	4096x2304@24Hz	4096x2304@24Hz
Max resolution over eDP	4096x2304@60Hz	3840x2160@60Hz
Max resolution over DisplayPort	4096x2304@60Hz	3840x2160@60Hz
Max resolution over VGA	N/A	no data

Graphics API support

APIs supported by Core i7-6500U and Pentium Gold 6500Y integrated GPUs, sometimes API versions are included.

DirectX	12	12
OpenGL	4.5	4.5

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-6500U and Pentium Gold 6500Y.

PCIe version	3.0	3.0
PCI Express lanes	12	10

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.

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Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	2.06	1.90
Integrated graphics card	2.16	1.98
Recency	1 September 2015	1 March 2021
Power consumption (TDP)	15 Watt	5 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-6500U and Pentium Gold 6500Y, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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