Celeron G3900 vs Core i5-3437U

The Celeron G3900 packs 2 cores / 2 threads, matching the Core i5-3437U's 2 cores. Boost clocks reach 2.8 GHz on the Celeron G3900 versus 2.9 GHz on the Core i5-3437U — a 3.5% clock advantage for the Core i5-3437U (base: 2.8 GHz vs 1.9 GHz). The Celeron G3900 uses the Skylake (2015−2016) architecture (14 nm), while the Core i5-3437U uses Ivy Bridge (2012−2013) (22 nm). In PassMark, the Celeron G3900 scores 2,155 against the Core i5-3437U's 2,166 — a 0.5% lead for the Core i5-3437U. Geekbench 6 single-core — the metric most relevant to gaming — records 680 vs 440, a 42.9% lead for the Celeron G3900 that directly translates to higher frame rates. Multi-core Geekbench: 1,250 vs 1,080 (14.6% advantage for the Celeron G3900). L3 cache: 4 MB (total) on the Celeron G3900 vs 3 MB (total) on the Core i5-3437U.

The Celeron G3900 uses the LGA1151 socket (PCIe 3.0), while the Core i5-3437U uses BGA1023 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR4-2133 on the Celeron G3900 versus DDR3-1600 on the Core i5-3437U — the Celeron G3900 supports 28.6% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Celeron G3900 supports up to 64 GB of RAM compared to 32 GB — 66.7% more capacity for professional workloads. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. Both provide 16 PCIe lanes. Chipset compatibility: H110,B150,H170,Z170 (Celeron G3900) and QM77,QS77 (Core i5-3437U).

Neither processor supports overclocking. Both support VT-x, VT-d virtualization. Both include integrated graphics — Intel HD Graphics 510 (Celeron G3900) and Intel HD Graphics 4000 (Core i5-3437U) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Celeron G3900 targets Desktop, Core i5-3437U targets Business Ultrabook. Direct competitor: Celeron G3900 rivals Pentium G4400; Core i5-3437U rivals AMD A8-4555M.