Celeron G6900 vs Core i5-3450

The Celeron G6900 packs 2 cores / 2 threads, while the Core i5-3450 offers 4 cores / 4 threads — the Core i5-3450 has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 3.4 GHz on the Celeron G6900 versus 3.5 GHz on the Core i5-3450 — a 2.9% clock advantage for the Core i5-3450 (base: 3.4 GHz vs 3.1 GHz). The Celeron G6900 uses the Alder Lake-S (2022) architecture (Intel 7 nm), while the Core i5-3450 uses Ivy Bridge (2012−2013) (22 nm). In PassMark, the Celeron G6900 scores 4,458 against the Core i5-3450's 4,517 — a 1.3% lead for the Core i5-3450. L3 cache: 4 MB (total) on the Celeron G6900 vs 6144 kB (total) on the Core i5-3450.

The Celeron G6900 uses the LGA1700 socket (PCIe 5.0), while the Core i5-3450 uses LGA1155 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard. Maximum memory speed reaches DDR5-4800 on the Celeron G6900 versus 1600 on the Core i5-3450 — the Core i5-3450 supports 198.8% faster memory, which can translate to measurable gains in memory-sensitive workloads. The Celeron G6900 supports up to 128 GB of RAM compared to 32 — 120% more capacity for professional workloads. Both feature 2-channel memory with ECC support. PCIe lanes: 20 (Celeron G6900) vs 16 (Core i5-3450) — the Celeron G6900 offers 4 more lanes for additional GPUs or NVMe drives.

Virtualization support: VT-x (Celeron G6900) vs true (Core i5-3450). Both include integrated graphics — UHD Graphics 710 (Celeron G6900) and Intel HD Graphics 2500 (Core i5-3450) — useful as a fallback for troubleshooting or display output without a dedicated GPU. Primary use case: Celeron G6900 targets Budget. Direct competitor: Celeron G6900 rivals Pentium Gold G7400.

The Celeron G6900 launched at $52 MSRP, while the Core i5-3450 debuted at $184. At current prices ($77 vs $95), the Celeron G6900 is $18 cheaper. In terms of value (PassMark points per dollar), the Celeron G6900 delivers 57.9 pts/$ vs 47.5 pts/$ for the Core i5-3450 — making the Celeron G6900 the 19.6% better value option.