Intel Pentium G3250 socket: LGA 1150

What the Pentium G3250 is

The Pentium G3250 is a standard power Haswell Pentium for budget towers on LGA 1150. Intel set two cores and two threads at 3.2 GHz with 3 MB of Smart Cache. Power is 53 W on 22 nm from July 2014. Fixed frequency without turbo gives steady office performance.

At 3.2 GHz the chip feels quick in single thread work such as documents, mail and web apps. Three megabytes of cache trim memory waits versus Celeron parts. Two threads bound video exports and heavy multitasking, but an SSD keeps daily use responsive. The 53 W rating suits mid towers with stock cooling and low noise.

Intel HD Graphics for 4th Generation processors from 350 MHz to 1.1 GHz drives office monitors. DDR3-1333 and DDR3L-1333 in two channels to 32 GB feed the cores. ECC support with business boards helps always on terminals. It is a plain Haswell socket with wide board choice.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The G3250 fits LGA 1150 on 8 series boards including H81, B85, H87 and Z87, and on 9 series boards including H97 and Z97. Haswell is native on both series, so most boards accept it with shipping firmware. Check the maker list for the exact board, since some OEM models need a newer BIOS for late 2014 SKUs.

The 75 × 75 mm cooler pattern matches nearby LGA sockets for broad cooler fit. The CPU cooler compatibility by socket guide lists options. Chips for LGA 1155 and LGA 1151 never fit. The Socket vs chipset: what decides whether a CPU works guide covers chipset pairing.

H81 is the value host with two DIMMs and a single x16 slot. B85 adds ports for office fleets. Either runs the G3250 at full 3.2 GHz.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

DDR3-1333 and DDR3L-1333 across two channels to 32 GB is the memory spec. Eight gigabytes covers office images. Dual channel pairs aid graphics in meetings. ECC DIMMs work on business chipsets where boards wire the feature.

Sixteen PCIe 3.0 lanes from the CPU serve graphics or add in cards. Most G3250 PCs use integrated video and keep lanes for network or storage adapters. Chipset PCIe 2.0 lanes handle extra SATA and USB. A low profile card fits slim towers where cooling allows.

Stock Intel cooling for 53 W handles 3.2 GHz quietly in towers. The package is 37.5 × 37.5 mm FCLGA1150. Keep airflow over the VRM for stable all day use.

Upgrade paths

On the same socket the Intel Pentium G3440 at 3.3 GHz adds 100 MHz on identical boards and coolers. The Intel Core i3-4150 at 3.5 GHz with four threads adds Hyper-Threading for heavier multitasking. Both reuse DDR3, so board CPU support is the only check.

A shift to DDR4 needs a new socket and board. The G3250 holds budget Haswell towers where 3.2 GHz dual core work suffices.