Intel Celeron G3950 Review

Budget Desktop processor released in 2017 with 2 cores and 2 threads. With base clock at 3GHz, max speed at 3GHz, and a 51W power rating. Celeron G3950 is based on the Kaby Lake-S 14nm family and part of the Celeron series.
Price 72%
Speed 44%
Productivity 26%
Gaming 65%
Category Desktop
Target budget
Socket Compatibility LGA1151
Integrated Graphics Intel HD Graphics 610
Cooler Included No
Overclock Potential 0 %
Year 2017 Model
Price 52 USD
Number of Cores 2 Cores
Number of Threads 2 Threads
Core Frequency 3 GHz
Boost Frequency 3 GHz
Max Stable Overclock 3 GHz
Power Consumption 51 W
Manufacturing Process 14 nm
L3 Cache 2 MB
Maximum Supported Memory 64 GB
Price-Value Score 72 %
Speed Score 44 %
Productivity Score 26 %
Gaming Score 65 %
Max 1080p Bottleneck 69.6 %
Max 1440p Bottleneck 34.8 %
Max 4K Bottleneck 17.4 %
Overall Score 30/100

The Celeron G3950 is one of Intel's budget Desktop processors. It was released in 2017 with 2 cores and 2 threads. With base clock at 3GHz, max speed at 3GHz, and a 51W power rating. The Celeron G3950 is based on the Kaby Lake-S 14nm family and is part of the Celeron series.

As the higher-priced version of the Celeron G3930, the Celeron G3950 has higher base and Boost frequencies of 3 and 3 GHz, respectively. That's an increase in base frequency and a bump to boost clocks, but the real advantage should lay in the higher Package Power Tracking (PPT) envelope, which is a measurement of the maximum amount of power delivered to the socket. The Celeron G3930's PPT tops out at 51W, while the motherboard can pump up to 142W to the Celeron G3950 at peak performance. That opens up much more aggressive boost behavior, on both single and multiple cores, that could widen the performance gap beyond what we see on the spec sheet.

If extended overclocking and boost frequencies are trivial matters to you, Intel also offers the Celeron G3930 at $42. It’s still outfitted with 2-cores and 2-threads, but clocks in at a slower 2.9GHz and maxes out at only 2.9GHz.

That said, to squeeze out all the potential of this surprisingly potent budget chip, you’ll want (and need) to splurge on an enthusiast-grade Z270, Z370, Z390 motherboard.

Which GPU to Pick for Intel Celeron G3950

Below is a comparison of all graphics cards average FPS performance (using an average of 80+ games at ultra quality settings), combined with the Intel Celeron G3950.

Graphics Card Price Cost Per Frame Avg 1080p Avg 1440p Avg 4K
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 24GB $ 1,599 $ 13.3 120.3 FPS
197.4 FPS
158.5 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Ti 20GB $ 799 $ 7.1 112.2 FPS
184.2 FPS
147.9 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24GB $ 999 $ 9.2 108.6 FPS
174.9 FPS
127.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 16GB $ 1,199 $ 11.5 104.2 FPS
171 FPS
137.3 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti 12GB $ 799 $ 8 100.2 FPS
164.2 FPS
131.8 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB $ 899 $ 9.1 98.7 FPS
159 FPS
116.1 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 24GB $ 1,499 $ 16 93.7 FPS
148.3 FPS
112.1 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT 16GB $ 1,099 $ 12.3 89.7 FPS
144.5 FPS
105.5 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti 24GB $ 1,999 $ 22.7 88.2 FPS
144.7 FPS
116.2 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT 16GB $ 999 $ 11.4 87.8 FPS
139.8 FPS
103.9 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT 16GB $ 649 $ 7.8 82.7 FPS
131.6 FPS
97.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 20GB $ 799 $ 9.8 81.7 FPS
131.8 FPS
103.3 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 10GB $ 699 $ 8.6 81.6 FPS
129.2 FPS
97.7 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 12GB $ 599 $ 7.6 78.8 FPS
126.1 FPS
100 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 10GB $ 599 $ 8.5 70.1 FPS
111.8 FPS
86 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 6800 16GB $ 579 $ 8.8 65.5 FPS
104.2 FPS
77.5 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8GB $ 499 $ 8 62.5 FPS
98.9 FPS
74.7 FPS
NVIDIA TITAN RTX 24GB $ 2,499 $ 43.5 57.4 FPS
93.7 FPS
71.3 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11GB $ 1,299 $ 23.3 55.8 FPS
91.3 FPS
69.4 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT 12GB $ 479 $ 8.7 55.1 FPS
88.4 FPS
64.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB 8GB $ 399 $ 7.4 54.2 FPS
87.9 FPS
68.5 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8GB $ 399 $ 7.8 51.2 FPS
83.2 FPS
64.1 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8GB $ 699 $ 13.8 50.7 FPS
82 FPS
62 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT 8GB $ 399 $ 8.2 48.9 FPS
78.7 FPS
58.8 FPS
NVIDIA TITAN V 12GB $ 2,999 $ 61.7 48.6 FPS
79.4 FPS
61.6 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB $ 299 $ 6.2 48.5 FPS
79.1 FPS
61.6 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 7600 8GB $ 269 $ 5.5 48.5 FPS
78.2 FPS
58.3 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 8GB $ 699 $ 14.6 47.9 FPS
76.7 FPS
57.5 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT 8GB $ 379 $ 8.3 45.9 FPS
73.5 FPS
54.6 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB $ 759 $ 16.9 44.9 FPS
73.2 FPS
55.3 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8GB $ 499 $ 11.2 44.6 FPS
70.6 FPS
53.3 FPS
NVIDIA TITAN Xp 12GB $ 1,199 $ 27.3 44 FPS
70.6 FPS
54.6 FPS
AMD Radeon VII 16GB $ 699 $ 15.9 44 FPS
70.1 FPS
52.1 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB $ 399 $ 9.3 42.9 FPS
68.2 FPS
50.7 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 8GB $ 499 $ 11.8 42.3 FPS
66 FPS
50.5 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 8GB $ 200 $ 4.7 42.3 FPS
68.2 FPS
53.1 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB $ 329 $ 7.8 42 FPS
66.6 FPS
50.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER 8GB $ 400 $ 10 40 FPS
61.4 FPS
46.2 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 5700 8GB $ 349 $ 8.9 39.3 FPS
62.6 FPS
46.4 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 8GB $ 499 $ 13.1 38.1 FPS
59.8 FPS
44.5 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB $ 350 $ 9.3 37.7 FPS
56.5 FPS
41.7 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT 6GB $ 279 $ 7.5 37.1 FPS
58.5 FPS
43.3 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 295X2 4GB $ 1,499 $ 42 35.7 FPS
55.3 FPS
43.8 FPS
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 8GB $ 499 $ 14 35.6 FPS
56.8 FPS
42 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB $ 409 $ 11.6 35.3 FPS
55.4 FPS
41.1 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti 6GB $ 249 $ 7.2 34.6 FPS
53.8 FPS
40.7 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X 12GB $ 999 $ 29 34.4 FPS
53.2 FPS
39.6 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB $ 279 $ 8.3 33.6 FPS
52.7 FPS
39.1 FPS
AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 8GB $ 399 $ 11.9 33.4 FPS
53.1 FPS
39.4 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB $ 399 $ 12.3 32.5 FPS
50.6 FPS
37.3 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6GB $ 229 $ 7.2 31.7 FPS
49.8 FPS
37 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB $ 649 $ 21.7 29.9 FPS
46.7 FPS
34.6 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 6GB $ 220 $ 7.4 29.8 FPS
46.8 FPS
34.7 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 590 8GB $ 279 $ 9.9 28.3 FPS
43.1 FPS
31.3 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 FURY X 4GB $ 649 $ 23.9 27.2 FPS
44.3 FPS
33.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4GB $ 160 $ 6.2 26 FPS
40.6 FPS
30.1 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GB 8GB $ 199 $ 7.7 25.7 FPS
39.2 FPS
28.4 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4GB $ 549 $ 21.4 25.6 FPS
39.6 FPS
29.6 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB $ 229 $ 9.1 25.1 FPS
38.2 FPS
27.5 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 Nano 4GB $ 649 $ 26.3 24.7 FPS
39.6 FPS
30 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK 6GB $ 999 $ 41.8 23.9 FPS
36.7 FPS
28.5 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 FURY 4GB $ 549 $ 23.6 23.3 FPS
37.3 FPS
27.9 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB $ 254 $ 10.9 23.3 FPS
35.7 FPS
26.5 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 4GB 4GB $ 169 $ 7.3 23.1 FPS
35.2 FPS
25.4 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 390X 8GB $ 429 $ 19.1 22.5 FPS
35.8 FPS
26.9 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB 3GB $ 170 $ 7.7 22.1 FPS
34 FPS
25.2 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB $ 329 $ 15.2 21.7 FPS
33 FPS
25.5 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 480 8GB $ 400 $ 19 21.1 FPS
33.3 FPS
25.3 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 390 8GB $ 329 $ 15.7 21 FPS
32.7 FPS
23.1 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 570 4GB $ 169 $ 8.2 20.7 FPS
32.2 FPS
23.4 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB $ 149 $ 7.5 19.8 FPS
30.8 FPS
22.8 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 470 4GB $ 179 $ 9.7 18.5 FPS
28.9 FPS
21.4 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 380X 4GB $ 229 $ 14.8 15.5 FPS
24.1 FPS
18.2 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 285 2GB $ 249 $ 17.8 14 FPS
21.7 FPS
15.4 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 380 2GB $ 199 $ 14.4 13.8 FPS
21.4 FPS
15.4 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB $ 169 $ 12.4 13.6 FPS
21.2 FPS
15.7 FPS
AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB $ 279 $ 20.7 13.5 FPS
21.2 FPS
14.8 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 2GB $ 199 $ 15 13.3 FPS
20.6 FPS
15.1 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 3GB $ 169 $ 14.6 11.6 FPS
17.9 FPS
13 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 560 4GB $ 99 $ 9.3 10.7 FPS
16.4 FPS
11.9 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 2GB $ 159 $ 15.1 10.5 FPS
16 FPS
12.1 FPS
AMD Radeon R7 370 2GB $ 149 $ 14.5 10.3 FPS
15.1 FPS
11.5 FPS
AMD Radeon R7 265 2GB $ 149 $ 14.5 10.3 FPS
14.6 FPS
11.1 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 460 4GB $ 140 $ 14.7 9.5 FPS
14.5 FPS
10.6 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB $ 149 $ 16.2 9.2 FPS
12.5 FPS
9.5 FPS
AMD Radeon RX 550 2GB $ 79 $ 10.5 7.5 FPS
11.5 FPS
8.4 FPS
NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030 2GB $ 79 $ 11 7.2 FPS
10.9 FPS
7.7 FPS

Related Discussions and Issues

S
Stingray88 August 10, 2019

Looking for help picking the right 64GB (4x16GB) memory kit for a Ryzen 3950 build

I'm looking to build a Ryzen 3950X based build in September when it comes out, most likely with the X570 Aorus Master.

So far, I'm leaning toward this kit - https://www.gskill.com/product/165/184/1536137188/F4-3200C14Q-64GVK-Overview

It's listed on the QVL on Gigabyte's website, likewise the Aorus Master is on the QVL on G.Skill's site. 3200MHz and CL14-14-14-34 so its pretty great right out of the gate. Plus it's only $529 on Newegg right now, where as most similar kits I'm seeing are in the $700-900 range, so not a bad price either.

Realistically I should be able to run this kit at 3200MHz CL14 with no issues, but I'm wondering if it's likely I'll be able to overclock to 3600MHz or 3733MHz, hitting that performance sweet spot for the Ryzen 3000 series, while still maintaining the tight timing and running stable... OR is there a better kit out there that I'm not finding that is similarly priced?

This build is going to be used for work (After Effects, Premiere, Cinema 4D) as well as gaming, so going down to 32GB just to hit my performance goals isn't something I want to do.

H
hz7gbs August 18, 2019

Actually, the way the Ryzen memory controller works it could even be difficult to hit 3200 at 64GB as Ryzen only supports those high speeds at one dimm per channel. I'm also wondering because the Corsair 64GB ddr4-3200 kit is listed on the crosshair viii qvl list. I'm buying my new build today and can report if it works as expected.

S
Stingray88 August 16, 2019

Thanks in advance for anything you can report back!

I wonder if I should buy one of those new 2x32GB kits instead, maybe that would have an easier time overclocking?

Edit: lol nevermind. Those kits are all very slow.

J
jassycliq August 17, 2019

I'm running 64gb of Ballistix Sport at 3200 as we speak. My 1700x ran them just fine with tighter timings as well I believe it was c14 or whatever the ryzen calculator spat out. Currently with my 3900x I'm having other issues so I'm just running them at 3200 with stock timing but once again, no actual problem with the ram itself.

P
pcmasteracesoldier March 30, 2020

Please help me with my Ryzen 9 3950 Build for next week

*Budget:up to 2300-2500$

*I plan on gaming/3D model/Video/image Editing/Alot of multitasking/heavy usage for both work and entertainment for long hours/etc

*I already have a mouse/monitor/keyboard/and a 1060 6GB EVGA GPU I plan to move to my new build to save money

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/wvzGx6 This is the list I made so far based on a recommendation from a microcenter rep, I plan to get all my parts from microcenter since I'm in the area for another week.

I already got the Ryzen 9 3950x and this Taichi x570 motherboard but I'm not sure if it's that good I can still return it but it's not a very common name brand mobo so I'm still very nervous about what I want for this build but I'd really like to finish it up without worrying about if I got something wrong or something low quality. I can put a basic custom rig together but I've never installed the new type of SSDs but I would like to use the gen3 samsung or whichever ones are most recommended because I know there's not alot of good gen4s out atm. But yeah please treat this like as if it was your own build because this needs to last me for a LONG time since I'll be spending this much on it and I plan to upgrade the GPU in the future too.

C
clupean March 12, 2020

The ASRock Taichi is good.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type Item Price CPU AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 3.5 GHz 16-Core Processor $749.00 @ Amazon CPU Cooler Corsair H150i PRO 47.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler $174.99 @ Amazon Motherboard ASRock X570 Taichi ATX AM4 Motherboard $295.99 @ B&H Memory G.Skill Trident Z Neo 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory $179.99 @ Newegg Storage Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive $87.99 @ Amazon Storage HP EX920 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive $119.99 @ Amazon Video Card EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6 GB SSC GAMING Video Card Purchased For $0.00 Case Lian Li PC-O11 Dynamic ATX Full Tower Case $139.00 @ Adorama Power Supply Corsair RM (2019) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply $119.99 @ Best Buy Operating System Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit $99.99 @ B&H Monitor Asus VG278Q 27.0" 1920x1080 144 Hz Monitor $0.00 Keyboard Corsair K70 RGB MK.2 Wired Gaming Keyboard $0.00 Mouse Razer DeathAdder Elite Wired Optical Mouse $0.00 Headphones Razer Kraken 7.1 V2 7.1 Channel Headset $0.00 Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts Total $1966.93 Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-01-19 04:09 EST-0500
P
pdsingh08 March 24, 2020

Your build looks good.

I will make just 2 change.

Upgrade ddr4 to 3600Mhz kit.

Since there are 3 m.2 slots on the motherboard, I would from the sata ssd and get cheap intel 660p or crucial p1.

M
morgancon March 24, 2020

Hey mate, nice build. If your using for hard usage your going to need something like an RTX 2070 super or 2080 super. For the 2070 I recommend the Gigiabyte wind force model (as it is £100 cheaper than an ASUs one)

A
acedelgado March 30, 2020

The taichi is made by asrock who have been in the game for a long while, and they're known to be good boards. They're just not as big as asus or gigabyte. It's a keeper.

You'll need to buy at least 3 case fans, the O11 dynamic comes with precisely zero. There's 9 120mm fan slots total, but your aio will take 3 of them. You'll be fine with just 3 more, but if you really want to you can load the whole thing up.

With lots of work instead of the Samsung evo I'd go with a sabrent rocket or inland premium nvme drive. They perform better and have a higher rated lifetime writes than the evo. And they're cheaper. I have both - https://i.imgur.com/ZgVoVu6.png

Also buy a better quality psu. Now that the holiday sales are gone the Phanteks Amp is back to being one of the best psu's for the price. It's made by seasonic and has a 10 year warranty. Much higher quality than a cxm for $10 more.

M
Mx2Interests May 01, 2020

Ryzen 9 3950 Machine Running Sub-Par? Need Advice / Help

New to the sub and looking for some help guys. I built this PC about a month ago and I am experiencing some issues. Please let me know your thoughts to see if these maybe Windows or hardware issues. I would like to think that a $3,000+ system should not be experiencing these issues.

Thank you for the help!

Issues:

- Occasionally extremely slow (15+ seconds) opening file manager

- Downloads from Chrome slow to show/don't show at all in file manager

- Horrible FPS drops while playing - Wolcen (COD is fine)

- 5 or 6 blue screen windows crashes (all different error codes)

Complete build: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/43Qn9G

Monitors (four of them): - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N2L5CXO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

Overclocking: 22% CPU overclocked using AMD software / RAM is running at 3600

N
Nex1080 April 07, 2020

CPU temperature? My first guess would be CPU throttling due to too much heat which shouldn’t be a problem if the AIO was installed correctly and with thermal paste.

Do these problems also occur when your processor runs at its stock speed?

M
Mx2Interests April 15, 2020

My temps are always within range. I will keep an eye on it. Thank you for the input

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Critics Reviews

Intel Celeron G3950 ⭐ review. Discover the key facts and see how Intel Celeron G3950 performs in the CPU ranking.
Celeron G3950 processor released by Intel; release date: January 2017. At the time of release, the processor cost $126. The processor is designed for desktop-computers and based on Kaby Lake microarchitecture.
Intel Celeron G3950 3.0GHz Socket 1151 Box CPUs - showing user reviews.