Pentium 3556U vs Core 2 Duo E8400

#ad 
Buy on Amazon
VS

Aggregate performance score

Core 2 Duo E8400
2008
2 cores / 2 threads, 65 Watt
0.73
+9%
Pentium 3556U
2013
2 cores / 2 threads, 15 Watt
0.67

Core 2 Duo E8400 outperforms Pentium 3556U by a small 9% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core 2 Duo E8400 and Pentium 3556U processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking26862750
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentDesktop processorLaptop
Seriesno dataIntel Pentium
Power efficiency1.064.23
Architecture codenameWolfdale (2008−2010)Haswell (2013−2015)
Release date1 January 2008 (16 years ago)1 September 2013 (11 years ago)

Detailed specifications

Core 2 Duo E8400 and Pentium 3556U 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 cores2 (Dual-core)2 (Dual-core)
Threads22
Base clock speed3 GHz1.7 GHz
Boost clock speed3 GHz1.7 GHz
Bus rate1333 MHz5 GT/s
L1 cache64 KB (per core)64K (per core)
L2 cache6 MB (shared)256K (per core)
L3 cache0 KB2 MB (shared)
Chip lithography45 nm22 nm
Die size104 mm2118 mm2
Maximum core temperatureno data100 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)72 °C105 °C
Number of transistors410 million1,400 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
VID voltage range0.85V-1.3625Vno data

Compatibility

Information on Core 2 Duo E8400 and Pentium 3556U 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 configuration11
SocketLGA775FCBGA1168
Power consumption (TDP)65 Watt15 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core 2 Duo E8400 and Pentium 3556U. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsno dataIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Turbo Boost Technology--
Hyper-Threading Technology--
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
Smart Responseno data-
Demand Based Switching-no data
GPIOno data+
Smart Connectno data+
FDIno data-
AMTno data9.5
Matrix Storageno data-
FSB parity-no data
HD Audiono data+
RSTno data+

Security technologies

Core 2 Duo E8400 and Pentium 3556U technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT+-
EDB++
Secure Keyno data+
OS Guardno data-
Anti-Theftno data-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core 2 Duo E8400 and Pentium 3556U are enumerated here.

AMD-V-+
VT-d+-
VT-x++
EPTno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core 2 Duo E8400 and Pentium 3556U. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR1, DDR2, DDR3DDR3
Maximum memory sizeno data16 GB
Max memory channelsno data2
Maximum memory bandwidthno data25.6 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardOn certain motherboards (Chipset feature)Intel HD Graphics for 4th Generation Intel Processors
Clear Videono data+
Graphics max frequencyno data1 GHz

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core 2 Duo E8400 and Pentium 3556U integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supportedno data3
eDPno data+
DisplayPort-+
HDMI-+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core 2 Duo E8400 and Pentium 3556U.

PCIe version2.02.0
PCI Express lanesno data10
PCI supportno data-
USB revisionno data3.0
Total number of SATA portsno data2
Max number of SATA 6 Gb/s Portsno data2
Integrated IDEno data-
Number of USB portsno data4
Integrated LANno data-
UARTno data+

Synthetic benchmark performance

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


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.

Core 2 Duo E8400 0.73
+9%
Pentium 3556U 0.67

Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

Core 2 Duo E8400 1165
+9.8%
Pentium 3556U 1061

GeekBench 5 Single-Core

GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.

Core 2 Duo E8400 370
+22.5%
Pentium 3556U 302

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.

Core 2 Duo E8400 604
+22.5%
Pentium 3556U 493

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 0.73 0.67
Recency 1 January 2008 1 September 2013
Chip lithography 45 nm 22 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 65 Watt 15 Watt

Core 2 Duo E8400 has a 9% higher aggregate performance score.

Pentium 3556U, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 5 years, a 104.5% more advanced lithography process, and 333.3% lower power consumption.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Core 2 Duo E8400 and Pentium 3556U.

Note that Core 2 Duo E8400 is a desktop processor while Pentium 3556U is a notebook one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core 2 Duo E8400 and Pentium 3556U, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
Core 2 Duo E8400
Intel Pentium 3556U
Pentium 3556U

Similar processor comparisons

We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.

Community ratings

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.


3.7 2293 votes

Rate Core 2 Duo E8400 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
2.5 142 votes

Rate Pentium 3556U on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Core 2 Duo E8400 or Pentium 3556U, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.