Core i5-660 vs Core 2 Duo E8600

Aggregate performance score

Core 2 Duo E8600
2008
2 cores / 2 threads, 65 Watt
0.87
Core i5-660
2010
2 cores / 4 threads, 73 Watt
1.51
+73.6%

Core i5-660 outperforms Core 2 Duo E8600 by an impressive 74% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core 2 Duo E8600 and Core i5-660 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking25522137
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluationno data0.10
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
Power efficiency1.271.96
Architecture codenameWolfdale (2008−2010)Clarkdale (2010−2011)
Release dateAugust 2008 (16 years ago)7 January 2010 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$70

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core 2 Duo E8600 and Core i5-660 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)
Threads24
Base clock speed3.33 GHz3.33 GHz
Boost clock speed3.33 GHz3.6 GHz
Bus rate1333 MHz2.5 GT/s
L1 cache64 KB64 KB (per core)
L2 cache6 MB (shared)256 KB (per core)
L3 cache0 KB4 MB (shared)
Chip lithography45 nm32 nm
Die size107 mm281 mm2
Maximum core temperatureno data73 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)72 °Cno data
Number of transistors410 million382 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
VID voltage range0.85V-1.3625Vno data

Compatibility

Information on Core 2 Duo E8600 and Core i5-660 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
SocketLGA775FCLGA1156
Power consumption (TDP)65 Watt73 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core 2 Duo E8600 and Core i5-660. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsno dataIntel® SSE4.2
AES-NI-+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Turbo Boost Technology-1.0
Hyper-Threading Technology-+
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring+-
Demand Based Switching--
PAEno data36 Bit
FDIno data+
FSB parity-no data

Security technologies

Core 2 Duo E8600 and Core i5-660 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT++
EDB++

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core 2 Duo E8600 and Core i5-660 are enumerated here.

VT-d++
VT-x++
EPTno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core 2 Duo E8600 and Core i5-660. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR1, DDR2, DDR3DDR3
Maximum memory sizeno data16.38 GB
Max memory channelsno data2
Maximum memory bandwidthno data21 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardno dataIntel® HD Graphics for Previous Generation Intel® Processors
Clear Video HDno data+

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core 2 Duo E8600 and Core i5-660 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supportedno data2

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core 2 Duo E8600 and Core i5-660.

PCIe versionno data2.0
PCI Express lanesno data16

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 E8600 0.87
i5-660 1.51
+73.6%

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 E8600 1380
i5-660 2397
+73.7%

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 E8600 404
i5-660 487
+20.5%

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 E8600 663
i5-660 988
+49%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 0.87 1.51
Threads 2 4
Chip lithography 45 nm 32 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 65 Watt 73 Watt

Core 2 Duo E8600 has 12.3% lower power consumption.

i5-660, on the other hand, has a 73.6% higher aggregate performance score, 100% more threads, and a 40.6% more advanced lithography process.

The Core i5-660 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core 2 Duo E8600 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core 2 Duo E8600 and Core i5-660, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core 2 Duo E8600
Core 2 Duo E8600
Intel Core i5-660
Core i5-660

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Community ratings

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


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Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Core 2 Duo E8600 or Core i5-660, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.