Xeon E5640 vs Core 2 Duo E8600

Primary details

Comparing Core 2 Duo E8600 and Xeon E5640 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	2447	1698
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	1.78	0.85
Market segment	Desktop processor	Server
Architecture codename	Wolfdale (2008−2010)	Westmere-EP (2010−2011)
Release date	August 2008 (15 years ago)	16 March 2010 (14 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	no data	$49
Current price	$48	$68 (1.4x MSRP)

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Core 2 Duo E8600 has 109% better value for money than Xeon E5640.

Detailed specifications

Core 2 Duo E8600 and Xeon E5640 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 cores	2 (Dual-core)	4 (Quad-Core)
Threads	2	8
Base clock speed	3.33 GHz	2.66 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.33 GHz	2.93 GHz
L1 cache	64 KB	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	6 MB (shared)	256 KB (per core)
L3 cache	0 KB	12 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	45 nm	32 nm
Die size	107 mm2	239 mm2
Maximum core temperature	72 °C	78 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	72 °C	no data
Number of transistors	410 million	1,170 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	No	No
VID voltage range	0.85V-1.3625V	no data

Compatibility

Information on Core 2 Duo E8600 and Xeon E5640 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 configuration	1	2
Socket	LGA775	FCLGA1366,LGA1366
Power consumption (TDP)	65 Watt	80 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core 2 Duo E8600 and Xeon E5640. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	no data	Intel® SSE4.2
AES-NI	-	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	-	1.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	-	+
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	+	-
Demand Based Switching	-	+
PAE	no data	40 Bit
FSB parity	-	no data
Status	Discontinued	Discontinued

Security technologies

Core 2 Duo E8600 and Xeon E5640 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 Xeon E5640 are enumerated here.

VT-d	+	+
VT-x	+	+
EPT	no data	+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core 2 Duo E8600 and Xeon E5640. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR1, DDR2, DDR3	DDR3
Maximum memory size	no data	288 GB
Max memory channels	no data	3
Maximum memory bandwidth	no data	25.6 GB/s
ECC memory support	no data	+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core 2 Duo E8600 and Xeon E5640.

PCIe version

no data

2.0

Synthetic benchmark performance

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

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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.

Xeon E5640 outperforms Core 2 Duo E8600 by 169% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	0.89	2.39
Physical cores	2	4
Threads	2	8
Chip lithography	45 nm	32 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	65 Watt	80 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core 2 Duo E8600 and Xeon E5640, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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