Core 2 Duo E4600 vs Core i3-3120M

Place in the ranking	2407	2878
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop processor
Series	Intel Core i3	no data
Power efficiency	2.89	0.72
Architecture codename	Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)	Allendale (2006−2009)
Release date	30 September 2012 (12 years ago)	October 2007 (17 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$160	no data

Detailed specifications

Core i3-3120M and Core 2 Duo E4600 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)	2 (Dual-core)
Threads	4	2
Base clock speed	2.5 GHz	2.4 GHz
Boost clock speed	2.5 GHz	2.4 GHz
Bus rate	5 GT/s	800 MHz
L1 cache	64K (per core)	64 KB
L2 cache	256K (per core)	2 MB
L3 cache	3 MB (shared)	0 KB
Chip lithography	22 nm	65 nm
Die size	118 mm²	111 mm²
Maximum core temperature	90C (PGA); 105C (BGA)	73 °C
Number of transistors	no data	167 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
VID voltage range	no data	0.85V-1.5V

Compatibility

Information on Core i3-3120M and Core 2 Duo E4600 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	1
Socket	FCBGA1023,FCPGA988	LGA775
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i3-3120M and Core 2 Duo E4600. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® AVX	no data
AVX	+	-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
My WiFi	+	no data
Turbo Boost Technology	-	-
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	-
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	+	+
Flex Memory Access	+	no data
Demand Based Switching	-	-
FDI	+	no data
Fast Memory Access	+	no data
FSB parity	no data	-

Security technologies

Core i3-3120M and Core 2 Duo E4600 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	-	-
EDB	+	+
Identity Protection	+	-
Anti-Theft	+	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i3-3120M and Core 2 Duo E4600 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i3-3120M and Core 2 Duo E4600. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR1, DDR2, DDR3
Maximum memory size	32 GB	no data
Max memory channels	2	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	Intel HD Graphics 4000	no data
Quick Sync Video	+	-
Clear Video HD	+	no data
Graphics max frequency	1.1 GHz	no data
InTru 3D	+	no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i3-3120M and Core 2 Duo E4600 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	3	no data
eDP	+	no data
DisplayPort	+	-
HDMI	+	-
SDVO	+	no data
CRT	+	no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i3-3120M and Core 2 Duo E4600.

PCIe version	2.0	no data
PCI Express lanes	16	no 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.

i3-3120M 1.11
+118%

Core 2 Duo E4600 0.51

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.

i3-3120M 1701
+117%

Core 2 Duo E4600 785

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.

i3-3120M 397
+66.1%

Core 2 Duo E4600 239

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.

i3-3120M 818
+113%

Core 2 Duo E4600 384

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	1.11	0.51
Threads	4	2
Chip lithography	22 nm	65 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	35 Watt	65 Watt

i3-3120M has a 117.6% higher aggregate performance score, 100% more threads, a 195.5% more advanced lithography process, and 85.7% lower power consumption.

The Core i3-3120M is our recommended choice as it beats the Core 2 Duo E4600 in performance tests.

Be aware that Core i3-3120M is a notebook processor while Core 2 Duo E4600 is a desktop one.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core i3-3120M and Core 2 Duo E4600, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.