Core 2 Quad Q6600 (95W) vs Core i5-2540M
Primary details
Comparing Core i5-2540M and Core 2 Quad Q6600 (95W) processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 2160 | not rated |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop processor |
| Series | Intel Core i5 | no data |
| Power efficiency | 4.03 | no data |
| Architecture codename | Sandy Bridge (2011−2013) | Kentsfield (2007) |
| Release date | 1 February 2011 (13 years ago) | 23 July 2007 (17 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $266 | $266 |
Detailed specifications
Core i5-2540M and Core 2 Quad Q6600 (95W) 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 | 4 | 4 |
| Base clock speed | 2.6 GHz | 2.4 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 3.3 GHz | 2.4 GHz |
| Bus type | DMI 2.0 | no data |
| Bus rate | 4 × 5 GT/s | no data |
| Multiplier | 26 | no data |
| L1 cache | 128 KB | 64 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 512 KB | 8 MB (shared) |
| L3 cache | 3 MB (shared) | 0 KB |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 65 nm |
| Die size | 149 mm2 | 2x 143 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 100 °C | no data |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | no data | 62 °C |
| Number of transistors | 624 million | 582 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Core i5-2540M and Core 2 Quad Q6600 (95W) 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 (Uniprocessor) | 1 |
| Socket | FCBGA1023,PPGA988 | 775 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 35 Watt | 95 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i5-2540M and Core 2 Quad Q6600 (95W). You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® AVX | no data |
| AES-NI | + | - |
| FMA | + | - |
| AVX | + | - |
| vPro | + | no data |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| My WiFi | + | no data |
| Turbo Boost Technology | 2.0 | no data |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | no data |
| Idle States | + | no data |
| Thermal Monitoring | + | - |
| Flex Memory Access | + | no data |
| Demand Based Switching | - | no data |
| FDI | + | no data |
| Fast Memory Access | + | no data |
Security technologies
Core i5-2540M and Core 2 Quad Q6600 (95W) technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | no data |
| EDB | + | no data |
| Identity Protection | + | - |
| Anti-Theft | + | no data |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i5-2540M and Core 2 Quad Q6600 (95W) are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | + | - |
| VT-d | + | no data |
| VT-x | + | no data |
| EPT | + | no data |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i5-2540M and Core 2 Quad Q6600 (95W). Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | DDR1, DDR2, DDR3 |
| Maximum memory size | 16 GB | no data |
| Max memory channels | 2 | no data |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 21.335 GB/s | no data |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | Intel HD Graphics 3000 | On certain motherboards (Chipset feature) |
| Quick Sync Video | + | - |
| Clear Video HD | + | no data |
| Graphics max frequency | 1.3 GHz | no data |
| InTru 3D | + | no data |
Graphics interfaces
Available interfaces and connections of Core i5-2540M and Core 2 Quad Q6600 (95W) integrated GPUs.
| Number of displays supported | 2 | no data |
| eDP | + | no data |
| DisplayPort | + | - |
| HDMI | + | - |
| SDVO | + | no data |
| CRT | + | no data |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i5-2540M and Core 2 Quad Q6600 (95W).
| PCIe version | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| PCI Express lanes | 16 | no data |
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 1 February 2011 | 23 July 2007 |
| Physical cores | 2 | 4 |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 65 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 35 Watt | 95 Watt |
i5-2540M has an age advantage of 3 years, a 103.1% more advanced lithography process, and 171.4% lower power consumption.
Core 2 Quad Q6600 (95W), on the other hand, has 100% more physical cores.
We couldn't decide between Core i5-2540M and Core 2 Quad Q6600 (95W). We've got no test results to judge.
Be aware that Core i5-2540M is a notebook processor while Core 2 Quad Q6600 (95W) is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i5-2540M and Core 2 Quad Q6600 (95W), ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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.
