Core 2 Duo E8400 vs Core i7-5960X

General info

Comparing Core i7-5960X and Core 2 Duo E8400 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	838	2529
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Value for money	6.66	1.86
Market segment	Desktop processor	Desktop processor
Series	Core i7 (Desktop)	no data
Architecture codename	Haswell-E (2014)	Wolfdale (2008−2010)
Release date	1 September 2014 (9 years ago)	1 January 2008 (16 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$999	no data
Current price	$140 (0.1x MSRP)	$67

Value for money

Performance per price, higher is better.

i7-5960X has 258% better value for money than Core 2 Duo E8400.

Technical specs

Core i7-5960X and Core 2 Duo E8400 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	8 (Octa-Core)	2 (Dual-core)
Threads	16	2
Base clock speed	3 GHz	3 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.5 GHz	3 GHz
L1 cache	64K (per core)	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256K (per core)	6 MB (shared)
L3 cache	20 MB (shared)	0 KB
Chip lithography	22 nm	45 nm
Die size	356 mm2	104 mm2
Maximum core temperature	67 °C	72 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	72 °C
Number of transistors	2,600 million	410 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	Yes	No
VID voltage range	no data	0.85V-1.3625V

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-5960X and Core 2 Duo E8400 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	FCLGA2011	LGA775
Power consumption (TDP)	140 Watt	65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-5960X and Core 2 Duo E8400. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX2	no data
AES-NI	+	-
AVX	+	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	-
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	-
TSX	+	no data
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	+	+
Smart Response	+	no data
Demand Based Switching	-	-
FSB parity	no data	-
Status	Discontinued	Discontinued

Security technologies

Core i7-5960X and Core 2 Duo E8400 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	+
EDB	+	+
Identity Protection	+	no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-5960X and Core 2 Duo E8400 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-5960X and Core 2 Duo E8400. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR4	DDR1, DDR2, DDR3
Maximum memory size	64 GB	no data
Max memory channels	4	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	68 GB/s	no data
ECC memory support	-	no data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card

no data

On certain motherboards (Chipset feature)

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-5960X and Core 2 Duo E8400.

PCIe version	3.0	2.0
PCI Express lanes	40	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.

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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.

Core i7-5960X outperforms Core 2 Duo E8400 by 989% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

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Advantages and disadvantages

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Performance score	8.17	0.75
Recency	1 September 2014	1 January 2008
Physical cores	8	2
Threads	16	2
Chip lithography	22 nm	45 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	140 Watt	65 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-5960X and Core 2 Duo E8400, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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