Core 2 Duo E6400 vs Core i7-960

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-960 and Core 2 Duo E6400 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	1778	not rated
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	1.01	no data
Market segment	Desktop processor	Desktop processor
Series	Core i7 (Desktop)	no data
Architecture codename	Bloomfield (2008−2010)	Conroe (2006−2007)
Release date	October 2009 (14 years ago)	July 2006 (18 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$316	no data
Current price	$130 (0.4x MSRP)	$52

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Core i7-960 and Core 2 Duo E6400 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	4 (Quad-Core)	2 (Dual-core)
Threads	8	2
Base clock speed	3.2 GHz	2.13 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.46 GHz	2.13 GHz
Bus support	1333 MHz	no data
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	64 KB
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	2 MB
L3 cache	8 MB (shared)	0 KB
Chip lithography	45 nm	65 nm
Die size	263 mm2	143 mm2
Maximum core temperature	68 °C	61 °C
Number of transistors	731 million	291 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	No	No
VID voltage range	no data	0.85V-1.5V

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-960 and Core 2 Duo E6400 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	FCLGA1366	LGA775,PLGA775
Power consumption (TDP)	130 Watt	65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-960 and Core 2 Duo E6400. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.2	no data
AES-NI	-	-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	1.0	-
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	-
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	-	+
Demand Based Switching	-	-
PAE	36 Bit	no data
FSB parity	no data	-
Status	Discontinued	Discontinued

Security technologies

Core i7-960 and Core 2 Duo E6400 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	-
EDB	+	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-960 and Core 2 Duo E6400 are enumerated here.

VT-x	+	+
EPT	+	no data

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-960 and Core 2 Duo E6400. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR1, DDR2, DDR3
Maximum memory size	24 GB	no data
Max memory channels	3	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	no data
ECC memory support	-	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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Pros & cons summary

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Physical cores	4	2
Threads	8	2
Chip lithography	45 nm	65 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	130 Watt	65 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-960 and Core 2 Duo E6400, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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