Core 2 Quad Q8400 vs Xeon E3-1290

Primary details

Comparing Xeon E3-1290 and Core 2 Quad Q8400 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking	1550	2266
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.49	no data
Market segment	Server	Desktop processor
Power efficiency	3.41	1.30
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)	Yorkfield (2007−2009)
Release date	29 May 2011 (13 years ago)	19 April 2009 (15 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$885	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Detailed specifications

Xeon E3-1290 and Core 2 Quad Q8400 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)	4 (Quad-Core)
Threads	8	4
Base clock speed	3.6 GHz	2.66 GHz
Boost clock speed	4 GHz	0.67 GHz
Bus rate	no data	1333 MHz
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	4 MB (shared)
L3 cache	8 MB (shared)	0 KB
Chip lithography	32 nm	45 nm
Die size	216 mm2	2x 82 mm2
Maximum core temperature	57 °C	no data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	71 °C
Number of transistors	1,160 million	456 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
VID voltage range	no data	0.85V-1.3625V

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E3-1290 and Core 2 Quad Q8400 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	LGA1155	FCLGA775,LGA775
Power consumption (TDP)	95 Watt	95 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E3-1290 and Core 2 Quad Q8400. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVX	no data
AES-NI	+	-
AVX	+	-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	-
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

Xeon E3-1290 and Core 2 Quad Q8400 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	-
EDB	+	+
Identity Protection	+	-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E3-1290 and Core 2 Quad Q8400 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E3-1290 and Core 2 Quad Q8400. 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	21 GB/s	no data
ECC memory support	+	-

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 Xeon E3-1290 and Core 2 Quad Q8400.

PCIe version	2.0	2.0
PCI Express lanes	20	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.

---

Pros & cons summary

---

Performance score	3.42	1.30
Recency	29 May 2011	19 April 2009
Threads	8	4
Chip lithography	32 nm	45 nm

---

Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E3-1290 and Core 2 Quad Q8400, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.

---