Core 2 Duo E8400 vs Xeon E5-1620

Primary details

Comparing Xeon E5-1620 and Core 2 Duo E8400 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking	1371	2537
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	4.22	1.86
Market segment	Server	Desktop processor
Architecture codename	Sandy Bridge-E (2011−2013)	Wolfdale (2008−2010)
Release date	March 2012 (12 years ago)	1 January 2008 (16 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$313	no data
Current price	$44 (0.1x MSRP)	$67

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

Xeon E5-1620 has 127% better value for money than Core 2 Duo E8400.

Detailed specifications

Xeon E5-1620 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	4 (Quad-Core)	2 (Dual-core)
Threads	8	2
Base clock speed	3.6 GHz	3 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.8 GHz	3 GHz
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	6 MB (shared)
L3 cache	10240 KB (shared)	0 KB
Chip lithography	32 nm	45 nm
Die size	294 mm2	104 mm2
Maximum core temperature	64 °C	72 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	72 °C
Number of transistors	1270 million	410 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
Unlocked multiplier	No	No
VID voltage range	no data	0.85V-1.3625V

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E5-1620 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)	130 Watt	65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E5-1620 and Core 2 Duo E8400. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	Intel® AVX	no data
AES-NI	+	-
AVX	+	no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	2.0	-
Hyper-Threading Technology	+	-
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	+	+
Flex Memory Access	-	no data
Demand Based Switching	+	-
FSB parity	no data	-
Status	Discontinued	Discontinued

Security technologies

Xeon E5-1620 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 Xeon E5-1620 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 Xeon E5-1620 and Core 2 Duo E8400. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR3	DDR1, DDR2, DDR3
Maximum memory size	375 GB	no data
Max memory channels	4	no data
Maximum memory bandwidth	51.2 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 Xeon E5-1620 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.

Xeon E5-1620 outperforms Core 2 Duo E8400 by 405% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

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Pros & cons summary

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Performance score	3.79	0.75
Physical cores	4	2
Threads	8	2
Chip lithography	32 nm	45 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	130 Watt	65 Watt

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Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E5-1620 and Core 2 Duo E8400, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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