Core 2 Duo E6420 vs Xeon L3406
Aggregate performance score
Xeon L3406 outperforms Core 2 Duo E6420 by a considerable 43% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
Comparing processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 3008 | 3189 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Server | Desktop processor |
| Power efficiency | 2.25 | 0.73 |
| Designer | Intel | Intel |
| Architecture codename | no data | Conroe (2006−2007) |
| Release date | 1 January 2010 (15 years ago) | April 2007 (18 years ago) |
Detailed specifications
Xeon L3406 and Core 2 Duo E6420 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) | 2 (Dual-core) |
| Threads | 4 | 2 |
| Base clock speed | 2.26 GHz | 2.13 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 2.53 GHz | 2.13 GHz |
| Bus rate | no data | 1066 MHz |
| L1 cache | no data | 64 KB |
| L2 cache | no data | 4 MB |
| L3 cache | 4 MB Intel® Smart Cache | 0 KB |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 65 nm |
| Die size | no data | 111 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 54 °C | 60 °C |
| Number of transistors | no data | 167 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
| VID voltage range | no data | 0.85V-1.5V |
Compatibility
Information on Xeon L3406 and Core 2 Duo E6420 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 | FCLGA1156 | PLGA775 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 30 Watt | 65 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon L3406 and Core 2 Duo E6420. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® SSE4.2 | no data |
| 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 | - |
Security technologies
Xeon L3406 and Core 2 Duo E6420 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | - |
| EDB | + | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon L3406 and Core 2 Duo E6420 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 L3406 and Core 2 Duo E6420. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3-1066 | DDR1, DDR2, DDR3 |
| Maximum memory size | 16.38 GB | no data |
| Max memory channels | 2 | no data |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 17 GB/s | no data |
| ECC memory support | + | - |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon L3406 and Core 2 Duo E6420.
| PCIe version | 2.0 | no data |
| PCI Express lanes | 16 | no data |
Synthetic benchmarks
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.
Passmark
Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance. Other than that, Passmark measures multi-core performance.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 0.63 | 0.44 |
| Threads | 4 | 2 |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 65 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 30 Watt | 65 Watt |
Xeon L3406 has a 43.2% higher aggregate performance score, 100% more threads, a 103.1% more advanced lithography process, and 116.7% lower power consumption.
The Intel Xeon L3406 is our recommended choice as it beats the Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 in performance tests.
Be aware that Xeon L3406 is a server/workstation processor while Core 2 Duo E6420 is a desktop one.
Other comparisons
We've compiled a selection of CPU comparisons, ranging from closely matched processors to other comparisons that may be of interest.
