Core i3-3120M vs Core 2 Duo E8600

Place in the ranking	2554	2412
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Desktop processor	Laptop
Series	no data	Intel Core i3
Power efficiency	1.27	2.89
Architecture codename	Wolfdale (2008−2010)	Ivy Bridge (2012−2013)
Release date	August 2008 (16 years ago)	30 September 2012 (12 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	no data	$160

Detailed specifications

Core 2 Duo E8600 and Core i3-3120M 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	2	4
Base clock speed	3.33 GHz	2.5 GHz
Boost clock speed	3.33 GHz	2.5 GHz
Bus rate	1333 MHz	5 GT/s
L1 cache	64 KB	64K (per core)
L2 cache	6 MB (shared)	256K (per core)
L3 cache	0 KB	3 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	45 nm	22 nm
Die size	107 mm²	118 mm²
Maximum core temperature	no data	90C (PGA); 105C (BGA)
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	72 °C	no data
Number of transistors	410 million	no data
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
VID voltage range	0.85V-1.3625V	no data

Compatibility

Information on Core 2 Duo E8600 and Core i3-3120M 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	LGA775	FCBGA1023,FCPGA988
Power consumption (TDP)	65 Watt	35 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core 2 Duo E8600 and Core i3-3120M. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	no data	Intel® AVX
AVX	-	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
My WiFi	no data	+
Turbo Boost Technology	-	-
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

Core 2 Duo E8600 and Core i3-3120M technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	-
EDB	+	+
Identity Protection	-	+
Anti-Theft	no data	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core 2 Duo E8600 and Core i3-3120M are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core 2 Duo E8600 and Core i3-3120M. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR1, DDR2, DDR3	DDR3
Maximum memory size	no data	32 GB
Max memory channels	no data	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	no data	25.6 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	no data	Intel HD Graphics 4000
Quick Sync Video	-	+
Clear Video HD	no data	+
Graphics max frequency	no data	1.1 GHz
InTru 3D	no data	+

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core 2 Duo E8600 and Core i3-3120M integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	no data	3
eDP	no data	+
DisplayPort	-	+
HDMI	-	+
SDVO	no data	+
CRT	no data	+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core 2 Duo E8600 and Core i3-3120M.

PCIe version	no data	2.0
PCI Express lanes	no data	16

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.

Core 2 Duo E8600 0.87

i3-3120M 1.07
+23%

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.

Core 2 Duo E8600 1376

i3-3120M 1697
+23.3%

GeekBench 5 Single-Core

GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.

Core 2 Duo E8600 404
+1.3%

i3-3120M 399

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.

Core 2 Duo E8600 663

i3-3120M 819
+23.5%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	0.87	1.07
Threads	2	4
Chip lithography	45 nm	22 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	65 Watt	35 Watt

i3-3120M has a 23% higher aggregate performance score, 100% more threads, a 104.5% more advanced lithography process, and 85.7% lower power consumption.

The Core i3-3120M is our recommended choice as it beats the Core 2 Duo E8600 in performance tests.

Note that Core 2 Duo E8600 is a desktop processor while Core i3-3120M is a notebook one.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core 2 Duo E8600 and Core i3-3120M, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.