Core 2 Duo E6600 vs Core i7-2600K

Aggregate performance score

Core i7-2600K
2011
4 cores / 8 threads, 95 Watt
3.46
+497%
Core 2 Duo E6600
2 cores / 2 threads, 65 Watt
0.58

Core i7-2600K outperforms Core 2 Duo E6600 by a whopping 497% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core i7-2600K and Core 2 Duo (Desktop) E6600 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking15392806
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation0.40no data
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesIntel Core i7 (Desktop)Core 2 Duo (Desktop)
Power efficiency3.450.84
Architecture codenameSandy Bridge (2011−2013)Conroe (2006−2007)
Release date9 January 2011 (13 years ago)no data (2024 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$317no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Core i7-2600K and Core 2 Duo (Desktop) E6600 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 cores4 (Quad-Core)2 (Dual-core)
Threads82
Base clock speed3.4 GHzno data
Boost clock speed3.8 GHz2.4 GHz
Bus rate5 GT/s1066 MHz
L1 cache64 KB (per core)no data
L2 cache256K (per core)no data
L3 cache8 MB (shared)no data
Chip lithography32 nm65 nm
Die size216 mm2no data
Maximum core temperature73 °Cno data
Number of transistors1,160 millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
Unlocked multiplier+-

Compatibility

Information on Core i7-2600K and Core 2 Duo (Desktop) E6600 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 configuration1no data
SocketLGA1155no data
Power consumption (TDP)95 Watt65 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-2600K and Core 2 Duo (Desktop) E6600. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2, Intel® AVXno data
AES-NI+-
AVX+-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)+no data
Turbo Boost Technology+no data
Hyper-Threading Technology+no data
Idle States+no data
Thermal Monitoring+-
Flex Memory Access+no data
FDI+no data
Fast Memory Access+no data

Security technologies

Core i7-2600K and Core 2 Duo (Desktop) E6600 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

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

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core i7-2600K and Core 2 Duo (Desktop) E6600 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-2600K and Core 2 Duo (Desktop) E6600. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3no data
Maximum memory size32 GBno data
Max memory channels2no data
Maximum memory bandwidth21 GB/sno data

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardIntel HD Graphics 3000no data
Quick Sync Video+-
Clear Video HD+no data
Graphics max frequency1.35 GHzno data
InTru 3D+no data

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core i7-2600K and Core 2 Duo (Desktop) E6600 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported2no data

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-2600K and Core 2 Duo (Desktop) E6600.

PCIe version2.0no data
PCI Express lanes16no 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.

i7-2600K 3.46
+497%
Core 2 Duo E6600 0.58

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.

i7-2600K 5492
+498%
Core 2 Duo E6600 919

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.

i7-2600K 667
+154%
Core 2 Duo E6600 263

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.

i7-2600K 2293
+446%
Core 2 Duo E6600 420

Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core

Cinebench R10 is an ancient ray tracing benchmark for processors by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. Its single core version uses just one CPU thread to render a futuristic looking motorcycle.

i7-2600K 4809
+95.3%
Core 2 Duo E6600 2462

Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.

i7-2600K 18608
+296%
Core 2 Duo E6600 4698

3DMark06 CPU

3DMark06 is a discontinued DirectX 9 benchmark suite from Futuremark. Its CPU part contains two scenarios, one dedicated to artificial intelligence pathfinding, another to game physics using PhysX package.

i7-2600K 6669
+225%
Core 2 Duo E6600 2052

wPrime 32

wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.

i7-2600K 10.5
+245%
Core 2 Duo E6600 36.2

Cinebench 11.5 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 11.5 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R11.5 which uses all the processor threads. A maximum of 64 threads is supported in this version.

i7-2600K 7
+401%
Core 2 Duo E6600 1

Cinebench 15 64-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 15 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R15 which uses all the processor threads.

i7-2600K 614
+424%
Core 2 Duo E6600 117

Cinebench 15 64-bit single-core

Cinebench R15 (standing for Release 15) is a benchmark made by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. It was superseded by later versions of Cinebench, which use more modern variants of Cinema 4D engine. The Single Core version (sometimes called Single-Thread) only uses a single processor thread to render a room full of reflective spheres and light sources.

i7-2600K 129
+108%
Core 2 Duo E6600 62

TrueCrypt AES

TrueCrypt is a discontinued piece of software that was widely used for on-the-fly-encryption of disk partitions, now superseded by VeraCrypt. It contains several embedded performance tests, one of them being TrueCrypt AES, which measures data encryption speed using AES algorithm. Result is encryption speed in gigabytes per second.

i7-2600K 3.3
+1841%
Core 2 Duo E6600 0.2

x264 encoding pass 2

x264 Pass 2 is a slower variant of x264 video compression that produces a variable bit rate output file, which results in better quality since the higher bit rate is used when it is needed more. Benchmark result is still measured in frames per second.  

i7-2600K 37
+361%
Core 2 Duo E6600 8

x264 encoding pass 1

x264 version 4.0 is a video encoding benchmark uses MPEG 4 x264 compression method to compress a sample HD (720p) video. Pass 1 is a faster variant that produces a constant bit rate output file. Its result is measured in frames per second, which means how many frames of the source video file were encoded per second.  

i7-2600K 145
+239%
Core 2 Duo E6600 43

WinRAR 4.0

WinRAR 4.0 is an outdated version of a popular file archiver. It contains an internal speed test, using 'Best' setting of RAR compression on large chunks of randomly generated data. Its results are measured in kilobytes per second.

i7-2600K 3486
+197%
Core 2 Duo E6600 1173

Geekbench 2

i7-2600K 7754
+168%
Core 2 Duo E6600 2898

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 3.46 0.58
Physical cores 4 2
Threads 8 2
Chip lithography 32 nm 65 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 95 Watt 65 Watt

i7-2600K has a 496.6% higher aggregate performance score, 100% more physical cores and 300% more threads, and a 103.1% more advanced lithography process.

Core 2 Duo E6600, on the other hand, has 46.2% lower power consumption.

The Core i7-2600K is our recommended choice as it beats the Core 2 Duo E6600 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-2600K and Core 2 Duo E6600, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core i7-2600K
Core i7-2600K
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
Core 2 Duo E6600

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