Core 2 Quad Q8400 vs Xeon E5-2660

VS

Aggregate performance score

Xeon E5-2660
2012
8 cores / 16 threads, 95 Watt
5.14
+295%
Core 2 Quad Q8400
2009
4 cores / 4 threads, 95 Watt
1.30

Xeon E5-2660 outperforms Core 2 Quad Q8400 by a whopping 295% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Xeon E5-2660 and Core 2 Quad Q8400 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking11982268
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation6.78no data
Market segmentServerDesktop processor
Power efficiency5.121.30
Architecture codenameSandy Bridge-EP (2012)Yorkfield (2007−2009)
Release date6 March 2012 (12 years ago)19 April 2009 (15 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$85no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance per price, higher is better.

no data

Detailed specifications

Xeon E5-2660 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 cores8 (Octa-Core)4 (Quad-Core)
Threads164
Base clock speed2.2 GHz2.66 GHz
Boost clock speed3 GHz0.67 GHz
Bus rate8 GT/s1333 MHz
L1 cache64 KB (per core)64 KB (per core)
L2 cache256 KB (per core)4 MB (shared)
L3 cache20480 KB (shared)0 KB
Chip lithography32 nm45 nm
Die size435 mm22x 82 mm2
Maximum core temperature73 °Cno data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data71 °C
Number of transistors2,270 million456 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
VID voltage rangeno data0.85V-1.3625V

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E5-2660 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 configuration21
SocketFCLGA2011FCLGA775,LGA775
Power consumption (TDP)95 Watt95 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E5-2660 and Core 2 Quad Q8400. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® AVXno data
AES-NI+-
AVX+-
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Turbo Boost Technology2.0-
Hyper-Threading Technology+-
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
Flex Memory Access-no data
Demand Based Switching+-
FSB parityno data-

Security technologies

Xeon E5-2660 and Core 2 Quad Q8400 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT+-
EDB++

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon E5-2660 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 E5-2660 and Core 2 Quad Q8400. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3DDR1, DDR2, DDR3
Maximum memory size384 GBno data
Max memory channels4no data
Maximum memory bandwidth51.2 GB/sno data
ECC memory support+-

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardno dataOn certain motherboards (Chipset feature)

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E5-2660 and Core 2 Quad Q8400.

PCIe version3.02.0
PCI Express lanes40no 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.

Xeon E5-2660 5.14
+295%
Core 2 Quad Q8400 1.30

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.

Xeon E5-2660 8167
+295%
Core 2 Quad Q8400 2067

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.

Xeon E5-2660 457
+39.3%
Core 2 Quad Q8400 328

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.

Xeon E5-2660 2713
+203%
Core 2 Quad Q8400 896

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 5.14 1.30
Recency 6 March 2012 19 April 2009
Physical cores 8 4
Threads 16 4
Chip lithography 32 nm 45 nm

Xeon E5-2660 has a 295.4% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, 100% more physical cores and 300% more threads, and a 40.6% more advanced lithography process.

The Xeon E5-2660 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core 2 Quad Q8400 in performance tests.

Be aware that Xeon E5-2660 is a server/workstation processor while Core 2 Quad Q8400 is a desktop one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E5-2660 and Core 2 Quad Q8400, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Xeon E5-2660
Xeon E5-2660
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400
Core 2 Quad Q8400

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Community ratings

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Questions & comments

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