Core 2 Quad Q6600 vs Xeon X5680
Aggregate performance score
Xeon X5680 outperforms Core 2 Quad Q6600 by a whopping 275% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Xeon X5680 and Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q6600 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 1356 | 2375 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 4.41 | no data |
| Market segment | Server | Desktop processor |
| Series | no data | Core 2 Quad (Desktop) |
| Power efficiency | 3.14 | 1.04 |
| Architecture codename | Westmere-EP (2010−2011) | Kentsfield (2007) |
| Release date | 14 February 2010 (14 years ago) | no data (2024 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $172 | no data |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Xeon X5680 and Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q6600 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 | 6 (Hexa-Core) | 4 (Quad-Core) |
| Threads | 12 | 4 |
| Base clock speed | 3.33 GHz | no data |
| Boost clock speed | 3.6 GHz | 2.4 GHz |
| Bus rate | no data | 1066 MHz |
| L1 cache | 64 KB (per core) | no data |
| L2 cache | 256 KB (per core) | no data |
| L3 cache | 12 MB (shared) | no data |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 65 nm |
| Die size | 239 mm2 | no data |
| Maximum core temperature | 79 °C | no data |
| Number of transistors | 1,170 million | no data |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Xeon X5680 and Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q6600 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 | 2 | no data |
| Socket | FCLGA1366,LGA1366 | no data |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 130 Watt | 105 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon X5680 and Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q6600. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® SSE4.2 | no data |
| AES-NI | + | - |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | no data |
| Turbo Boost Technology | 1.0 | no data |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | no data |
| Idle States | + | no data |
| Demand Based Switching | + | no data |
| PAE | 40 Bit | no data |
Security technologies
Xeon X5680 and Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q6600 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | no data |
| EDB | + | no data |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Xeon X5680 and Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q6600 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 Xeon X5680 and Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q6600. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3 | no data |
| Maximum memory size | 288 GB | no data |
| Max memory channels | 3 | no data |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 32 GB/s | no data |
| ECC memory support | + | - |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon X5680 and Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q6600.
| PCIe version | 2.0 | 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 4.31 | 1.15 |
| Physical cores | 6 | 4 |
| Threads | 12 | 4 |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 65 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 130 Watt | 105 Watt |
Xeon X5680 has a 274.8% higher aggregate performance score, 50% more physical cores and 200% more threads, and a 103.1% more advanced lithography process.
Core 2 Quad Q6600, on the other hand, has 23.8% lower power consumption.
The Xeon X5680 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core 2 Quad Q6600 in performance tests.
Be aware that Xeon X5680 is a server/workstation processor while Core 2 Quad Q6600 is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon X5680 and Core 2 Quad Q6600, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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