Intel Core2 Duo E8400 vs Intel Core i3-2120T. Specifications, performance, tests

Background information about the processors being compared, series, generation and market segment.

• Segment
  Desktop Desktop / Server
• Family
  Intel Core2 Duo Intel Core i3
• Generation
  2 2
• CPU group
  Intel Core 2 Duo E7000/E8000 Intel Core i 2000
• Predecessor
  No --
• Successor
  No --

Basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base and turbo frequency, and cache size. These parameters indirectly tell about the speed of the processor, the higher they are the better.

• Frequency
  3.00 GHz 2.60 GHz
• CPU Cores
  2 2
• Turbo (1 Core)
  No No turbo
• CPU Threads
  2 4
• Turbo (2 Cores)
  No turbo No turbo
• Hyperthreading
  No Yes
• Overclocking
  Yes No
• Core architecture
  normal normal

Types, channel quantity of RAM supported by Intel Core i3-2120T and Intel Core2 Duo E8400. Depending on the motherboards, higher or lower memory frequencies may be supported.

• Memory type
  DDR2-1066 / DDR3-1333 DDR3-1066DDR3-1333
• Max. Memory
  16 GB 32 GB
• ECC
  No No
• Memory channels
  2 2

• AES-NI
  No Yes

Compare the TDP requirements of TDP Intel Core2 Duo E8400 and Intel Core i3-2120T to select a cooling system. Note, the TDP value refers to thermal watts, not electrical watts.

• TDP (PL1)
  65 W 35 W
• TDP up
  No --
• TDP (PL2)
  No --
• TDP down
  No --
• Tjunction max.
  80 °C --

Architecture, interfaces, additional instructions supported by Intel Core2 Duo E8400 and Intel Core2 Duo E8400, virtual machine technologies and process technology.

• Instruction set (ISA)
  x86-64 (64 bit) x86-64 (64 bit)
• Virtualization
  VT-x VT-x, VT-x EPT
• ISA extensions
  MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE 4.1 SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX
• L2-Cache
  6.00 MB --
• L3-Cache
  No 3.00 MB
• Architecture
  Wolfdale Sandy Bridge S
• Technology
  45 nm 32 nm
• Socket
  LGA 775 LGA 1155
• Release date
  Q1/2008 Q3/2011