Winner
Intel Core i3 2120
CPUBoss recommends the Intel Core i3 2120 based on its performance, single-core performance and value.
See full details Intel Core2 Duo E8400 vs Core i3 2120 |
Released January, 2008
Intel Core2 Duo E8400
- 3 GHz
- Dual core
5 Out of 10
Reasons to buy the Intel Core2 Duo E8400
 | Much more l2 cache 6 MB | | Much more l2 cache per core 3 MB/core |
| | Supports trusted computing Yes | | Significantly better overclocked clock speed (Air) 4.23 GHz |
by Anthony-Garreffa (Sep, 2012)Your GPU setup is more than good enough to run Battlefield 3 at medium-to-high settings at 1920x1080, so I would suggest waiting and upgrading to an Ivy Bridge setup.
VS
Released January, 2011
Intel Core i3 2120
- 3.3 GHz
- Dual core
7.1 Out of 10
Reasons to buy the Core i3 2120
| | Has a built-in GPU Yes | | Much newer manufacturing process 32 nm |
| | Much better PassMark score 3,869 | | Higher clock speed 3.3 GHz |
by Legit Reviews (Jul, 2011)Getting the base clock up to 104MHz was enough to boost the CPU core clock speed by nearly 130MHz and running the processor at 3.43GHz did bring a nice performance boost.
CPUBoss Review Our evaluation of E8400 vs 2120 among desktop CPUs (45 to 75W)
Performance | |
Benchmark performance using all cores | |
| PCMark 8 Home 3.0 Accelerated, PassMark and 1 more | |
Single-core Performance | |
Individual core benchmark performance | |
| PassMark (Single Core), Geekbench 3 Single Core and 1 more | |
Integrated Graphics | |
Integrated GPU performance for graphics | |
| Fire Strike | |
Integrated Graphics (OpenCL) | |
Integrated GPU performance for parallel computing | |
| CompuBench 1.5 Bitcoin mining and 4 more | |
Performance per Watt | |
How efficiently does the processor use electricity? | |
| Fire Strike, CompuBench 1.5 Bitcoin mining and 11 more | |
Value | |
Are you paying a premium for performance? | |
| Fire Strike, CompuBench 1.5 Bitcoin mining and 11 more | |
| 7.1 | CPUBoss Score |
Combination of all six facets | |
 | Winner |
Cast your vote Do you agree or disagree with CPUBoss?
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| |  | Intel Core i3 2120CPUBoss Winner |
Differences What are the advantages of each
| |||||||
| Much more l2 cache | 6 MB | vs | 0.5 MB | 12x more l2 cache; more data can be stored in the l2 cache for quick access later | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Much more l2 cache per core | 3 MB/core | vs | 0.25 MB/core | 12x more l2 cache per core | |||
| Supports trusted computing | Yes | vs | No | Somewhat common; Allows for safer, more reliable computing | |||
| Significantly better overclocked clock speed (Air) | 4.23 GHz | vs | 3.44 GHz | Around 25% better overclocked clock speed (Air) | |||
| Higher Maximum operating temperature | 72.4 °C | vs | 69.1 °C | Around 5% higher Maximum operating temperature | |||
| Significantly better overclocked clock speed (Water) | 4.21 GHz | vs | 3.41 GHz | Around 25% better overclocked clock speed (Water) | |||
| |||||||
| Has a built-in GPU | Yes | vs | No | Somewhat common; A separate graphics adapter is not required | |||
| Much newer manufacturing process | 32 nm | vs | 45 nm | A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor | |||
| Much better PassMark score | 3,869 | vs | 2,172 | Around 80% better PassMark score | |||
| Higher clock speed | 3.3 GHz | vs | 3 GHz | Around 10% higher clock speed | |||
| More threads | 4 | vs | 2 | Twice as many threads | |||
| Much better PassMark (Single core) score | 1,679 | vs | 1,257 | Around 35% better PassMark (Single core) score | |||
| Newer | Jan, 2011 | vs | Jan, 2008 | Release date over 3 years later | |||
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Benchmarks Real world tests of Core2 Duo E8400 vs Core i3 2120
GeekBench 3 (Multi-core) Data courtesy Primate Labs
GeekBench 3 (Single core) Data courtesy Primate Labs
GeekBench 3 (AES single core) Data courtesy Primate Labs
GeekBench (32-bit) Data courtesy Primate Labs
GeekBench (64-bit) Data courtesy Primate Labs
GeekBench
PassMark Data courtesy Passmark
PassMark (Single Core)
Reviews Word on the street
Specifications Full list of technical specs
summary | Core2 Duo E8400 | vs | Core i3 2120 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clock speed | 3 GHz | 3.3 GHz | |
| Cores | Dual core | Dual core | |
| Socket type | |||
| LGA 775 | |||
| LGA 1155 | |||
features | |||
| Has a NX bit | Yes | Yes | |
| Supports trusted computing | Yes | No | |
| Has virtualization support | Yes | Yes | |
| Instruction set extensions | |||
| SSE2 | |||
| MMX | |||
| SSE4 | |||
| AVX | |||
| SSE3 | |||
| SSE | |||
| SSE4.1 | |||
| SSE4.2 | |||
| Supplemental SSE3 | |||
| Supports dynamic frequency scaling | Yes | Yes | |
power consumption | |||
| TDP | 65W | 65W | |
| Annual home energy cost | 15.66 $/year | 15.66 $/year | |
| Annual commercial energy cost | 56.94 $/year | 56.94 $/year | |
| Performance per watt | 2.11 pt/W | 3.27 pt/W | |
| Typical power consumption | 52.81W | 52.81W | |
details | Core2 Duo E8400 | vs | Core i3 2120 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture | x86-64 | x86-64 | |
| Threads | 2 | 4 | |
| L2 cache | 6 MB | 0.5 MB | |
| L2 cache per core | 3 MB/core | 0.25 MB/core | |
| Manufacture process | 45 nm | 32 nm | |
| Max CPUs | 1 | 1 | |
| Clock multiplier | 9 | 33 | |
| Operating temperature | Unknown - 72.4°C | Unknown - 69.1°C | |
overclocking | |||
| Overclock popularity | 125 | 22 | |
| Overclock review score | 4.5 | 1 | |
| Overclocked clock speed | 4.23 GHz | 3.44 GHz | |
| Overclocked clock speed (Water) | 4.21 GHz | 3.41 GHz | |
| Overclocked clock speed (Air) | 4.23 GHz | 3.44 GHz | |
integrated graphics | |||
| GPU | None | GPU | |
| Label | N/A | Intel® HD Graphics 2000 | |
| Number of displays supported | N/A | 2 | |
| GPU clock speed | N/A | 850 MHz | |
| Turbo clock speed | N/A | 1,100 MHz | |
bus | |||
| Architecture | FSB | DMI | |
| Number of links | 1 | 1 | |
 Intel Core2 Duo E8400  Report a correction |  Intel Core i3 2120 Report a correction |
Desktops
Looking for a desktop?
- 2 desktops with the Intel Core2 Duo E8400, starting from $100
- 3 desktops with the Intel Core i3 2120, starting from $1,017
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