Winner
Intel Core i3 3220
CPUBoss recommends the Intel Core i3 3220 based on its performance, single-core performance and value.
See full details Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 vs Core i3 3220 |
Released January, 2007
Intel Core2 Quad Q6600
- 2.4 GHz
- Quad core
4.9 Out of 10
Reasons to buy the Intel Core2 Quad Q6600
 | Much more l2 cache 8 MB | | Much more l2 cache per core 2 MB/core |
| | More cores 4 | | Better overclocked clock speed (Water) 3.74 GHz |
VS
Released September, 2012
Intel Core i3 3220
- 3.3 GHz
- Dual core
7.3 Out of 10
Reasons to buy the Core i3 3220
| | Much newer manufacturing process 22 nm | | Much better cinebench r10 32Bit 1-core score 5,814 |
| | Much higher clock speed 3.3 GHz | | Has a built-in GPU Yes |
The Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 versus the Intel Core i3 3220: a match up across generations, wherein the i3 is newer by at least 5 years. Will the older Q6600 stand a chance? Let's take a closer look.
The older Q6600 is a quad core with a base speed of 2.4GHz. Interestingly enough, it has quite a large 8MB L2 cache, but which isn't hyperthreaded. It has an older manufacturing process at 65nms, and a high TDP of 105W.
On the other hand, the 3220 is a dual core clocked at higher 3.3GHz, which is hyperthreaded. It only has 1MB of L2 cache, but is equipped with a much newer L3 cache of 3MB. It's part of Intel's 22nms manufacturing process, and has a low TDP of 55W.
Surprisingly, the dual core 3220 trumped the quad core Q6600 in all benchmarks, most notably with a 3,000 point lead in the 64-bit Geekbench test, and a 2,000 point lead in PassMark. This comparison shows that the newer processors are indeed a worthy upgrade. In conclusion, this match up between generations leaves only one winner worthy of recommendation: chuck the Core 2 Quad Q6600 in favor of the newer Intel Core i3 3220.
CPUBoss Review Our evaluation of Q6600 vs 3220 among desktop CPUs
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 | |
| 7.3 | CPUBoss Score |
Combination of all six facets | |
 | Winner |
Cast your vote Do you agree or disagree with CPUBoss?
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Differences What are the advantages of each
| |||||||
| Much more l2 cache | 8 MB | vs | 0.5 MB | 16x more l2 cache; more data can be stored in the l2 cache for quick access later | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Much more l2 cache per core | 2 MB/core | vs | 0.25 MB/core | 8x more l2 cache per core | |||
| More cores | 4 | vs | 2 | Twice as many cores; run more applications at once | |||
| Better overclocked clock speed (Water) | 3.74 GHz | vs | 3.48 GHz | More than 5% better overclocked clock speed (Water) | |||
| |||||||
| Much newer manufacturing process | 22 nm | vs | 65 nm | A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor | |||
| Much better cinebench r10 32Bit 1-core score | 5,814 | vs | 2,778 | More than 2x better cinebench r10 32Bit 1-core score | |||
| Much higher clock speed | 3.3 GHz | vs | 2.4 GHz | Around 40% higher clock speed | |||
| Has a built-in GPU | Yes | vs | No | Somewhat common; A separate graphics adapter is not required | |||
| Much better PassMark score | 4,229 | vs | 2,993 | More than 40% better PassMark score | |||
| Much better PassMark (Single core) score | 1,764 | vs | 922 | More than 90% better PassMark (Single core) score | |||
| Significantly lower typical power consumption | 44.69W | vs | 85.31W | Around 50% lower typical power consumption | |||
| Newer | Sep, 2012 | vs | Jan, 2007 | Release date over 5 years later | |||
| Much better cinebench r10 32Bit score | 12,548 | vs | 9,681 | Around 30% better cinebench r10 32Bit score | |||
| Higher Maximum operating temperature | 65.3 °C | vs | 62.2 °C | Around 5% higher Maximum operating temperature | |||
| Better performance per watt | 3.38 pt/W | vs | 1.39 pt/W | Around 2.5x better performance per watt | |||
| Significantly lower annual home energy cost | 13.25 $/year | vs | 25.29 $/year | Around 50% lower annual home energy cost | |||
| Significantly lower annual commercial energy cost | 48.18 $/year | vs | 91.98 $/year | Around 50% lower annual commercial energy cost | |||
Report a correction
Benchmarks Real world tests of Core2 Quad Q6600 vs Core i3 3220
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)
Specifications Full list of technical specs
summary | Core2 Quad Q6600 | vs | Core i3 3220 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clock speed | 2.4 GHz | 3.3 GHz | |
| Cores | Quad core | Dual core | |
| Socket type | |||
| LGA 775 | |||
| LGA 1155 | |||
features | |||
| Has a NX bit | Yes | Yes | |
| Supports trusted computing | No | No | |
| Has virtualization support | Yes | Yes | |
| Instruction set extensions | |||
| SSE2 | |||
| MMX | |||
| SSE4 | |||
| AVX | |||
| SSE3 | |||
| SSE | |||
| SSE4.1 | |||
| SSE4.2 | |||
| Supplemental SSE3 | |||
| AES | |||
| Supports dynamic frequency scaling | Yes | Yes | |
power consumption | |||
| TDP | 105W | 55W | |
| Annual home energy cost | 25.29 $/year | 13.25 $/year | |
| Annual commercial energy cost | 91.98 $/year | 48.18 $/year | |
| Performance per watt | 1.39 pt/W | 3.38 pt/W | |
| Typical power consumption | 85.31W | 44.69W | |
details | Core2 Quad Q6600 | vs | Core i3 3220 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture | x86-64 | x86-64 | |
| Threads | 4 | 4 | |
| L2 cache | 8 MB | 0.5 MB | |
| L2 cache per core | 2 MB/core | 0.25 MB/core | |
| Manufacture process | 65 nm | 22 nm | |
| Max CPUs | 1 | 1 | |
| Clock multiplier | 9 | 33 | |
| Operating temperature | Unknown - 62.2°C | Unknown - 65.3°C | |
overclocking | |||
| Overclock popularity | 278 | 50 | |
| Overclocked clock speed | 3.52 GHz | 3.43 GHz | |
| Overclocked clock speed (Water) | 3.74 GHz | 3.48 GHz | |
| Overclocked clock speed (Air) | 3.52 GHz | 3.43 GHz | |
integrated graphics | |||
| GPU | None | GPU | |
| Label | N/A | Intel® HD Graphics 2500 | |
| Number of displays supported | N/A | 3 | |
| GPU clock speed | N/A | 650 MHz | |
| Turbo clock speed | N/A | 1,050 MHz | |
bus | |||
| Architecture | FSB | DMI | |
| Number of links | 1 | 1 | |
 Intel Core2 Quad Q6600  Report a correction |  Intel Core i3 3220 Report a correction |
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