I’ve been writing about the “new” Intel for nearly three years now. It’s been so long that I almost forgot what the old Intel was like. It’s not that the old Intel wasn’t competitive performance-wise, it’s that the old Intel wasn’t pleasant to work with. The old Intel was the one that always thought the Pentium 4 was the fastest thing on the planet, even when it wasn’t. The old Intel wasn’t forthcoming with information and acted like it worked in a world where it had no competition. The old Intel wasn’t a very good Intel. Show
The new one is nothing like that. We get open sharing of information, real discussion about AMD’s strengths and weaknesses and it also helps that we also get the world’s fastest microprocessors with it. We’ve seen that the new Intel can stand the test of time, at least over the past three years. But can the new Intel last when it’s not always winning reviews? Sure, Intel’s Core i7 remains untouched but what about at cheaper price points? Last month we found out that Intel is quite competitive at the $70 with its Pentium E5300. But between the $70 E5300 and the $280 Core i7-920 there are a few price points where AMD is recommendable. The question then becomes how does the new Intel deal when it isn’t the fastest on the market? Surprisingly well it turns out. This is the Core 2 Quad Q8400:  It’s a quad-core chip running at 2.66GHz with a 2MB L2 per pair of cores (4MB total). It’s like two Pentium Dual Core processors on a single package. These chips actually have a 6MB L2 but with 2MB disabled either because they have irrecoverable defects in the cache or simply to hit the right price point. In other words, the Q8400 is literally a Q9400 but with 2MB of its L2 disabled. The Q8400 is Intel’s most recent response to the Phenom II X4 940. Initially AMD priced the 940 similarly to the Q9400. Then, Intel cut prices so that the 940 had to compete with the much faster Q9550. AMD responded, with a price cut that put the 940 on par with the Q9400 again. Once AMD began shipping Socket-AM3 Phenom IIs, it dropped the prices on its Socket-AM2+ parts once more. This wasn’t so much a price cut but rather a gradual phasing out of the AM2+ CPUs, eventually I expect an AM3-only market since those chips can also work in AM2+ boards. Rather than take the bait and drop the Q9400 prices once more, Intel instead responded with the introduction of a similarly priced Q8400 at $183. AMD’s Phenom II X4 940 was generally the same speed if not faster than Intel’s Core 2 Quad Q9400. With less cache, the Q8400 shouldn’t perform any better than the Q9400, so the question is - does it perform any worse? Then there’s power consumption to worry about and overclocking, but we’ll get to those in due time. Let’s just say that the situation is far more complex than it seemed at first sight. The values for the CPUs below are determined from thousands of PerformanceTest benchmark results and are updated daily.
1Average user usage is typically low and can vary from task to task. An estimate load 25% is nominal. 2Typical power costs vary around the world. Check your last power bill for details. Values of $0.15 to $0.45 per kWh are typical. Intel Pentium G2020 @ 2.90GHzIntel Core2 Quad Q8400 @ 2.66GHzMax TDP55W95WPower consumption per day (kWh)NANARunning cost per dayNANAPower consumption per year (kWh)NANARunning cost per yearNANA Shown CPU power usage is based on linear interpolation of Max TDP (i.e. max load). Actual CPU power profile may vary. Comparing Pentium G2020 and Core 2 Quad Q8400 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price. Place in performance rankingPlace by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100Value for money0.112.73Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processorArchitecture codenameIvy Bridge (2012−2013)Yorkfield (2007−2009)Release date21 January 2013 (10 years old)April 2009 (14 years old)Launch price (MSRP)$60no dataCurrent price$96 (1.6x MSRP)$58 Value for money Performance per price, higher is better. Core 2 Quad Q8400 has 2382% better value for money than Pentium G2020. Technical specsPentium G2020 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 cores2 (Dual-core)4 (Quad-Core)Threads24Base clock speed2.9 GHz2.66 GHzBoost clock speed2.9 GHz2.67 GHzL1 cache64 KB (per core)64K (per core)L2 cache256 KB (per core)4 MB (shared)L3 cache3072 KB (shared)0 KBChip lithography22 nm45 nmDie size94 mm22x 81 mm2Maximum core temperatureno data71 °CMaximum case temperature (TCase)65 °C71 °CNumber of transistorsno data456 million64 bit support++Windows 11 compatibility--Unlocked multiplier--VID voltage rangeno data0.85V-1.3625V CompatibilityInformation on Pentium G2020 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 configuration11SocketFCLGA1155FCLGA775,LGA775Power consumption (TDP)55 Watt95 Watt Technologies and extensionsTechnological solutions and additional instructions supported by Pentium G2020 and Core 2 Quad Q8400. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology. Instruction set extensionsIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2no dataAES-NI--Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)no data+My WiFi-no dataTurbo Boost Technology--Hyper-Threading Technology--Idle States++Thermal Monitoring++Demand Based Switchingno data-FSB parityno data- Security technologiesPentium G2020 and Core 2 Quad Q8400 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks. TXT--EDB++Secure Key-no dataAnti-Theft-no data Virtualization technologiesVirtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Pentium G2020 and Core 2 Quad Q8400 are enumerated here. VT-d-no dataVT-x++EPT+no data Memory specsTypes, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Pentium G2020 and Core 2 Quad Q8400. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported. Supported memory typesDDR3DDR1, DDR2, DDR3Maximum memory size32 GBno dataMax memory channels2no dataMaximum memory bandwidth21 GB/sno dataECC memory support+no data Graphics specificationsGeneral parameters of integrated GPUs, if any. Integrated graphics cardIntel® HD Graphics for 3rd Generation Intel® Processorsno dataGraphics max frequency1.05 GHzno data Graphics interfacesAvailable interfaces and connections of Pentium G2020 and Core 2 Quad Q8400 integrated GPUs. Number of displays supported3no data PeripheralsSpecifications and connection of peripherals supported by Pentium G2020 and Core 2 Quad Q8400. Synthetic benchmark performanceVarious benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better. Combined synthetic benchmark scoreThis 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. Core 2 Quad Q8400 1.35 +22.7% Core 2 Quad Q8400 outperforms Pentium G2020 by 23% in our combined benchmark results. PassmarkPassmark 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. Benchmark coverage: 67% Core 2 Quad Q8400 2073 +23.5% Core 2 Quad Q8400 outperforms Pentium G2020 by 23% in Passmark. GeekBench 5 Single-CoreGeekBench 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. Benchmark coverage: 40% Pentium G2020 outperforms Core 2 Quad Q8400 by 41% in GeekBench 5 Single-Core. GeekBench 5 Multi-CoreGeekBench 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. Benchmark coverage: 40% Core 2 Quad Q8400 946 +14.9% Core 2 Quad Q8400 outperforms Pentium G2020 by 15% in GeekBench 5 Multi-Core. Mining hashratesCryptocurrency mining performance of Pentium G2020 and Core 2 Quad Q8400. Usually measured in megahashes per second. Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 2.1 Mh/s no data Gaming performanceAdvantages and disadvantagesPerformance score 1.10 1.35 Boost clock speed 2900 2666 Chip lithography 22 nm 45 nm Power consumption (TDP) 55 Watt 95 Watt The Core 2 Quad Q8400 is our recommended choice as it beats the Pentium G2020 in performance tests. Should you still have questions on choice between Pentium G2020 and Core 2 Quad Q8400, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer. Cast your own voteDo you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU. Pentium G2020 Core 2 Quad Q8400 Similar processor comparisonsWe picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page. User ratings: view and submitHere you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself. Rate Intel Pentium G2020 on a scale of 1 to 5: Rate Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 on a scale of 1 to 5: Questions and commentsHere you can ask a question about Pentium G2020 or Core 2 Quad Q8400, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch. |
