Intel Core 2 Duo vs Intel Pentium Dual Core

By , 9 April 2008

Intel Core 2 Duo vs Intel Pentium Dual Core

Dad just called me because he's replacing his desktop at home and he wanted to know what chip I would choose from "Core 2 Duo" and "Dual Core". Damn, how confusing have the Intel brand names become? It used to just be Pentium is good, Celeron is dud. That was easy.

Anyway, it seems that these two chips are pretty much the same except that the Pentium Dual Core has a smaller cache, no virtualisation (VT) and in most cases, a slightly slower front-side bus. So the main difference is the branding and the price. Hooray.

Here are some links on those CPUs:

Intel Core 2 Duo vs Intel Pentium Dual Core

About Roger Keays

Intel Core 2 Duo vs Intel Pentium Dual Core

Roger Keays is an artist, an engineer, and a student of life. He has no fixed address and has left footprints on 40-something different countries around the world. Roger is addicted to surfing. His other interests are music, psychology, languages, the proper use of semicolons, and finding good food.

Leave a Comment

Please visit https://rogerkeays.com/blog/intel-core-2-duo-vs-intel-pentium-dual-core to add your comments.

Comment posted by: Bruno, 10 years ago

I have a Pentium Dual core 3.33GHZ and a Core 2 Duo with 2.8GHZ witch is better?

Comment posted by: Soto, 10 years ago

The Intel Core 2 Duo is equivalent with Intel Core i3.

Comment posted by: Cam, 10 years ago

This is so much clearer than Intel's website, all I needed to know was if it's possible to upgrade from an Intel® Pentium® Processor T4400 to an Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T9900.

Seems like I can.

Thanks all!

Comment posted by: mabvuto, 11 years ago
Comment posted by: rOckWeLL, 11 years ago

 i have Pentium Dual Core with a 3.06 GHz and a Core 2 Duo with 2.93 GHz.

i dn't know whats the difference of this two but Pentium Dual Core is much faster than Core 2 duo.

maybe because of their GHz. please tell me which of this are Better. tnx..

Comment posted by: Tony, 11 years ago

Core 2 Duo Processors are the best for all applications when compare to Dual Core...I wonder still why you guys confused about..But my choice is go for advance ver like i3, i5, i7 &.........

Comment posted by: donnagade, 12 years ago

 Well it might be confusing to you but if you want a perfect solution to your question then just log on to techyv.com and just ask about your query out there.There are many experts who would assist you very efficiently.I also had the same issue but was solved within no time.Thanks to techyv!!

Comment posted by: Levin, 12 years ago

I am thinking about buying a lenovo laptop.  ive narrowed my choices down to 2.  they are basically the exact same computer, the only difference being the processor.  one has the Intel Pentium B960 2.2GHz, and the other has the Intel Core i3-2350M 2.3GHz.  the pentium is about $50 cheaper and im on a very tight budget.  i dont need an amazing processor to run complex apps or programs.  i just need something DURABLE that will last through school and that i can use to run itunes, internet explorer, skype, microsoft office, those kinds of things.  i need a computer that i wont need its motherboard replaced after 3 years.  do i really need to spend the extra money on the core i3 processor??

all input will be appreciated.

Comment posted by: Samflick, 12 years ago

 I have intel core dual core processor . i just wan to know whether ir is faster than core  2 duo processor.

Comment posted by: naved, 12 years ago

 i think intel pentium dual core is best. but it should have e5500 2.80 ghz or more the latest  of this is best than ever.

i am telling this for games,for all equipments i think core 2 will be the best

Comment posted by: Hal, 12 years ago

Careful on system upgrades.   The core 2 duo has two flavors, the Conroe and the Wolfdale.   If you are upgrading an older MB it is possible the new Wolfdale chips will NOT be recognized by your MB.    Intel makes it easier on us by identifying different chips with the same name.   Example an e6700 which was made as Conroe chips and then later as Wolfdale chips.  (There are frequency differences between the chips and the Wolfdale is a smaller die size 45 vs 65 for Conroe.   They both are LGA775 pin configurations.).

Comment posted by: James Carter, 12 years ago

This article is a great one. It describes all clearly. I really liked it. It’s very helpful. I was looking for such articles. I have read a article here "http://www.techyv.com/article/duo-core-vs-core-2-duo"  which is almost like this.

Comment posted by: ddr 2, 13 years ago
i Have a core 2 duo mobo with a 1.8 cpu,have a spare intel pentuim dual core 2.0 cpu.would it be safe to replace my excisting cpu with dual core?
Comment posted by: sriram, 13 years ago

Good one

Comment posted by: andrew malta, 13 years ago

Core to duo is rather 40% faster than dual core.

Why not thinking on buying core i3 since it is newer faster and has less power consuption.

Comment posted by: dark, 14 years ago

Thanks... Now i know... Im no longer in the dark... bec im the dark! yeah

Comment posted by: Technologist, 14 years ago

I want to buy a laptop and I want to run a mechanical deign and drawing package like AutoCad Inventor, what processor will suit me well?

Comment posted by: Anonymous, 14 years ago

I agree with ddr, I liked this post too, it was useful to me so I could note better the differences between those processors. Thanks!

Comment posted by: raul, 14 years ago

 Crapeater is rigth

Comment posted by: western digital, 14 years ago

Difference between Intel Core 2 Duo and Dual Core is this:

1. Dual Core processors. They have 2 core in one package, but they are using 1 cache memory for the 2 cores.

2. Core 2 Duo. They have 2 core in one package, but each core have 1 cache memory. And it’s more faster…

Comment posted by: ddr, 14 years ago

Hi,

Excellent post and wonderful blog, I really like this type of interesting articles keep it up.

Comment posted by: Brad, 14 years ago

You could replace a Pentium Dual Core with a Core 2 Duo (I am not sure about just a Core Duo but they are outdated anyway); the Dual Core and Core 2 Duo both use the LGA775 socket.THE Intel Pentium Dual Core at 3.3 GHZ is still better i know,im not stupid;)

Comment posted by: Charles N Kinsey, 14 years ago

I have the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 Yorkfield 3.0GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 130W Quad-Core Processor. My question is the i7 better (translation faster) than what I have. Obviously the i7 extreme is faster but I am asking about the other i7's.

Comment posted by: CPU _Dude, 15 years ago

Core 2 Duo
Core Duo
Pentium Dual Core
Celeron Dual Core
The Celeron Dual Core is limited to 512KB of L2 Cache and has lower Front Side Bus (FSB) and clock speeds than chips higher up on the list. However, it is a very low priced CPU and apparently a good overclocker. The only Celeron Dual Core currently available is the E1200 (January 2008). It has 512 KB of L2 Cache, a clock speed of 1.60 GHz and an 800 MHz FSB.

The Pentium Dual Core is the next step up. With 1 MB of L2 Cache, these chips are still targeted at the cost-conscious. Slightly more expensive and slightly better performing than the Celeron Dual Core. The Pentium Dual Core models are: E2200, E21xx, T23xx, and T20xx. All have 1 MB of L2 Cache, either a 533 MHz or 800 MHz FSB and clock speeds ranging from 1.46 GHz to 2.20 GHz.

The Core Duo chips are dual core cpu’s that have 2 MB of L2 Cache. This is also a 32-bit architecture (Celeron and most Pentium Dual Cores are 64-bit). The Core Duo processors: T2700, T2600, T2500, T24xx, T23xx, T22xx, T2050, L2500, L2400, L2300 (L=Low voltage), U2500, U2400 (U=Ultra low voltage). All have 2 MB of L2 Cache. FSB is either 533 MHz or 667 MHz and clock speeds range from 1.06 GHz(for the U2400) to 2.33 GHz.

Core 2 Duo cpu’s are aimed at both desktop and mobile computers in the mid-range of the processor market. This line of cpu’s have L2 caches ranging from 2MB to 6MB and clock speeds from 1.06 GHz (again, for the Ultra low voltage U7500) to 3.16 GHz. The extra cache and higher clock and bus speeds make these generally more expensive and faster than the Core Duo’s. Intel claims a 25% performance increase between two similarly clocked Core Duo and Core 2 Duo cpu’s (but real world benchmarks pegs 5%-15% as a more reasonable claim).

Intel also manufactures the even more expensive and capable Xeon and Itanium dual and quad-core processors for the high-end workstation and server market.

And the i7 are a whole new technology that are even faster than the Core 2 Duo. I currently upgraded from a Pentium to a Core 2 Duo (E8500) and I am extremely happy. I use it to run music software and the plugin apps are basically a non-event. The i7 technology should be even better but right now the chip and the mobo need to come down in price before I make that leap

Comment posted by: , 15 years ago

Hey Crapeater. The Intel links above aren't very clear on which are 64 bit, but both chips have at least one variant listed as *not* having Intel 64±. I don't know exactly what that is supposed to mean though. Perhaps that Intel naming and branding is intentionally obscure?

Comment posted by: Crapeater, 15 years ago

False: the Pentium Dual Core are 64-bit, just like the Core 2 Duo, because they are technologically identical. The only difference is essentially the smaller L2 cache (1 M instead of 2, 4 or 6). And most benchmarks suggest that, at the same clock frequency, a Dual Core performs no worse than a Core 2 Duo with 2 MB cache. Why? I don't know...

Comment posted by: Ateanboy, 15 years ago

Actually, another difference is that the cheaper and less powerful Intel Pentium Dual-Core processors are 32-bit, while ALL Intel Core 2, no matter what the price, are ALL 64-bit.

So, the Intel Pentium Dual-Core line is composed both 32-bit and 64-bit processors. But all the processor lines in Intel Core 2 ALL offer 64-bit computing.

Comment posted by: Lee, 15 years ago

I always wondered what the dif was, I think its silly.

pk.