Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 vs Intel Core i5-2520M

Let's find out which one of Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 and Intel Core i5-2520M is of a more recent generation, and what segment it belongs to.

• Name
  Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 Intel Core i5-2520M
• Family
  Intel Core2 Quad Intel Core i5
• CPU group
  Intel Core 2 Quad Q8000/Q9000 Intel Core i 2000M
• Segment
  Desktop / Server Mobile
• Generation
  2 2

In this block we are going to compare Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 vs Intel Core i5-2520M by main technical specifications: number of cores and threads, base and maximum frequencies, process technology and cache size. The higher these specifications are, the more powerful your CPU will be.

• Core architecture
  normal normal
• Overclocking
  No No
• Frequency
  2.66 GHz 2.50 GHz

Common specifications for integrated graphics cards in Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 and Intel Core i5-2520M along with supported interfaces and connection options. This block has no effect on the final efficiency of the CPU.

• GPU name
  no iGPU Intel HD Graphics 3000
• GPU frequency
  0.65 GHz
• GPU (Turbo)
  No turbo 1.30 GHz
• Execution units
  12
• Shader
  96
• Max. displays
  2
• Generation
  6
• Technology
  32 nm
• Release date
  Q1/2011

Let's compare the support of video codecs between Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 and Intel Core i5-2520M. Hardware support of video decoding by embedded graphics cards directly affects the speed and quality of rendering videos.

• h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
  No No
• h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
  No No
• h264
  No Decode / Encode
• VP8
  No No
• VP9
  No No
• AV1
  No No
• AVC
  No Decode / Encode
• VC-1
  No Decode
• JPEG
  No No

To choose the best model between Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 and Intel Core i5-2520M you need to pay special attention to memory type, clock frequency, multi-channel features, and PCIe version. The higher these numbers are, the better your CPU will be. Keep in mind that the maximum memory and frequency may also depend on the model of the motherboard.

• Memory type
  DDR2-800, DDR3-1066 DDR3-1066DDR3-1333
• Max. Memory
  16 GB
• Memory channels
  2 (Dual Channel) 2
• ECC
  No No

Let's find out what TDP value would be better for Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 or Intel Core i5-2520M? The Thermal Design Power (TDP) indicates the maximum amount of heat that should be dissipated by the chip cooling system. However, the value of TDP gives only a rough indication of the real power consumption of the CPU.

• TDP (PL1)
  95 W 35 W

Here you can find a comparison of 2nd and 3rd level cache sizes for Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 and Intel Core i5-2520M CPUs along with a list of ISA extensions.

• Technology
  45 nm 32 nm
• Socket
  LGA 775 PPGA 988
• L2-Cache
  4.00 MB --
• L3-Cache
  -- 3.00 MB
• Architecture
  Yorkfield (Penryn) Sandy Bridge H
• Virtualization
  VT-x, VT-d VT-x, VT-x EPT
• Instruction set (ISA)
  x86-64 (64 bit) x86-64 (64 bit)
• ISA extensions
  MMX, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4.1 SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX
• Release date
  Q2/2009 Q1/2011