Trailing the Core 2 Duo

Even AMD’s new high-end model is unable to compete or even keep up with Intel’s Core 2 Duo processors.

The current flagship processors of each company each cost about € 245. That is the only point in which there is parity between these two CPUs.

AMD is unable to close the gap to Intel’s fastest dual-core processor, the Core 2 Duo E 6850. Instead, it trails the performance of its rival by an average of 13.7%.

Intel’s second-fastest model, the E6750, costs about € 170, making it about € 70 cheaper. Still, AMD’s 6400+ is unable to surpass this processor, proving 5.7% slower on average.

The same goes for AMD’s previous high-end model, the 6000+. While it is € 20 cheaper than the E6750, it is also more than 10% slower.

The Quad-Core Price War

As we have seen over the past months, Intel is aggressively lowering its prices. Its smallest quad-core processor, the Core 2 Quad Q6600, carries the same recommended retail price of € 245 as the 6400+ Black Edition. So how do these two processors compare?

Compared to Intel’s quad-core processor, the 6400+ is about 9% slower on average. However, in multi-threaded applications such as video editing and3D rendering, users get up to 30% more performance from the Intel chip – at the same price!