Core 2 Duo SP9300 vs Xeon E5520

Core 2 Duo SP9300

2 Cores2 Thrd6 WWMax: 2.26 GHz2008

Xeon E5520

4 Cores8 Thrd80 WWMax: 2.53 GHz2009

Performance Spectrum - CPU

Core 2 Duo SP9300

2 / 2

2,517

0.0%

Pentium Dual Core SU4100

2,541

+1.0%

About PassMark

PassMark CPU Mark evaluates processor speed through complex mathematical computations. It provides a reliable metric to compare multi-core performance, where higher scores indicate faster processing for multitasking, gaming, and heavy workloads.

Value Upgrade Path

This is the official ChipVERSUS Value Rating, comparing raw performance (PassMark) per dollar. Components placed above yours deliver better value for money. The Core 2 Duo SP9300 is positioned at rank 535 and the Xeon E5520 is on rank 788, so the Core 2 Duo SP9300 offers better cost-efficiency for playing games.

MSRP is the manufacturer's suggested retail price.•
Avg price is the current average price collected from markets across the web.

Performance Per Dollar Core 2 Duo SP9300

#169

Core i7-1280P

MSRP: $482|Avg: $482

99%

#523

Atom x5-Z8300

MSRP: $20|Avg: N/A

699%

#524

Atom Z3735G

MSRP: $17|Avg: N/A

689%

#525

Core i5-480M

MSRP: $81|Avg: $77

633%

#526

Core i5-460M

MSRP: $80|Avg: $129

630%

#527

Core i5-2540M

MSRP: $266|Avg: $10

624%

#529

Core i5-450M

MSRP: $32|Avg: $31

603%

#530

Core i3-380M

MSRP: $49|Avg: $25

578%

#531

Core i5-430M

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $33

577%

#532

Core 2 Duo T6600

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $4

561%

#535

Core 2 Duo SP9300

MSRP: N/A|Avg: N/A

100%

#549

Celeron Dual-Core T1500

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $49

97%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Per Dollar Xeon E5520

Xeon Platinum 8454H

MSRP: $6540|Avg: N/A

16351%

Xeon Gold 6240R

MSRP: $2444|Avg: N/A

3087%

#10

Xeon 6337P

MSRP: $60|Avg: $5

2743%

#15

EPYC 9174F

MSRP: $194|Avg: $30

2119%

#456

EPYC 9575F

MSRP: $11791|Avg: $9238

99%

#457

EPYC 7642

MSRP: $4775|Avg: $850

98%

#458

EPYC 7573X

MSRP: $5590|Avg: $3580

98%

#459

Xeon Platinum 8568Y+

MSRP: $6497|Avg: $6497

96%

#788

Xeon E5520

MSRP: N/A|Avg: N/A

100%

#796

Xeon E-2276M

MSRP: $939|Avg: $124

98%

#797

Xeon W3580

MSRP: $294|Avg: $30

97%

#798

Xeon W3690

MSRP: $583|Avg: $140

97%

#800

Xeon E5-2428L

MSRP: $692|Avg: $42

97%

#803

Opteron 6380

MSRP: $551|Avg: $111

96%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Comparison

About PassMark

🏆 Chipversus Verdict

🚀 Performance Leadership

Use Case Distinction: This is a comparison between a Professional Workstation processor ($0) and a Consumer Desktop CPU. The Xeon E5520 is engineered for massive parallel workloads (rendering, scientific simulations), offering significantly higher core counts.

Insight	Core 2 Duo SP9300	Xeon E5520
Gaming	❌ Lower gaming performance	✅ Superior gaming performance
Workstation	❌ Weaker in multi-core tasks	✅ Better multi-core power
Price	Equivalent pricing	Equivalent pricing
Longevity	🛑 Legacy (Penryn (2008−2011) / 45 nm)	🛑 Legacy (Gainestown (2009−2010) / 45 nm)

💎 Value Proposition

The Core 2 Duo SP9300 ($0), however, is optimized for mixed workloads and gaming. For most users, it offers superior single-thread performance and responsiveness at a fraction of the cost ($0 less, NaN% cheaper), making it the better choice for daily use and gaming.

Insight	Core 2 Duo SP9300	Xeon E5520
Cost Efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency
Upfront Cost	Equivalent pricing	Equivalent pricing

Performance Check

Paired with RTX 4090

To accurately isolate CPU performance, all benchmarks below use an NVIDIA RTX 4090 as the reference GPU. This eliminates GPU-side bottlenecks and highlights pure processing throughput differences between the CPUs.

Note: Real-world results may vary based on your actual GPU. CPU performance impact is more visible in processing-intensive titles and high-refresh-rate gaming scenarios.

Core 2 Duo SP9300 Benchmark Check

Xeon E5520 Benchmark Check

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core 2 Duo SP9300 and Xeon E5520

Core 2 Duo SP9300

The Core 2 Duo SP9300 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 20 August 2008 (17 years ago). It is based on the Penryn (2008−2011) architecture. It features 2 cores and 2 threads. Base frequency is 2.26 GHz, with boost up to 2.26 GHz. L3 cache: 6 MB L2 Cache. L2 cache: 6 MB. Built on 45 nm process technology. Socket: BGA956. Thermal design power (TDP): 25 Watt. Passmark benchmark score: 2,517 points. Launch price was $284.

Xeon E5520

The Xeon E5520 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 30 March 2009 (16 years ago). It is based on the Gainestown (2009−2010) architecture. It features 4 cores and 8 threads. Base frequency is 2.26 GHz, with boost up to 2.53 GHz. L3 cache: 8 MB (total). L2 cache: 256 kB (per core). Built on 45 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1366. Thermal design power (TDP): 80 Watt. Memory support: DDR3. Passmark benchmark score: 2,541 points. Launch price was $19.

⚡

Processing Power

The Core 2 Duo SP9300 packs 2 cores / 2 threads, while the Xeon E5520 offers 4 cores / 8 threads — the Xeon E5520 has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 2.26 GHz on the Core 2 Duo SP9300 versus 2.53 GHz on the Xeon E5520 — a 11.3% clock advantage for the Xeon E5520 (base: 2.26 GHz vs 2.26 GHz). The Core 2 Duo SP9300 uses the Penryn (2008−2011) architecture (45 nm), while the Xeon E5520 uses Gainestown (2009−2010) (45 nm). In PassMark, the Core 2 Duo SP9300 scores 2,517 against the Xeon E5520's 2,541 — a 0.9% lead for the Xeon E5520. L3 cache: 6 MB L2 Cache on the Core 2 Duo SP9300 vs 8 MB (total) on the Xeon E5520.

Feature	Core 2 Duo SP9300	Xeon E5520
Cores / Threads	2 / 2	4 / 8+100%
Boost Clock	2.26 GHz	2.53 GHz+12%
Base Clock	2.26 GHz	2.26 GHz
L3 Cache	6 MB L2 Cache	8 MB (total)+33%
L2 Cache	6 MB+2300%	256 kB (per core)
Process	45 nm	45 nm
Architecture	Penryn (2008−2011)	Gainestown (2009−2010)
PassMark	2,517	2,541

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core 2 Duo SP9300 uses the BGA956 socket (PCIe 1.1), while the Xeon E5520 uses LGA1366 (PCIe 2.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.