Pentium M 1.70 vs Xeon 2.66

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 Pentium M 1.70 is positioned at rank 161 and the Xeon 2.66 is on rank 1028, so the Pentium M 1.70 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 Pentium M 1.70

#149

Atom x5-Z8300

MSRP: $20|Avg: N/A

337%

#150

Atom Z3735G

MSRP: $17|Avg: N/A

332%

#151

Core i5-480M

MSRP: $81|Avg: $77

305%

#152

Core i5-460M

MSRP: $80|Avg: $129

304%

#153

Core i5-2540M

MSRP: $266|Avg: $10

301%

#155

Core i5-450M

MSRP: $32|Avg: $31

291%

#156

Core i3-380M

MSRP: $49|Avg: $25

279%

#157

Core i5-430M

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $33

278%

#158

Core 2 Duo T6600

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $4

271%

#161

Pentium M 1.70

MSRP: N/A|Avg: N/A

100%

#173

Celeron N3060

MSRP: $107|Avg: N/A

97%

#176

Core 2 Duo T9300

MSRP: $316|Avg: $20

96%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Per Dollar Xeon 2.66

#1

Xeon Platinum 8454H

MSRP: $6540|Avg: N/A

157442%

#6

Xeon Gold 6240R

MSRP: $2444|Avg: N/A

29727%

#10

Xeon 6337P

MSRP: $60|Avg: $5

26411%

#15

EPYC 9174F

MSRP: $194|Avg: $30

20403%

#1028

Xeon 2.66

MSRP: $337|Avg: $10

100%

#1029

Xeon X5272

MSRP: $1172|Avg: $76

94%

#1030

Xeon Platinum 8260L

MSRP: $7500|Avg: $750

52%

#1031

Xeon 3.20

MSRP: $851|Avg: $10

52%

#1032

Xeon X5355

MSRP: $4491|Avg: $4000

34%

#1033

Xeon E5420

MSRP: $7214|Avg: $6500

21%

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 ($10) and a Consumer Desktop CPU. The Xeon 2.66 is engineered for massive parallel workloads (rendering, scientific simulations), offering significantly higher core counts.

Insight	Pentium M 1.70	Xeon 2.66
Gaming	❌ Lower gaming performance	✅ Superior gaming performance
Workstation	❌ Weaker in multi-core tasks	✅ Better multi-core power
Price	✅ More affordable ($0)	⚠️ Higher cost ($10)
Longevity	🛑 Legacy (Banias (2003) / 130 nm)	🛑 Legacy (Prestonia (2002) / 130 nm)

💎 Value Proposition

The Pentium M 1.70 ($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 ($10 less, 100% cheaper), making it the better choice for daily use and gaming.

Insight	Pentium M 1.70	Xeon 2.66
Cost Efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency
Upfront Cost	✅ More affordable ($0)	⚠️ Higher cost ($10)

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.

Pentium M 1.70 Benchmark Check

Xeon 2.66 Benchmark Check

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Pentium M 1.70 and Xeon 2.66

Pentium M 1.70

The Pentium M 1.70 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 2007-01-01. It is based on the Banias (2003) architecture. It features 1 cores and 1 threads. Max frequency: 1.7 GHz. L3 cache: 0 kB. L2 cache: 1 MB. Built on 130 nm process technology. Socket: PGA478. Thermal design power (TDP): 24 Watt. Memory support: DDR1, DDR2. Passmark benchmark score: 435 points. Launch price was $69.

Xeon 2.66

The Xeon 2.66 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 2015-01-01. It is based on the Prestonia (2002) architecture. It features 1 cores and 1 threads. Max frequency: 2.66 GHz. L3 cache: 0 kB. L2 cache: 512 kB. Built on 130 nm process technology. Socket: PGA604. Thermal design power (TDP): 89 Watt. Passmark benchmark score: 445 points. Launch price was $800.

⚡

Processing Power

Both the Pentium M 1.70 and Xeon 2.66 share an identical 1-core/1-thread configuration. Boost clocks reach 1.7 GHz on the Pentium M 1.70 versus 2.66 GHz on the Xeon 2.66 — a 44% clock advantage for the Xeon 2.66. The Pentium M 1.70 uses the Banias (2003) architecture (130 nm), while the Xeon 2.66 uses Prestonia (2002) (130 nm). In PassMark, the Pentium M 1.70 scores 435 against the Xeon 2.66's 445 — a 2.3% lead for the Xeon 2.66. Both processors carry 0 kB of L3 cache.

Feature	Pentium M 1.70	Xeon 2.66
Cores / Threads	1 / 1	1 / 1
Boost Clock	1.7 GHz	2.66 GHz+56%
L3 Cache	0 kB	0 kB
L2 Cache	1 MB+100%	512 kB
Process	130 nm	130 nm
Architecture	Banias (2003)	Prestonia (2002)
PassMark	435	445+2%

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Pentium M 1.70 uses the PGA478 socket (PCIe 1.1), while the Xeon 2.66 uses PGA604 (PCIe 2.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.