Xeon E5620
VS
Core i7-6650U

Xeon E5620 vs Core i7-6650U

Intel

Xeon E5620

4 Cores8 Thrd80 WWMax: 2.66 GHz2010
VS
Intel

Core i7-6650U

2 Cores4 Thrd15 WWMax: 3.4 GHz2015

Performance Spectrum - CPU

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 Xeon E5620 is positioned at rank 649 and the Core i7-6650U is on rank 436, so the Core i7-6650U 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 Xeon E5620

#1
Xeon Platinum 8454H
MSRP: $6540|Avg: N/A
11476%
#6
Xeon Gold 6240R
MSRP: $2444|Avg: N/A
2167%
#10
Xeon 6337P
MSRP: $60|Avg: $5
1925%
#15
EPYC 9174F
MSRP: $194|Avg: $30
1487%
#385
EPYC 9375F
MSRP: $5306|Avg: $108
100%
#386
Xeon w9-3475X
MSRP: $3739|Avg: $3930
96%
#388
EPYC 9254
MSRP: $3761|Avg: $1099
94%
#389
Xeon Gold 5220R
MSRP: $1780|Avg: $1015
94%
#390
EPYC 9555P
MSRP: $7983|Avg: $6130
94%
#391
Xeon Gold 5218
MSRP: $1273|Avg: $500
94%
#649
Xeon E5620
MSRP: N/A|Avg: N/A
100%
#650
Xeon E3-1275L v3
MSRP: $350|Avg: $29
100%
#652
Xeon E5-1650 v3
MSRP: $583|Avg: N/A
98%
#654
Xeon E3-1225
MSRP: $224|Avg: $205
96%
Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Per Dollar Core i7-6650U

#424
Atom x5-Z8300
MSRP: $20|Avg: N/A
577%
#425
Atom Z3735G
MSRP: $17|Avg: N/A
569%
#426
Core i5-480M
MSRP: $81|Avg: $77
522%
#427
Core i5-460M
MSRP: $80|Avg: $129
520%
#428
Core i5-2540M
MSRP: $266|Avg: $10
515%
#430
Core i5-450M
MSRP: $32|Avg: $31
498%
#431
Core i3-380M
MSRP: $49|Avg: $25
477%
#432
Core i5-430M
MSRP: N/A|Avg: $33
476%
#433
Core 2 Duo T6600
MSRP: N/A|Avg: $4
463%
#436
Core i7-6650U
MSRP: N/A|Avg: N/A
100%
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 E5620 is engineered for massive parallel workloads (rendering, scientific simulations), offering significantly higher core counts.
InsightXeon E5620Core i7-6650U
Gaming
Lower gaming performance
Superior gaming performance
Workstation
Better multi-core power
Weaker in multi-core tasks
Price
Equivalent pricing
Equivalent pricing
Longevity
🛑 Legacy (Westmere-EP (2010−2011) / 32 nm)
🛑 Legacy (Skylake (2015−2016) / 14 nm)

💎 Value Proposition

The Core i7-6650U ($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.
InsightXeon E5620Core i7-6650U
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.

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Xeon E5620 and Core i7-6650U

Intel

Xeon E5620

The Xeon E5620 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 16 March 2010 (15 years ago). It is based on the Westmere-EP (2010−2011) architecture. It features 4 cores and 8 threads. Base frequency is 2.4 GHz, with boost up to 2.66 GHz. L3 cache: 12 MB (total). L2 cache: 256 kB (per core). Built on 32 nm process technology. Socket: LGA1366. Thermal design power (TDP): 80 Watt. Memory support: DDR3. Passmark benchmark score: 3,621 points. Launch price was $35.

Intel

Core i7-6650U

The Core i7-6650U is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 1 September 2015 (10 years ago). It is based on the Skylake (2015−2016) architecture. It features 2 cores and 4 threads. Base frequency is 2.2 GHz, with boost up to 3.4 GHz. L3 cache: 4 MB. L2 cache: 512 kB. Built on 14 nm process technology. Socket: BGA1356. Thermal design power (TDP): 15 Watt. Memory support: DDR3, DDR4. Passmark benchmark score: 3,557 points. Launch price was $415.

Processing Power

The Xeon E5620 packs 4 cores / 8 threads, while the Core i7-6650U offers 2 cores / 4 threads — the Xeon E5620 has 2 more cores. Boost clocks reach 2.66 GHz on the Xeon E5620 versus 3.4 GHz on the Core i7-6650U — a 24.4% clock advantage for the Core i7-6650U (base: 2.4 GHz vs 2.2 GHz). The Xeon E5620 uses the Westmere-EP (2010−2011) architecture (32 nm), while the Core i7-6650U uses Skylake (2015−2016) (14 nm). In PassMark, the Xeon E5620 scores 3,621 against the Core i7-6650U's 3,557 — a 1.8% lead for the Xeon E5620. L3 cache: 12 MB (total) on the Xeon E5620 vs 4 MB on the Core i7-6650U.

FeatureXeon E5620Core i7-6650U
Cores / Threads
4 / 8+100%
2 / 4
Boost Clock
2.66 GHz
3.4 GHz+28%
Base Clock
2.4 GHz+9%
2.2 GHz
L3 Cache
12 MB (total)+200%
4 MB
L2 Cache
256 kB (per core)
512 kB+100%
Process
32 nm
14 nm-56%
Architecture
Westmere-EP (2010−2011)
Skylake (2015−2016)
PassMark
3,621+2%
3,557
🧠

Memory & Platform

The Xeon E5620 uses the LGA1366 socket (PCIe 2.0), while the Core i7-6650U uses BGA1356 (PCIe 3.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

FeatureXeon E5620Core i7-6650U
Socket
LGA1366
BGA1356
PCIe Generation
PCIe 2.0
PCIe 3.0+50%