AMD A8-7600 vs Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

On our gaming index the AMD A8-7600 scores 9 and the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 scores 8, about 13% faster for gaming. That gap is small and mostly shows up at 1080p with a very fast graphics card.

The AMD A8-7600 has 4 cores and 4 threads, and the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 has 4 cores and 4 threads. Core counts are the same, so cache size and clock speed decide the difference. Boost clocks are 3.8 GHz and 2.4 GHz.

Platform, power and price

The AMD A8-7600 uses the FM2+ socket and the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 uses LGA775, so they need different motherboards, and often different memory. When you compare prices, count the board as well as the chip.

Rated power is 65 W for the first and 105 W for the second. That difference changes the cooler you need, and it shows up in heat and noise.

At launch the AMD A8-7600 cost $119 and the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 $266, which gives 7.6 and 3.0 points of gaming performance per $100. Today's prices will differ.

Which graphics cards each one can feed, and which to buy

At 1080p the AMD A8-7600 can feed a card up to the Radeon RX 6400 before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 reaches the GeForce GTX 1650 Laptop. If you plan to buy a fast graphics card, that gap is the real difference between these two.

Choose the AMD A8-7600 if you want the faster gaming chip and the same or more cores. Choose the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.