Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 vs Core i3-530

Gaming speed, cores and clocks

The Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 and the Core i3-530 are within a few percent of each other for gaming. In a game, you will not see the difference.

The Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 has 4 cores and 4 threads, and the Core i3-530 has 2 cores and 4 threads. The extra cores of the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 help with video editing, streaming while you play and heavy multitasking more than with the game itself. Boost clocks are 2.4 GHz and 2.93 GHz.

Platform, power and price

The Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 uses the LGA775 socket and the Core i3-530 uses LGA1156, so they need different motherboards, and often different memory. When you compare prices, count the board as well as the chip.

Rated power is 105 W for the first and 73 W for the second. That is close enough that cooling needs will be similar.

At launch the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 cost $266 and the Core i3-530 $113, which gives 3.0 and 7.1 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 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 can feed a card up to the GeForce GTX 1650 Laptop before it holds the card back by more than 10 percent. The Core i3-530 reaches the GeForce GTX 1650 Laptop. Both chips are in the same range for graphics card pairing.

Choose the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 if you want the faster gaming chip and the same or more cores. Choose the Core i3-530 if you would rather spend the difference on a graphics card, which does more for frame rates in most games.