Difference Between Pentium D, Duo Core And Core2Duo Processors

[Note: I have collected the below information about processors from different sources on the internet. I am not sure if all of this information is legit or not. I could not found this information on Intel's official site]

I personally have 1.8 GHz Intel Pentium Duo/Dual Core processor.

I have always wondered what the difference is, between Pentium D, Duo/Dual Core and Core2Duo Processors.

All three of the above mentioned processors have the same, main technology being used: that is, all three of them have two processors in one chip.

Then what is the difference between them?

Why is one different than the other?

Which one is the best?

Which is available in market now?

Which one is the cheaper?

Pentium D Processors:

Intel introduced their first product with two processors on a single Processor chip, in form of Pentium D Processors. Actually, we can say that, there were two processors on two chips.

These processors were believed to be the most powerful processors of their time.

By the time Intel made Pentium D Processors, I guess [not sure about it], this was the first and the only processors that actually had two processers in a single package [Dual Core] [Update: I was wrong, IBM was the first company to introduce Dual-Core processor in 2001, in the form of a processor named Power4].

By two processing chips, it is meant that: one processor contains two processors. So if you have a 2.0 GHz Dual Core processor, then it will mean that you have a 2.0 + 2.0 = 4.0 GHz of processing power.

Why there was a need to integrate two or more processors on a single chip?

In 2005, processor manufacturers were able to reach 4 GHz processing core clock speed. But unfortunately, these processors were too much power hungry. They heated very quickly and reached high temperatures.

In order to cool them, better cooling was needed. In the process of cooling these processors, more noise was created and more power was wasted.

Thus, the era of Dual Core processors started.

The main difference in Pentium D Processors and the rest of Dual Core Processor:

In Pentium D Processors, two dies contained one core each. That is: there were two separate dies and each die had one processor.

This is the reason why this processor needed lot of power.

Some features of Pentium D Processors:

This processor came in two different core sizes: 90nm and 65nm.

Intel started to produce this processor in the year 2005 and ended its production in August, 2008.

Range of Pentium D Processors Core Clock speeds:

Intel produced this processor from 2.66 GHz to 3.73 GHz.

The socket in needed in mother boards for supporting this processor: LGA 775.

This processor used 64-bit Commands/Instructions?

Yes.

This processor had any problems?

As the dual core technology was new, manufacturers were unable to make this series of processors as effective as the new dual core processors are.

The result was that these processors overheated very quickly.

More power was needed for these processors [because there were two separates dies].

Over clocking on these processors was quite unrealistic [as they were already overheated. There was no way to over clock them as that will make them heated more and more].

The architecture used in these processors was not used in later developed Dual Core processors.

Dual/Duo Core or Core 2 Processors:

Intel changed Pentium D Processor’s architecture to make it more effective in terms of consuming power and heating up.

The new series of processors were the same like Pentium D Processors in a way that both these brands have two processors in one package.

But Duo Core/Core 2 Processors were much effective than Pentium D Processors.

The main difference of Pentium D and Duo Core/Core 2 Processors:

In Duo Core/Core 2 Processors, two cores reside in one single chip/die. Unlike Pentium D: where each processor resided in a separate chip/die.

The result of this change was that the processor became less power hungry and they did not heated much.

Core2Duo [Dual Core] Processors:

Core2Duo and Dual/Duo Core or Core 2 Processors are pretty much the same thing. Both use two processors on one die/chip. In the beginning, Intel released Dual/Duo Core or Core 2 Processors that used the same L2 Cache.

Later, Core2Duo Processors were released. The main difference is that, these processors use separate L2 cache.

Using separate L2 cache gives lot of performance boost. Core2Duo Processors come with large L2 Cache. These processors are much faster than Dual/Duo Core or Core 2 Processors.

Other difference is the core size.

Dual/Duo Core or Core 2 Processors use 65nm core size where Core2Duo Processors have 45nm core size.

Some Features Of Core 2 Processors:

Core Clock Speed Range: From 1.06 GHz to 3.33 GHz.

Commands/Instructions: 64-bit

Production started from 2006 and Intel is still producing them.

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