Intel Core i7-2600 vs Intel Core i7-6700HQ

Processor comparisons   17-03-2021
   You may have difficulties with the choice of a processor, you will solve them by reading the comprehensive tests Intel Core i7-2600 vs Intel Core i7-6700HQ and decide which is better for games or normal use for rendering, machine learning, video editing, programming, streaming. Here is useful information from various benchmarks or real streaming and video editing tests. A thorough analysis of all the specifications, so that it can be easier to understand, is summarized in the table.
   From the video comparison, you can get the results of parallel examination in synthetic type tests such as Prime95, Dolphin Emulator, RealBench, Blender, Handbrake, WPrime, Cinebench 23 (20, 15), AIDA64, World of Tanks enCore Benchmark, Gears 5, 3DMark, VeraCrypt, PCMark 10, DaVinci Resolve Studio, GeekBench 6, 5.2, Blender, SuperPi, MATLAB, PassMark, 7zip, UserBenchmark, Furmark.
   And how good the CPUs are in games:

Apex Legends
Overwatch
Grand Theft Auto V
Fortnite
Valheim
Red Dead Redemption 2
Fallout 76
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
Cyberpunk 2077
Rainbow Six Siege
Watch Dogs Legion
Halo Infinite
Valorant
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Death Stranding
Borderlands 3
DOOM: Eternal
Call of Duty: Warzone and Modern Warfare
Last Man Standing

After reading the results of parallel benchmarks and videos, you already be able to understand which CPU is better to buy for gaming Intel Core i7-6700HQ or Intel Core i7-2600.

Summary benchmark results

As a percentage of the maximum value based on a sample from the entire base of all processors
Processor Benchmark

Core i7-2600

51%

Core i7-6700HQ

51%

Gaming performance
Summary result of all game benchmarks.

Core i7-2600

51%

Core i7-6700HQ

52%

The maximum result in this parameter is 100 percent, which is the performance of the most powerful processor at the moment. And of course, this is a server processor, on which no one will run games. Because this processor costs several tens of thousands of dollars. Therefore, if you think that the selected CPU has a low game result, look at the FPS that it produces in real games in the final table below.
List of other games in which processors were compared: Monster Hunter World, Ghostrunner, Hitman 3, Forza Horizon 4, Half-Life: Alyx, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, League of Legends (LOL), Battlefield V, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), DOTA 2A, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS GO), Horizon Zero Dawn, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Metro Exodus, Control, NBA 2K20.

Gaming benchmark

Fortnite	91.3	91.7
Valorant	103.7	104.2
Cyberpunk 2077	58.1	58.4
Apex Legends	97.5	98.0
Call of Duty Warzone	77.8	78.2
Overwatch	84.0	84.4
Red Dead Redemption 2	71.6	71.9
DOOM Eternal	51.9	52.1
Warzone	80.9	81.3
Assassin's Creed	87.1	87.5
Valheim	86.1	86.5

The numbers in this table indicate the maximum FPS that was received on the device with the corresponding processor. Depending on the configuration of the computer (RAM size and Video Card) and graphics quality settings (Ultra, Medium, Normal), the results may differ quite significantly. We recommend that you better study the results of the Cinebench, GeekBench and Passmark becnmarks.
The computers that were in the comparisons not only did they have different video cards and different amounts of RAM. But users also tested them at different screen resolutions: 2K, 4K or FullHD. So the game benchmark data is approximate. But all video cards met the average system requirements of games. You will get more accurate information about how powerful the processor will be in games, if you compare it in one assembly with the video card that is installed in your computer.

Power consumption

Core i7-2600

29%

Core i7-6700HQ

71%

To make a final decision on which processor is better, you should also consider the generation of its core. It is clear that the newer the generation, the better the performance of the processor in games and benchmarks, as well as its energy efficiency. In this case the Core i7-6700HQ is more energy efficient than the Core i7-2600 since it has less power consumption: 95W vs. 45W. Power consumption is especially important for laptops. Also, when choosing a processor cooling system, it will be useful to know its TDP. You need to buy a cooler that has the TDP data specified in the specification was greater than the TDP of the compared processor.

Software benchmarks

If you plan to use the processor not only for gaming, but also for programming, video rendering or video editing, machine learning, streaming, then first of all you need to pay attention to the performance in multi-threaded mode. In this mode, to achieve maximum efficiency, the processor uses all threads and cores that it has. You will find out this data from the benchmark tables below. Before you take into account the data from these tests, be sure to make sure that the program that you are going to use on your computer can work in multi-threaded mode. Because there are still many programs that use only one core to run, and all the benefit of multi-core mode are unused.
Cinebench 23, 20 an 15
The results of this benchmark show Single-threaded and Multi-threaded CPU performance

	Intel Core i7-2600	Intel Core i7-6700HQ
Cinbench 15 Single-core	124	148
Cinbench 15 Multi-core	568	692
Cinbench 20 Single-core	257	361
Cinbench 20 Multi-core	1824	1651
Cinbench 23 Single-core	759	891
Cinbench 23 Multi-core	3647	3958

Passmark
This popular benchmark displays Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Intel Core i7-2600	Intel Core i7-6700HQ
Single-Core	1751	1937
Multi-Core	5341	6493

GeekBench 6, 5.2
This benchmark shows Multi-threaded and Single-threaded processor performance

	Intel Core i7-2600	Intel Core i7-6700HQ
Single-Core	844	971
Multi-Core	3227	3643

Comparison of specifications

In the specification comparison table, the most helpful will be the release date of the processor and the possibility of overclocking it. The later the processor is released, the longer it will last you. And the easier it will be to upgrade the system later. The same benefits from the presence of overclocking. If the processor can be overclocked, increasing its performance, then it will continue to maintain maximum FPS even in new games. The savings are obvious! It turns out that you do not need to buy a new CPU to enjoy the games any longer.

	Intel Core i7-2600	Intel Core i7-6700HQ
Announcement date	October 01, 2010	April 01, 2015
Type	Desktop	Laptop
Socket	LGA1155	FCBGA1440
Core name	Sandy Bridge	Skylake
Architecture	x86	x86
Generation		6
Turbo Frequency	3.8 MHz	3.5 MHz
Frequency	3.4 MHz	2.6 MHz
Cores	4	4
Threads	8	8
Bus rate	5 GT/s	8 GT/s
Bit	64	64
Lithography	32 nm	14 nm
Transistors count	2460 millions	1880 millions
Power consumption (TDP)	95 W	45 W
Memory type	DDR3 1066/1333	DDR4-2133, LPDDR3-1866, DDR3L-1600
Max. Memory	32 Gb	64 Gb
Memory Frequency
Memory bandwidth	21 GB/s	34.1 GB/s
L1 cache
L2 cache
L3 cache	8 MB	6 MB
Overclocking	Yes	Yes
Supports ECC	No	No
Part number

In this comparison block, you should pay attention to the differences in clock speed and the number of cores. Here Core i7-2600 is 23% better than Core i7-6700HQ in terms of CPU frequency. Also keep in mind that high CPU frequency affects battery life through power consumption (relevant for laptops).

Result:
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i7-2600 is better: 5
The number of parameters for which Intel Core i7-6700HQ is better: 27
Although it should be realized that all the figures in the text above do not mean that taking them into account you should totally trust a simple quantitative comparison. Be sure to watch the video tests and read the opinion of real owners of Intel Core i7-2600 and Intel Core i7-6700HQ before making a decision which processor to buy for gaming and which not.

• Intel Core i7-2600 specs and review.

• Intel Core i7-6700HQ specs and review.