Intel Core 2 Duo T5500 vs Intel Core 2 Duo T7600 vs Intel Core 2 Duo T5800

The Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 is an entry-level dual core processor for laptops. It is based on the Merom-2M core and therefore manufactured in 65nm. It does not support Virtualization functions VT-x of the Merom core and offers only a low clock speed and 2MB level 2 cache.

The Core 2 Duo T7600 is a middle class dual core CPU for laptops. It is based on the Merom core and features 4MB Level 2 cache.

At the time of announcement, the T7600 was a very fast CPU and had enough performance for games and applications in 2008. In 2009, the Core 2 Duo T7600 performed similar to a middle class Core 2 Duo P7570 or Turion II Ultra M640/M660.

Modern Penryn based Core  2 Duo are a bit faster per MHz (with similar Cache sizes) and are more power efficient (due to the 45nm process).

The Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 is an entry level dual core processor based on the old Merom core. It features a reduced level 2 cache to 2 MB and no virtualization functions. Furthermore, the clock rate of 2 GHz is relatively slow.