Core 2 Quad Q8400 vs Core 2 Duo SP9600

Place in the ranking	2692	2266
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop processor
Series	Intel Core 2 Duo	no data
Power efficiency	2.68	1.30
Architecture codename	Penryn (2008−2011)	Yorkfield (2007−2009)
Release date	1 March 2009 (15 years ago)	19 April 2009 (15 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$316	no data

Detailed specifications

Core 2 Duo SP9600 and Core 2 Quad Q8400 basic parameters such as number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.

Physical cores	2 (Dual-core)	4 (Quad-Core)
Threads	2	4
Base clock speed	2.53 GHz	2.66 GHz
Boost clock speed	2.53 GHz	0.67 GHz
Bus rate	1066 MHz	1333 MHz
L1 cache	128 KB	64 KB (per core)
L2 cache	6 MB	4 MB (shared)
L3 cache	6 MB L2 Cache	0 KB
Chip lithography	45 nm	45 nm
Die size	107 mm²	2x 82 mm²
Maximum core temperature	105 °C	no data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	no data	71 °C
Number of transistors	410 Million	456 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
VID voltage range	1.05V-1.15V	0.85V-1.3625V

Compatibility

Information on Core 2 Duo SP9600 and Core 2 Quad Q8400 compatibility with other computer components: motherboard (look for socket type), power supply unit (look for power consumption) etc. Useful when planning a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. Note that power consumption of some processors can well exceed their nominal TDP, even without overclocking. Some can even double their declared thermals given that the motherboard allows to tune the CPU power parameters.

Number of CPUs in a configuration	no data	1
Socket	BGA479,BGA956,PBGA479	FCLGA775,LGA775
Power consumption (TDP)	25 Watt	95 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core 2 Duo SP9600 and Core 2 Quad Q8400. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
Turbo Boost Technology	-	-
Hyper-Threading Technology	-	-
Idle States	no data	+
Thermal Monitoring	-	+
Demand Based Switching	-	-
FSB parity	-	-

Security technologies

Core 2 Duo SP9600 and Core 2 Quad Q8400 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	-
EDB	+	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core 2 Duo SP9600 and Core 2 Quad Q8400 are enumerated here.

VT-x

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core 2 Duo SP9600 and Core 2 Quad Q8400. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types

no data

DDR1, DDR2, DDR3

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card

no data

On certain motherboards (Chipset feature)

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core 2 Duo SP9600 and Core 2 Quad Q8400.

PCIe version

no data

2.0

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	0.71	1.31
Recency	1 March 2009	19 April 2009
Physical cores	2	4
Threads	2	4
Power consumption (TDP)	25 Watt	95 Watt

Core 2 Duo SP9600 has 280% lower power consumption.

Core 2 Quad Q8400, on the other hand, has a 84.5% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 month, and 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads.

The Core 2 Quad Q8400 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core 2 Duo SP9600 in performance tests.

Be aware that Core 2 Duo SP9600 is a notebook processor while Core 2 Quad Q8400 is a desktop one.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core 2 Duo SP9600 and Core 2 Quad Q8400, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.