AMD Phenom II X4 P960 vs Intel Core 2 Duo SP9600

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Combined performance score

Core 2 Duo SP9600
0.74

Phenom II X4 P960 outperforms Core 2 Duo SP9600 by 36% in our combined benchmark results.

General info

Comparing Core 2 Duo SP9600 and Phenom II X4 P960 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in performance ranking25362320
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentLaptopLaptop
SeriesIntel Core 2 Duo4x AMD Phenom II
Architecture codenamePenryn (2008−2011)Champlain (2010−2011)
Release date1 March 2009 (15 years old)19 October 2010 (13 years old)
Launch price (MSRP)$316no data

Technical specs

Core 2 Duo SP9600 and Phenom II X4 P960 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 cores2 (Dual-core)4 (Quad-Core)
Threads24
Base clock speed2.53 GHzno data
Boost clock speed2.53 GHz1.8 GHz
Bus support1066 MHz3600 MHz
L1 cache128 KB512 KB
L2 cache6 MB2 MB
L3 cache6 MB L2 Cacheno data
Chip lithography45 nm45 nm
Die size107 mm2no data
Maximum core temperature105 °Cno data
Number of transistors410 Millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
Unlocked multiplierNoNo
VID voltage range1.05V-1.15Vno data

Compatibility

Information on Core 2 Duo SP9600 and Phenom II X4 P960 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.

SocketBGA479,BGA956,PBGA479S1 (S1g4)
Power consumption (TDP)25 Watt25 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core 2 Duo SP9600 and Phenom II X4 P960. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsno dataMMX, 3DNow, SSE (1,2,3,4A), AMD64, Enhanced Virus Protection, Virtualization, integrated DDR3-1066 memory controller, HyperTransport 3.0
VirusProtectno data+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)+no data
Turbo Boost Technology-no data
Hyper-Threading Technology-no data
Demand Based Switching-no data
FSB parity-no data
StatusDiscontinuedno data

Security technologies

Core 2 Duo SP9600 and Phenom II X4 P960 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT+no data
EDB+no data

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core 2 Duo SP9600 and Phenom II X4 P960 are enumerated here.

AMD-Vno data+
VT-x+no data

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core 2 Duo SP9600 and Phenom II X4 P960. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesno dataDDR3

Synthetic benchmark performance

Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance rating. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

Core 2 Duo SP9600 0.74
Phenom II X4 P960 1.01
+36.5%

Phenom II X4 P960 outperforms Core 2 Duo SP9600 by 36% in our combined benchmark results.


Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core

Cinebench R10 is an ancient ray tracing benchmark for processors by Maxon, authors of Cinema 4D. Its single core version uses just one CPU thread to render a futuristic looking motorcycle.

Benchmark coverage: 20%

Core 2 Duo SP9600 2836
+83.9%
Phenom II X4 P960 1542

Core 2 Duo SP9600 outperforms Phenom II X4 P960 by 84% in Cinebench 10 32-bit single-core.

Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core

Cinebench Release 10 Multi Core is a variant of Cinebench R10 using all the processor threads. Possible number of threads is limited by 16 in this version.

Benchmark coverage: 19%

Core 2 Duo SP9600 5309
Phenom II X4 P960 5354
+0.8%

Phenom II X4 P960 outperforms Core 2 Duo SP9600 by 1% in Cinebench 10 32-bit multi-core.

3DMark06 CPU

3DMark06 is a discontinued DirectX 9 benchmark suite from Futuremark. Its CPU part contains two scenarios, one dedicated to artificial intelligence pathfinding, another to game physics using PhysX package.

Benchmark coverage: 19%

Core 2 Duo SP9600 2189
Phenom II X4 P960 2519
+15.1%

Phenom II X4 P960 outperforms Core 2 Duo SP9600 by 15% in 3DMark06 CPU.

wPrime 32

wPrime 32M is a math multi-thread processor test, which calculates square roots of first 32 million integer numbers. Its result is measured in seconds, so that the less is benchmark result, the faster the processor.

Benchmark coverage: 18%

Core 2 Duo SP9600 44.4
Phenom II X4 P960 24
+85%

Core 2 Duo SP9600 outperforms Phenom II X4 P960 by 85% in wPrime 32.

Gaming performance

Advantages and disadvantages


Performance score 0.74 1.01
Recency 1 March 2009 19 October 2010
Physical cores 2 4
Threads 2 4

The Phenom II X4 P960 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core 2 Duo SP9600 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core 2 Duo SP9600 and Phenom II X4 P960, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

User ratings

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite CPU.


Intel Core 2 Duo SP9600
Core 2 Duo SP9600
AMD Phenom II X4 P960
Phenom II X4 P960

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Questions and comments

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