Phenom II X4 N970 vs Core 2 Quad Q9650

Aggregate performance score

Core 2 Quad Q9650
2008
4 cores / 4 threads, 95 Watt
1.56
+50%
Phenom II X4 N970
2010
4 cores / 4 threads, 35 Watt
1.04

Core 2 Quad Q9650 outperforms Phenom II X4 N970 by an impressive 50% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core 2 Quad Q9650 and Phenom II X4 N970 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking21062433
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentDesktop processorLaptop
Seriesno data4x AMD Phenom II
Power efficiency1.552.81
Architecture codenameYorkfield (2007−2009)Champlain (2010−2011)
Release dateAugust 2008 (16 years ago)16 December 2010 (13 years ago)

Detailed specifications

Core 2 Quad Q9650 and Phenom II X4 N970 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 cores4 (Quad-Core)4 (Quad-Core)
Threads44
Base clock speed3 GHzno data
Boost clock speed3 GHz2.2 GHz
Bus rate1333 MHz3600 MHz
L1 cache64 KB (per core)512 KB
L2 cache6 MB (per die)2 MB
L3 cache0 KBno data
Chip lithography45 nm45 nm
Die size2x 107 mm2no data
Maximum core temperature71 °Cno data
Number of transistors820 millionno data
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
VID voltage range0.85V-1.3625Vno data

Compatibility

Information on Core 2 Quad Q9650 and Phenom II X4 N970 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 configuration1no data
SocketLGA775S1
Power consumption (TDP)95 Watt35 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core 2 Quad Q9650 and Phenom II X4 N970. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

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

Security technologies

Core 2 Quad Q9650 and Phenom II X4 N970 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 Quad Q9650 and Phenom II X4 N970 are enumerated here.

VT-d+no data
VT-x+no data

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core 2 Quad Q9650 and Phenom II X4 N970. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR1, DDR2, DDR3no data

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 Quad Q9650 1.56
+50%
Phenom II X4 N970 1.04

Passmark

Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance.

Core 2 Quad Q9650 2478
+50.5%
Phenom II X4 N970 1647

GeekBench 5 Single-Core

GeekBench 5 Single-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses only a single CPU core.

Core 2 Quad Q9650 377
+43.3%
Phenom II X4 N970 263

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core

GeekBench 5 Multi-Core is a cross-platform application developed in the form of CPU tests that independently recreate certain real-world tasks with which to accurately measure performance. This version uses all available CPU cores.

Core 2 Quad Q9650 1061
+13.6%
Phenom II X4 N970 934

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 1.56 1.04
Power consumption (TDP) 95 Watt 35 Watt

Core 2 Quad Q9650 has a 50% higher aggregate performance score.

Phenom II X4 N970, on the other hand, has 171.4% lower power consumption.

The Core 2 Quad Q9650 is our recommended choice as it beats the Phenom II X4 N970 in performance tests.

Note that Core 2 Quad Q9650 is a desktop processor while Phenom II X4 N970 is a notebook one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core 2 Quad Q9650 and Phenom II X4 N970, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

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Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650
Core 2 Quad Q9650
AMD Phenom II X4 N970
Phenom II X4 N970

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Community ratings

Here you can see how users rate the processors, as well as rate them yourself.


4.5 1607 votes

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Questions & comments

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