Phenom X4 9550 vs Core i7-720QM
Aggregated performance score
Primary details
Comparing Core i7-720QM and Phenom X4 9550 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in performance ranking | 2299 | 2300 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 1.03 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop processor |
| Series | Intel Core i7 | no data |
| Architecture codename | Clarksfield (2009−2010) | Agena (2007−2008) |
| Release date | 23 September 2009 (14 years ago) | March 2008 (16 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $546 | no data |
| Current price | $418 (0.8x MSRP) | $76 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Core i7-720QM and Phenom X4 9550 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 | 4 (Quad-Core) | 4 (Quad-Core) |
| Threads | 8 | 4 |
| Base clock speed | 1.6 GHz | no data |
| Boost clock speed | 2.8 GHz | 2.2 GHz |
| Bus support | 2500 MHz | no data |
| L1 cache | 64 KB (per core) | 128 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 256 KB (per core) | 512 KB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 6 MB (shared) | 2 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 65 nm |
| Die size | 296 mm2 | 285 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 100 °C | no data |
| Number of transistors | 774 million | 450 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
| Unlocked multiplier | No | No |
Compatibility
Information on Core i7-720QM and Phenom X4 9550 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 | 1 | 1 |
| Socket | FCPGA988,PGA988 | AM2+ |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 45 Watt | 95 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core i7-720QM and Phenom X4 9550. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | Intel® SSE4.2 | no data |
| AES-NI | - | no data |
| vPro | + | no data |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | no data |
| Turbo Boost Technology | 1.0 | no data |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | + | no data |
| Idle States | + | no data |
| Thermal Monitoring | + | no data |
| PAE | 36 Bit | no data |
| Status | Discontinued | no data |
Security technologies
Core i7-720QM and Phenom X4 9550 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 i7-720QM and Phenom X4 9550 are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | no data | + |
| VT-d | + | no data |
| VT-x | + | no data |
| EPT | + | no data |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core i7-720QM and Phenom X4 9550. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333 | no data |
| Maximum memory size | 8 GB | no data |
| Max memory channels | 2 | no data |
| Maximum memory bandwidth | 21 GB/s | no data |
| ECC memory support | - | no data |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | None | no data |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core i7-720QM and Phenom X4 9550.
| PCIe version | 2 | no data |
| PCI Express lanes | 16 | no 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.
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.
Benchmark coverage: 68%
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.
Benchmark coverage: 42%
Core i7-720QM outperforms Phenom X4 9550 by 41% in GeekBench 5 Single-Core.
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.
Benchmark coverage: 42%
Core i7-720QM outperforms Phenom X4 9550 by 25% in GeekBench 5 Multi-Core.
Pros & cons summary
| Threads | 8 | 4 |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 65 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 45 Watt | 95 Watt |
Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between Core i7-720QM and Phenom X4 9550.
Be aware that Core i7-720QM is a notebook processor while Phenom X4 9550 is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core i7-720QM and Phenom X4 9550, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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