Core 2 Quad Q9400 vs Athlon II X4 740

Aggregate performance score

Athlon II X4 740
2012
4 cores / 4 threads, 65 Watt
1.72
+25.5%
Core 2 Quad Q9400
2008
4 cores / 4 threads, 95 Watt
1.37

Athlon II X4 740 outperforms Core 2 Quad Q9400 by a significant 26% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Athlon II X4 740 and Core 2 Quad Q9400 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking20512241
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentDesktop processorDesktop processor
SeriesAthlonno data
Power efficiencyno data1.34
Architecture codenamePiledriverYorkfield (2007−2009)
Release date1 October 2012 (12 years ago)August 2008 (16 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$71no data

Detailed specifications

Athlon II X4 740 and Core 2 Quad Q9400 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 speed3.2 GHz2.66 GHz
Boost clock speed3.7 GHz2.67 GHz
Bus rateno data1333 MHz
L1 cache192 KB64K (per core)
L2 cache4 MB6 MB (shared)
L3 cacheno data0 KB
Chip lithography32 nm45 nm
Die sizeno data2x 81 mm2
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data71 °C
Number of transistorsno data456 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
VID voltage rangeno data0.85V-1.3625V

Compatibility

Information on Athlon II X4 740 and Core 2 Quad Q9400 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 configuration11
SocketSocket FM2LGA775
Power consumption (TDP)65 watt95 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Athlon II X4 740 and Core 2 Quad Q9400. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)no data+
Turbo Boost Technologyno data-
Hyper-Threading Technologyno data-
Idle Statesno data+
Thermal Monitoring-+
Demand Based Switchingno data-
FSB parityno data-

Security technologies

Athlon II X4 740 and Core 2 Quad Q9400 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXTno data+
EDBno data+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Athlon II X4 740 and Core 2 Quad Q9400 are enumerated here.

VT-dno data+
VT-xno data+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Athlon II X4 740 and Core 2 Quad Q9400. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesno dataDDR1, DDR2, DDR3

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.

Athlon II X4 740 1.72
+25.5%
Core 2 Quad Q9400 1.37

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.

Athlon II X4 740 2677
+25.6%
Core 2 Quad Q9400 2132

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 1.72 1.37
Chip lithography 32 nm 45 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 65 Watt 95 Watt

Athlon II X4 740 has a 25.5% higher aggregate performance score, a 40.6% more advanced lithography process, and 46.2% lower power consumption.

The Athlon II X4 740 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core 2 Quad Q9400 in performance tests.


Should you still have questions on choice between Athlon II X4 740 and Core 2 Quad Q9400, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

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


AMD Athlon II X4 740
Athlon II X4 740
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400
Core 2 Quad Q9400

Similar processor comparisons

We picked several similar comparisons of processors in the same market segment and performance relatively close to those reviewed on this page.

Community ratings

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


4 98 votes

Rate Athlon II X4 740 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
4.3 1551 vote

Rate Core 2 Quad Q9400 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about Athlon II X4 740 or Core 2 Quad Q9400, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.