Phenom II X2 550 vs Core 2 Duo P9500
Aggregate performance score
Phenom II X2 550 outperforms Core 2 Duo P9500 by a moderate 17% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
Comparing Core 2 Duo P9500 and Phenom II X2 550 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 2770 | 2666 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | no data | 0.02 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop processor |
| Series | Intel Core 2 Duo | no data |
| Power efficiency | 2.37 | 0.87 |
| Architecture codename | Penryn (2008−2011) | Callisto (2009−2010) |
| Release date | 15 July 2008 (16 years ago) | 4 November 2009 (15 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $348 | $133 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance per price, higher is better.
Detailed specifications
Core 2 Duo P9500 and Phenom II X2 550 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) | 2 (Dual-core) |
| Threads | 2 | 2 |
| Base clock speed | 2.53 GHz | 3.1 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 2.53 GHz | 3.1 GHz |
| Bus rate | 1066 MHz | no data |
| L1 cache | 128 KB | 128 KB (per core) |
| L2 cache | 6 MB | 512 KB (per core) |
| L3 cache | 6 MB L2 Cache | 6 MB (shared) |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 45 nm |
| Die size | 107 mm2 | 258 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | 105 °C | no data |
| Number of transistors | 410 Million | 758 million |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
Compatibility
Information on Core 2 Duo P9500 and Phenom II X2 550 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,PBGA479,PGA478 | AM3 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 25 Watt | 80 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core 2 Duo P9500 and Phenom II X2 550. 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 |
| Demand Based Switching | - | no data |
| FSB parity | - | no data |
Security technologies
Core 2 Duo P9500 and Phenom II X2 550 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 P9500 and Phenom II X2 550 are enumerated here.
| AMD-V | - | + |
| VT-x | + | no data |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core 2 Duo P9500 and Phenom II X2 550. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | no data | 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 P9500 and Phenom II X2 550.
| PCIe version | no data | 2.0 |
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.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 0.63 | 0.74 |
| Recency | 15 July 2008 | 4 November 2009 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 25 Watt | 80 Watt |
Core 2 Duo P9500 has 220% lower power consumption.
Phenom II X2 550, on the other hand, has a 17.5% higher aggregate performance score, and an age advantage of 1 year.
The Phenom II X2 550 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core 2 Duo P9500 in performance tests.
Be aware that Core 2 Duo P9500 is a notebook processor while Phenom II X2 550 is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core 2 Duo P9500 and Phenom II X2 550, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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