Pentium 997 vs Core 2 Quad Q9300

Aggregate performance score

Core 2 Quad Q9300
2008
4 cores / 4 threads, 95 Watt
1.25
+145%
Pentium 997
2012
2 cores / 2 threads, 17 Watt
0.51

Core 2 Quad Q9300 outperforms Pentium 997 by a whopping 145% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Core 2 Quad Q9300 and Pentium 997 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking23102882
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentDesktop processorLaptop
Seriesno dataIntel Pentium
Power efficiency1.252.84
Architecture codenameYorkfield (2007−2009)Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)
Release dateMarch 2008 (16 years ago)1 September 2012 (12 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$134

Detailed specifications

Core 2 Quad Q9300 and Pentium 997 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)2 (Dual-core)
Threads42
Base clock speed2.5 GHz1.6 GHz
Boost clock speed2.5 GHz1.6 GHz
Bus typeno dataDMI 2.0
Bus rate1333 MHz4 × 5 GT/s
Multiplierno data16
L1 cache64K (per core)64K (per core)
L2 cache6 MB (shared)256K (per core)
L3 cache0 KB2 MB (shared)
Chip lithography45 nm32 nm
Die size2x 81 mm2131 mm2
Maximum core temperatureno data100 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)71 °Cno data
Number of transistors456 million504 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
VID voltage range0.85V-1.3625Vno data

Compatibility

Information on Core 2 Quad Q9300 and Pentium 997 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 (Uniprocessor)
SocketLGA775FCBGA1023
Power consumption (TDP)95 Watt17 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core 2 Quad Q9300 and Pentium 997. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsno dataIntel® SSE4.1, Intel® SSE4.2
FMA-+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
My WiFino data-
Turbo Boost Technology--
Hyper-Threading Technology--
Idle States++
Thermal Monitoring++
Flex Memory Accessno data+
Demand Based Switching--
FDIno data+
Fast Memory Accessno data+
FSB parity+no data

Security technologies

Core 2 Quad Q9300 and Pentium 997 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT+-
EDB++
Anti-Theftno data-

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core 2 Quad Q9300 and Pentium 997 are enumerated here.

VT-d+-
VT-x+-

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core 2 Quad Q9300 and Pentium 997. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR1, DDR2, DDR3DDR3
Maximum memory sizeno data16 GB
Max memory channelsno data2
Maximum memory bandwidthno data21.335 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics cardno dataIntel HD Graphics for 2nd Generation Intel Processors
Graphics max frequencyno data1 GHz

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core 2 Quad Q9300 and Pentium 997 integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supportedno data2
eDPno data+
DisplayPort-+
HDMI-+
SDVOno data+
CRTno data+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core 2 Quad Q9300 and Pentium 997.

PCIe versionno data2.0
PCI Express lanesno data16

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 Q9300 1.25
+145%
Pentium 997 0.51

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 Q9300 1986
+145%
Pentium 997 809

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 Q9300 318
+32%
Pentium 997 241

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 Q9300 890
+109%
Pentium 997 425

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 1.25 0.51
Physical cores 4 2
Threads 4 2
Chip lithography 45 nm 32 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 95 Watt 17 Watt

Core 2 Quad Q9300 has a 145.1% higher aggregate performance score, and 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads.

Pentium 997, on the other hand, has a 40.6% more advanced lithography process, and 458.8% lower power consumption.

The Core 2 Quad Q9300 is our recommended choice as it beats the Pentium 997 in performance tests.

Note that Core 2 Quad Q9300 is a desktop processor while Pentium 997 is a notebook one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Core 2 Quad Q9300 and Pentium 997, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300
Core 2 Quad Q9300
Intel Pentium 997
Pentium 997

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Community ratings

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Questions & comments

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