Core i5-2540M vs Core 2 Quad Q9400

Place in the ranking	2237	2142
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Desktop processor	Laptop
Series	no data	Intel Core i5
Power efficiency	1.33	4.04
Architecture codename	Yorkfield (2007−2009)	Sandy Bridge (2011−2013)
Release date	August 2008 (16 years ago)	1 February 2011 (13 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	no data	$266

Detailed specifications

Core 2 Quad Q9400 and Core i5-2540M 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)	2 (Dual-core)
Threads	4	4
Base clock speed	2.66 GHz	2.6 GHz
Boost clock speed	2.67 GHz	3.3 GHz
Bus type	no data	DMI 2.0
Bus rate	1333 MHz	4 × 5 GT/s
Multiplier	no data	26
L1 cache	64K (per core)	64K (per core)
L2 cache	6 MB (shared)	256K (per core)
L3 cache	0 KB	3 MB (shared)
Chip lithography	45 nm	32 nm
Die size	2x 81 mm²	149 mm²
Maximum core temperature	no data	100 °C
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	71 °C	no data
Number of transistors	456 million	624 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-
VID voltage range	0.85V-1.3625V	no data

Compatibility

Information on Core 2 Quad Q9400 and Core i5-2540M 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 (Uniprocessor)
Socket	LGA775	FCBGA1023,PPGA988
Power consumption (TDP)	95 Watt	35 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core 2 Quad Q9400 and Core i5-2540M. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensions	no data	Intel® AVX
AES-NI	-	+
FMA	-	+
AVX	-	+
vPro	no data	+
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)	+	+
My WiFi	no data	+
Turbo Boost Technology	-	2.0
Hyper-Threading Technology	-	+
Idle States	+	+
Thermal Monitoring	+	+
Flex Memory Access	no data	+
Demand Based Switching	-	-
FDI	no data	+
Fast Memory Access	no data	+
FSB parity	-	no data

Security technologies

Core 2 Quad Q9400 and Core i5-2540M technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.

TXT	+	+
EDB	+	+
Identity Protection	-	+
Anti-Theft	no data	+

Virtualization technologies

Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core 2 Quad Q9400 and Core i5-2540M are enumerated here.

AMD-V	-	+
VT-d	+	+
VT-x	+	+
EPT	no data	+

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core 2 Quad Q9400 and Core i5-2540M. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types	DDR1, DDR2, DDR3	DDR3
Maximum memory size	no data	16 GB
Max memory channels	no data	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	no data	21.335 GB/s

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card	no data	Intel HD Graphics 3000
Quick Sync Video	-	+
Clear Video HD	no data	+
Graphics max frequency	no data	1.3 GHz
InTru 3D	no data	+

Graphics interfaces

Available interfaces and connections of Core 2 Quad Q9400 and Core i5-2540M integrated GPUs.

Number of displays supported	no data	2
eDP	no data	+
DisplayPort	-	+
HDMI	-	+
SDVO	no data	+
CRT	no data	+

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core 2 Quad Q9400 and Core i5-2540M.

PCIe version	no data	2.0
PCI Express lanes	no data	16

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 Q9400 1.39

i5-2540M 1.55
+11.5%

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 Q9400 2132

i5-2540M 2365
+10.9%

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 Q9400 336

i5-2540M 491
+46.1%

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 Q9400 925

i5-2540M 980
+5.9%

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	1.39	1.55
Physical cores	4	2
Chip lithography	45 nm	32 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	95 Watt	35 Watt

Core 2 Quad Q9400 has 100% more physical cores.

i5-2540M, on the other hand, has a 11.5% higher aggregate performance score, a 40.6% more advanced lithography process, and 171.4% lower power consumption.

The Core i5-2540M is our recommended choice as it beats the Core 2 Quad Q9400 in performance tests.

Note that Core 2 Quad Q9400 is a desktop processor while Core i5-2540M is a notebook one.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core 2 Quad Q9400 and Core i5-2540M, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.