Atom Z540 vs Core 2 Quad Q9400s
Primary details
Comparing Core 2 Quad Q9400s and Atom Z540 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | not rated | not rated |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Desktop processor | Laptop |
| Series | no data | Intel Atom |
| Architecture codename | Yorkfield (2007−2009) | Silverthorne (2008−2010) |
| Release date | 18 January 2009 (15 years ago) | 2 April 2008 (16 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $160 |
Detailed specifications
Core 2 Quad Q9400s and Atom Z540 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) | 1 (Single-Core) |
| Threads | 4 | 2 |
| Base clock speed | 2.66 GHz | 1.86 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 0.67 GHz | 0.07 GHz |
| Bus type | no data | FSB |
| Bus rate | 1333 MHz | 533.33 MT/s |
| Multiplier | no data | 14 |
| L1 cache | 64 KB (per core) | 56 KB |
| L2 cache | 6 MB (shared) | 512 KB |
| L3 cache | 0 KB | 0 KB |
| Chip lithography | 45 nm | 45 nm |
| Die size | 2x 82 mm2 | 24.18 mm2 |
| Maximum core temperature | no data | 90 °C |
| Maximum case temperature (TCase) | 76 °C | no data |
| Number of transistors | 456 million | 47 Million |
| 64 bit support | + | - |
| Windows 11 compatibility | - | - |
| VID voltage range | 0.85V-1.3625V | 0.75 -1.1V |
Compatibility
Information on Core 2 Quad Q9400s and Atom Z540 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 | PBGA441 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 65 Watt | 2.4 Watt |
Technologies and extensions
Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core 2 Quad Q9400s and Atom Z540. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.
| Instruction set extensions | no data | Intel® SSE2, Intel® SSE3, Intel® SSSE3 |
| Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST) | + | + |
| Turbo Boost Technology | - | - |
| Hyper-Threading Technology | - | + |
| Idle States | + | + |
| Thermal Monitoring | + | + |
| Demand Based Switching | - | + |
| FSB parity | - | - |
Security technologies
Core 2 Quad Q9400s and Atom Z540 technologies aimed at improving security, for example, by protecting against hacks.
| TXT | + | - |
| EDB | + | + |
Virtualization technologies
Virtual machine speed-up technologies supported by Core 2 Quad Q9400s and Atom Z540 are enumerated here.
| VT-d | + | - |
| VT-x | + | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core 2 Quad Q9400s and Atom Z540. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | DDR1, DDR2, DDR3 | no data |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | On certain motherboards (Chipset feature) | - |
Peripherals
Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Core 2 Quad Q9400s and Atom Z540.
| PCIe version | 2.0 | no data |
Pros & cons summary
| Recency | 18 January 2009 | 2 April 2008 |
| Physical cores | 4 | 1 |
| Threads | 4 | 2 |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 65 Watt | 2 Watt |
Core 2 Quad Q9400s has an age advantage of 9 months, and 300% more physical cores and 100% more threads.
Atom Z540, on the other hand, has 3150% lower power consumption.
We couldn't decide between Core 2 Quad Q9400s and Atom Z540. We've got no test results to judge.
Note that Core 2 Quad Q9400s is a desktop processor while Atom Z540 is a notebook one.
Should you still have questions on choice between Core 2 Quad Q9400s and Atom Z540, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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.
