Athlon 64 X2 3600+ vs Core 2 Quad Q9550

Place in the ranking	2170	3008
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Market segment	Desktop processor	Desktop processor
Series	Core 2 Quad (Desktop)	no data
Power efficiency	1.46	0.43
Architecture codename	Yorkfield (2007−2009)	Manchester (2005−2006)
Release date	no data	31 May 2005 (19 years ago)

Detailed specifications

Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550 and Athlon 64 X2 3600+ 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	2
Boost clock speed	2.83 GHz	2 GHz
Bus rate	1333 MHz	no data
L1 cache	64K (per core)	128 KB (per core)
L2 cache	12288 KB	256 KB (per core)
L3 cache	0 KB	0 KB
Chip lithography	45 nm	90 nm
Die size	2x 107 mm²	156 mm²
Maximum case temperature (TCase)	71 °C	no data
Number of transistors	820 million	154 million
64 bit support	+	+
Windows 11 compatibility	-	-

Compatibility

Information on Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550 and Athlon 64 X2 3600+ 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
Socket	LGA775	939
Power consumption (TDP)	95 Watt	89 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550 and Athlon 64 X2 3600+. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)

no data

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550 and Athlon 64 X2 3600+. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory types

DDR1,DDR2,DDR3

DDR1

Graphics specifications

General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.

Integrated graphics card

no data

On certain motherboards (Chipset feature)

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 Q9550 1.47
+268%

Athlon 64 X2 3600+ 0.40

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 Q9550 2338
+269%

Athlon 64 X2 3600+ 633

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	1.47	0.40
Physical cores	4	2
Threads	4	2
Chip lithography	45 nm	90 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	95 Watt	89 Watt

Core 2 Quad Q9550 has a 267.5% higher aggregate performance score, 100% more physical cores and 100% more threads, and a 100% more advanced lithography process.

Athlon 64 X2 3600+, on the other hand, has 6.7% lower power consumption.

The Core 2 Quad Q9550 is our recommended choice as it beats the Athlon 64 X2 3600+ in performance tests.

Should you still have questions on choice between Core 2 Quad Q9550 and Athlon 64 X2 3600+, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.