Core 2 Quad Q9550 vs Xeon E5-1603

Aggregate performance score

Xeon E5-1603
2012
4 cores / 4 threads, 130 Watt
2.18
+48.3%
Core 2 Quad Q9550
2008
4 cores / 4 threads, 95 Watt
1.47

Xeon E5-1603 outperforms Core 2 Quad Q9550 by a considerable 48% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

Comparing Xeon E5-1603 and Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550 processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.

Place in the ranking18532170
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Market segmentServerDesktop processor
Seriesno dataCore 2 Quad (Desktop)
Power efficiency1.591.46
Architecture codenameno dataYorkfield (2007−2009)
Release date1 January 2012 (12 years ago)no data

Detailed specifications

Xeon E5-1603 and Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550 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)4 (Quad-Core)
Threads44
Base clock speed2.8 GHzno data
Boost clock speedno data2.83 GHz
Bus rate0 GT/s1333 MHz
L1 cacheno data64K (per core)
L2 cacheno data12288 KB
L3 cache10 MB0 KB
Chip lithography32 nm45 nm
Die sizeno data2x 107 mm2
Maximum core temperature64 °Cno data
Maximum case temperature (TCase)no data71 °C
Number of transistorsno data820 million
64 bit support++
Windows 11 compatibility--
VID voltage range0.6V - 1.35Vno data

Compatibility

Information on Xeon E5-1603 and Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550 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
SocketFCLGA2011LGA775
Power consumption (TDP)130 Watt95 Watt

Technologies and extensions

Technological solutions and additional instructions supported by Xeon E5-1603 and Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550. You'll probably need this information if you require some particular technology.

Instruction set extensionsIntel® AVXno data
AES-NI+-
vPro+no data
Enhanced SpeedStep (EIST)++
Turbo Boost Technology-no data
Hyper-Threading Technology-no data
Idle States+no data
Thermal Monitoring+-
Flex Memory Access+no data
Demand Based Switching+no data

Security technologies

Xeon E5-1603 and Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550 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 Xeon E5-1603 and Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550 are enumerated here.

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

Memory specs

Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by Xeon E5-1603 and Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.

Supported memory typesDDR3-800, DDR3-1066DDR1,DDR2,DDR3
Maximum memory size375 GBno data
Max memory channels4no data
Maximum memory bandwidth31.4 GB/sno data
ECC memory support+-

Peripherals

Specifications and connection of peripherals supported by Xeon E5-1603 and Core 2 Quad (Desktop) Q9550.

PCIe version3.0no data
PCI Express lanes40no data

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.

Xeon E5-1603 2.18
+48.3%
Core 2 Quad Q9550 1.47

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.

Xeon E5-1603 3467
+48.3%
Core 2 Quad Q9550 2338

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.

Xeon E5-1603 467
+26.2%
Core 2 Quad Q9550 370

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.

Xeon E5-1603 1481
+42.7%
Core 2 Quad Q9550 1038

Gaming performance

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 2.18 1.47
Chip lithography 32 nm 45 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 130 Watt 95 Watt

Xeon E5-1603 has a 48.3% higher aggregate performance score, and a 40.6% more advanced lithography process.

Core 2 Quad Q9550, on the other hand, has 36.8% lower power consumption.

The Xeon E5-1603 is our recommended choice as it beats the Core 2 Quad Q9550 in performance tests.

Be aware that Xeon E5-1603 is a server/workstation processor while Core 2 Quad Q9550 is a desktop one.


Should you still have questions on choice between Xeon E5-1603 and Core 2 Quad Q9550, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

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Intel Xeon E5-1603
Xeon E5-1603
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550
Core 2 Quad Q9550

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Community ratings

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Questions & comments

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