Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor

Based on Intel® Core™ microarchitecture the Intel® Core™2 Quad processor includes four complete execution cores within a single processor delivering unprecedented performance and responsiveness in multi-threaded and multi-tasking business and home environments.

The latest versions built on Intel's 45nm manufacturing technology take these benefits to a whole new level. This new technology uses hafnium-infused Hi-k transistors, enabling even more processor performance by doubling the transistor density, improving efficiency and speed relative to the previous generation, and increasing cache size by up to 50 percent. Intel’s 45nm manufacturing technology helps the Intel Core 2 Quad processors deliver even more performance without using more energy. This Intel® quad-core processor represents Intel’s continued leadership and drive of multi-core processing.

Processor Number¹	Cache	Clock Speed	Front Side Bus
45 nm
Q9650	12MB shared L2²	3.0 GHz	1333 MHz
Q9550S^∆	12MB shared L2²	2.80 GHz	1333 MHz
Q9550	12MB shared L2²	2.80 GHz	1333 MHz
Q9450	12MB shared L2²	2.66 GHz	1333 MHz
Q9400S^∆	6MB shared L2²	2.66 GHz	1333 MHz
Q9400	6MB shared L2²	2.66 GHz	1333 MHz
Q9300	6MB shared L2²	2.50 GHz	1333 MHz
Q8400S^∆	4MB shared L2²	2.66 GHz	1333 MHz
Q8400	4MB shared L2²	2.66 GHz	1333 MHz
Q8300	4MB shared L2²	2.50 GHz	1333 MHz
Q8200S^∆	4MB shared L2²	2.33 GHz	1333 MHz
Q8200	4MB shared L2²	2.33 GHz	1333 MHz

^?Indicates 65W TDP

Comparison table

	Q9000 Series	Q8000 Series
Cores	4	4
Manufacturing process	45nm	45nm
L2 shared cache²	12MB shared/6MB shared	4MB shared
System bus	1333 MHz	1333 MHz
SSE instructions	SSE4, SSE3, SSE2, and SSE	SSE4, SSE3, SSE2, and SSE
TDP	65W and 95W	65W and 95W
Intel® Express Chipset	Intel® 3 & 4 Series Express Chipsets	Intel® 3 & 4 Series Express Chipsets

Features and benefits of the Intel® Core™2 Quad processor

Features	Benefits
Quad-core processor	Provides four complete execution cores in a single. Four dedicated, physical threads help operating systems and applications deliver additional performance.
Intel® Wide Dynamic Execution	Improves execution speed and efficiency, delivering more instructions per clock cycle.
Intel® Smart Memory Access	Improves system performance by optimizing the use of the available data bandwidth.
Intel® Advanced Smart Cache¹	Optimized for multi-core processors, providing higher-performance with a more efficient cache subsystem.
Intel® Advanced Digital Media Boost	Accelerates a broad range of multimedia, encryption, scientific and financial applications by significantly improving performance when executing Intel® Streaming SIMD Extension (SSE/SSE2/SSE3) instructions. Intel® HD Boost, implemented on 45nm processors, offers new Intel® Streaming SIMD Extension 4 (Intel SSE4) instructions for even greater multimedia performance and faster high definition video editing and encoding.
Intel® Virtualization Technology (Intel® VT)²	Allows one hardware platform to function as multiple “virtual” platforms.
Intel® 64³ Architecture	Allows the processor to access larger amounts of memory.
Execute disable bit⁴	Provides extended virus defense when deployed with a supported operating system.
Digital thermal sensor (DTS)	Provides for more efficient processor and platform thermal control improving system acoustics
Intel designed thermal solution for boxed processors	Includes a 4-pin connector for fan speed control to help minimize the acoustic noise levels generated from running the fan at higher speeds for thermal performance⁶.

¹1 Intel processor numbers are not a measure of performance. Processor numbers differentiate features within each processor family, not across different processor families. See www.intel.com/products/processor_number/ for details.
²For the Intel® Core™2 Quad processor, shared L2 cache refers to 12, 8, or 6MB shared of L2 cache per core pair.
³Intel® Virtualization Technology requires a computer system with an enabled Intel® processor, BIOS, virtual machine monitor (VMM) and, for some uses, certain platform software enabled for it. Functionality, performance or other benefits will vary depending on hardware and software configurations and may require a BIOS update. Software applications may not be compatible with all operating systems. Please check with your application vendor.
⁴64-bit computing on Intel architecture requires a computer system with a processor, chipset, BIOS, operating system, device drivers and applications enabled for Intel® 64 architecture. Processors will not operate (including 32-bit operation) without an Intel 64 architecture-enabled BIOS. Performance will vary depending on your hardware and software configurations. Consult with your system vendor for more information.
⁵Enabling Execute Disable Bit functionality requires a PC with a processor with Execute Disable Bit capability and a supporting operating system. Check with your PC manufacturer on whether your system delivers Execute Disable Bit functionality.
⁶The acoustic benefits of the 4-pin header are reliant on a properly designed motherboard. Contact your board manufacturer for compatibility.