Intel Core 2 Duo P9600 vs Intel Core i5-520UM

The Intel Core 2 Duo P9600 was a upper middle class dual core CPU for laptops, at the time of introduction. It is similar to the Core 2 Duo T9550 except for the lower TDP of 25 versus 35 Watt).

Due to the relatively high clock speed and 6MB Level 2 cache, the P9600 offers enough performance for demanding games (in 2009) and applications. The newer Core i3-330M should deliver a similar performance due to the hyperthreading support.

The P9600 uses a Penryn (Montevina Update) core that features 2 integer units, 1 floating point unit, 1 load unit, and 1 store unit in a 14-stages long pipeline. Due to the Wide Dynamic Execution Technology, the core is able to simultaneously execute up to four instructions.

The integrated Enhanced Speedstep is able to downclock the core dynamically to save power (in idle mode).

The Intel Core i5-520UM is a Ultra Low Voltage dual-core processor for small and light laptops. It is clocked with 1.06 - 1.86 GHz (if Turbo Boost is enabled). Each core is based on the Nehalem (Westmere) micro-architecture. Hyperthreading enables the Dual Core CPU to handle 4 threads at once (for a better usage of the pipeline). Compared to the Core i7-620UM, the i5 offers only 3MB Level 3 cache (i7 4MB) and a lower maximum Turbo Boost frequency. Other Core i5 CPUs (withouth the U in the name) are faster due to the higher clock speed, but need more power.