Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 vs Intel Core 2 Extreme X9100

Intel Core 2 Duo T6400

The Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 is an entry level dual core processor for cheap laptops. It is based on the Penryn core but offers only 2 MB level 2 cache and a slow clock speed of 2 GHz. The performance should be sufficient for office and other casual tasks but high level gaming and HD video editing for example could be limited by the CPU performance.

Intel Core 2 Extreme X9100

The Intel Core 2 Extreme X9100 is the fastest dual-core CPU of the Core 2 series for laptops. As all Core 2 Extreme CPUs it offers an unlocked multiplicator and is therefore easy to overclock (usually in the BIOS). The X9100 was later substituted by the Core 2 Duo T9900 with the same clock rate but a cheaper price tag. The T9900 offers a better TDP of 35 Watt but has a fixed multiplicator (only drawback). Futhermore, the T9900 offers some newer features as Turbo Boost and C1E state.

Due to the high clock rate of 3 GHz, the Core 2 Extreme X9100 offers enough performance for all games and applications in 2009 and possibly also 2010. In most applications (escpecially most games), it is faster than the low clocked Core 2 Quad CPUs (like Q9000, QX9300). Modern Core i7 CPUs with high Turbo frequencies are the only CPUs that are faster than the X9100 on average.

The X9100 uses a Penryn 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 as low as 800 MHz to save power (in idle mode).

The Core 2 Duo X9100 can be used in a Socket P socket with 479 pins.