The Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 made it to the top by defeating AMD's most powerful quad-core processor, the Phenom X4 955, by a small margin. It scored higher in most synthetic and real¬world tests except the audio and video encoding tests. Since both Core 2 Quad Q9550 and Phenom II X4 955 are priced almost the same, the Q9550 is any day a better choice. A good thing about Phenom II X4 955 is that it features an unlocked multiplier which makes overclocking a breeze. However, the Q9550 can be overclocked much higher (more than 1 GHz) by increasing the FSB.

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Clocked at 2.83 GHz, the Q9550 is the second most powerful after the Q9650 in the Core 2 Quad family. Just like the other quad-core processors from the Core 2 family, it features two dual-core dies with 6 to transcode a 1 minute MPEG video to x.264 format-nearly twice as fast as all the CPUs in the high-end category. But if you look at the gaming scores, it hardly provides a performance boost. So this processor clearly isn't for a gaming rig, but MB L2 cache each and supports Intel Virtualization Technology. It's like two Core 2 Duo E8300 CPUs fused together in a single package.

The Q9550 has a good amount of oomph to handle demanding tasks, but it's too way too powerful for a gaming machine. If you're planning to build a new PC and looking for sheer power then go for the Core i7 920 which costs more.

FOR:

Great performance, overclocks well.

Against:

None.