Smart Wizard
Get a complete build plan based on budget and goals.
Build Comparison
Compare complete builds side by side.
Part Comparison
Check specs, price, and value across parts.
Bottleneck Calculator
Measure CPU and GPU balance before you buy.
Power Calculator
Estimate wattage and PSU headroom.
Will It Run?
Test your hardware against popular games.
Smart Wizard
Get a complete build plan based on budget and goals.
Build Comparison
Compare complete builds side by side.
Part Comparison
Check specs, price, and value across parts.
Bottleneck Calculator
Measure CPU and GPU balance before you buy.
Power Calculator
Estimate wattage and PSU headroom.
Will It Run?
Test your hardware against popular games.
Smart Wizard
Get a complete build plan based on budget and goals.
Build Comparison
Compare complete builds side by side.
Part Comparison
Check specs, price, and value across parts.
Bottleneck Calculator
Measure CPU and GPU balance before you buy.
Power Calculator
Estimate wattage and PSU headroom.
Will It Run?
Test your hardware against popular games.
Intel

Detailed architecture, platform, memory, and feature data for this CPU.
Instruction Sets
| Merchant | Base | Promo | Shipping | Availability | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Newegg | $67.99 | β | FREE | In Stock | $67.99 | Buy |
About This Product
The Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 is an end-of-life desktop CPU with 4 cores and 4 threads, operating at a 3.0 GHz base clock. It is suitable for basic computing tasks and light multi-threaded workloads. Compared to modern CPUs in its price range, it offers significantly lower single-core and multi-core performance, making it a poor choice for gaming or demanding applications.
Verdict
Performance Benchmarks
Scores are grouped by benchmark family so it is easy to compare raw speed, threaded output, and real-world value without mixing scales.
Render Workloads
Next-Gen Scale
Cross-Platform
Large Sample Pool
Value & Efficiency
These derived metrics use Cinebench R23 multi-core performance to keep the value calculation consistent across the catalog.
Performance per Watt
18.3 pts/W
Performance per Dollar
25.6 pts/$
Popular Comparisons
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Multi-core 1,520 Β· $25
"15% better single-core, 15% better multi-core, similar price"
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Rating
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βOnly for reviving old LGA 775 systems for basic use, not recommended for new builds.β

Multi-core 2,256 Β· $17
"tied single-core, 23% slower multi-core, $65 more expensive"

Multi-core 1,642
"6% better single-core, 6% better multi-core, $93 cheaper"