Intel Core 2 Duo P9500 vs Intel Core 2 Duo P7550 vs Intel Core 2 Duo P8600
Intel Core 2 Duo P9500
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The Intel Core 2 Duo P9500 was a upper middle class dual core CPU for laptops, at the time of introduction. It is similar to the Core 2 Duo T9400 except for the lower TDP of 25 versus 35 Watt).
Due to the relatively high clock speed and 6MB Level 2 cache, the P9500 offers enough performance for most demanding games (in 2009) and applications.
The P9500 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).
Intel Core 2 Duo P7550
► remove from comparisonThe Intel Core 2 Duo P7550 is a dual core processor for laptops. It features 2.26 GHz and a shared level 2 cache of 3 MB. It is an OEM CPU and similar to the Core 2 Duo P8400 (additional Trusted Execution Technology, and VT-x) and Core 2 Duo P7570.
The performance of the P7550 is on par with the fast Turion II Ultra with about 2.4 to 2.6 GHz. Modern demanding games like Supreme Commander may be limited by the CPU performance. High end gamers should choose a higher clocked Core 2 Duo (or Core i5 / i7).
The P7550 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 as low as 800 MHz to save power (in idle mode).
Intel Core 2 Duo P8600
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The Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 is a dual core processor for laptops. It features 2.4 GHz and a shared level 2 cache of 3 MB. Due to the smaller cache (Core 2 Duo T-Models got usually 6 MB at this clock rate), the TDP is only 25 Watt (instead of the 35 Watt of the T-models).
Due to the relatively high clock speed, modern games (in 2009) should not be limited by the CPU speed (in conjunction with a middle class graphics card). High end gamers should choose a higher clocked Dual Core instead (when using a high end GPU). Compared to the fastest Turion II Ultra M640, the P8600 should be still faster.
The P8600 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 as low as 1200 MHz to save power (in idle mode).
The Core 2 Duo P8600 can be used in a Socket P socket with 479 pins: Socket P / Micro Flip-Chip Pin Grid Array (Micro-FCPGA) requires 479-pin surface mount Zero Insertion Force (ZIF) socket (mPGA479M socket) or Micro Flip-Chip Ball Grid Array (Micro-FCBGA) for surface mount (479-ball)
Benchmarks
Average Benchmarks Intel Core 2 Duo P9500 → 100% n=10
Average Benchmarks Intel Core 2 Duo P7550 → 83% n=10
Average Benchmarks Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 → 90% n=10

* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation