Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 vs Intel Core i3-540

Let's find out which one of Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 and Intel Core i3-540 is of a more recent generation, and what segment it belongs to.

• Name
  Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 Intel Core i3-540
• Family
  Intel Core2 Quad Intel Core i3
• CPU group
  Intel Core 2 Quad Q8000/Q9000 Intel Core i3 500
• Segment
  Desktop / Server Desktop / Server
• Generation
  2 1

In this block we are going to compare Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 vs Intel Core i3-540 by main technical specifications: number of cores and threads, base and maximum frequencies, process technology and cache size. The higher these specifications are, the more powerful your CPU will be.

• CPU Cores / Threads
  4 / 4 2 / 4
• Core architecture
  normal normal
• Cores
  4x 2x
• Hyperthreading / SMT
  No Yes
• Overclocking
  No No
• Frequency
  2.66 GHz 3.06 GHz

Common specifications for integrated graphics cards in Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 and Intel Core i3-540 along with supported interfaces and connection options. This block has no effect on the final efficiency of the CPU.

• GPU name
  no iGPU Intel HD Graphics (Westmere)
• GPU frequency
  0.50 GHz
• GPU (Turbo)
  No turbo 0.73 GHz
• Execution units
  12
• Shader
  24
• Max. GPU Memory
  -- 2 GB
• Max. displays
  2
• Generation
  5
• Direct X
  -- 10.1
• Technology
  32 nm
• Release date
  Q1/2010

Let's compare the support of video codecs between Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 and Intel Core i3-540. Hardware support of video decoding by embedded graphics cards directly affects the speed and quality of rendering videos.

• h265 / HEVC (8 bit)
  No No
• h265 / HEVC (10 bit)
  No No
• h264
  No Decode
• VP8
  No No
• VP9
  No No
• AV1
  No No
• AVC
  No Decode
• VC-1
  No No
• JPEG
  No No

To choose the best model between Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 and Intel Core i3-540 you need to pay special attention to memory type, clock frequency, multi-channel features, and PCIe version. The higher these numbers are, the better your CPU will be. Keep in mind that the maximum memory and frequency may also depend on the model of the motherboard.

• Memory type
  DDR2-800, DDR3-1066 DDR3-1066, DDR3-1333
• Max. Memory
  16 GB 16 GB
• Memory channels
  2 (Dual Channel) 2 (Dual Channel)
• Bandwidth
  -- 21.0 GB/s
• ECC
  No Yes
• PCIe
  2.0 x 16
• AES-NI
  No No

Let's find out what TDP value would be better for Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 or Intel Core i3-540? The Thermal Design Power (TDP) indicates the maximum amount of heat that should be dissipated by the chip cooling system. However, the value of TDP gives only a rough indication of the real power consumption of the CPU.

• TDP (PL1)
  95 W 73 W

Here you can find a comparison of 2nd and 3rd level cache sizes for Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 and Intel Core i3-540 CPUs along with a list of ISA extensions.

• Technology
  45 nm 32 nm
• Chip design
  Monolithic Monolithic
• Socket
  LGA 775 LGA 1156
• L2-Cache
  6.00 MB 0.50 MB
• L3-Cache
  -- 4.00 MB
• Architecture
  Yorkfield (Penryn) Clarkdale
• Operating systems
  Windows 10, Linux Windows 10, Linux
• Virtualization
  VT-x, VT-d VT-x, VT-x EPT
• Instruction set (ISA)
  x86-64 (64 bit) x86-64 (64 bit)
• ISA extensions
  MMX, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4.1 SSE4.1, SSE4.2
• Release date
  Q3/2008 Q1/2010
• Release price
  -- 117 $
• Documents
  -- Technical data sheet