Core 2 Duo T9550 vs Athlon II M320

Performance Spectrum - CPU

Core 2 Duo T9550

2 / 2

1,804

+0.5%

Pentium 2117U

Pentium N3540

Celeron 1020E

Pentium Dual Core T2370

1,795

0.0%

Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7955WX

Ryzen Threadripper 3990X

About PassMark

PassMark CPU Mark evaluates processor speed through complex mathematical computations. It provides a reliable metric to compare multi-core performance, where higher scores indicate faster processing for multitasking, gaming, and heavy workloads.

Value Upgrade Path

This is the official ChipVERSUS Value Rating, comparing raw performance (PassMark) per dollar. Components placed above yours deliver better value for money. The Core 2 Duo T9550 is positioned at rank 342 and the Athlon II M320 is on rank 809, so the Core 2 Duo T9550 offers better cost-efficiency for playing games.

MSRP is the manufacturer's suggested retail price.•
Avg price is the current average price collected from markets across the web.

Performance Per Dollar Core 2 Duo T9550

#101

Core i5-1350P

MSRP: $320|Avg: $250

98%

#102

Core i3-1220P

MSRP: $250|Avg: $150

96%

#330

Atom x5-Z8300

MSRP: $20|Avg: N/A

488%

#331

Atom Z3735G

MSRP: $17|Avg: N/A

481%

#332

Core i5-480M

MSRP: $81|Avg: $77

441%

#333

Core i5-460M

MSRP: $80|Avg: $129

439%

#334

Core i5-2540M

MSRP: $266|Avg: $10

435%

#336

Core i5-450M

MSRP: $32|Avg: $31

420%

#337

Core i3-380M

MSRP: $49|Avg: $25

403%

#338

Core i5-430M

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $33

402%

#339

Core 2 Duo T6600

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $4

392%

#342

Core 2 Duo T9550

MSRP: N/A|Avg: N/A

100%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Per Dollar Athlon II M320

#797

Atom x5-Z8300

MSRP: $20|Avg: N/A

1226%

#798

Atom Z3735G

MSRP: $17|Avg: N/A

1208%

#799

Core i5-480M

MSRP: $81|Avg: $77

1109%

#800

Core i5-460M

MSRP: $80|Avg: $129

1104%

#801

Core i5-2540M

MSRP: $266|Avg: $10

1094%

#803

Core i5-450M

MSRP: $32|Avg: $31

1056%

#804

Core i3-380M

MSRP: $49|Avg: $25

1013%

#805

Core i5-430M

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $33

1011%

#806

Core 2 Duo T6600

MSRP: N/A|Avg: $4

984%

#809

Athlon II M320

MSRP: $75|Avg: $15

100%

#810

Celeron B800

MSRP: $80|Avg: $5

100%

#811

Celeron B710

MSRP: $86|Avg: $10

100%

#813

Athlon II Neo K345

MSRP: $50|Avg: $10

100%

#818

Core i7-8709G

MSRP: $338|Avg: $150

98%

#819

Celeron M 560

MSRP: $86|Avg: $10

98%

#824

Celeron Dual-Core T3000

MSRP: $80|Avg: $15

94%

Based on actual market prices and performance synthetic scores.

Performance Comparison

About PassMark

🏆 Chipversus Verdict

🚀 Performance Leadership

Performance Leadership: The Core 2 Duo T9550 delivers superior performance across the board. It outperforms the Athlon II M320 in both compute-intensive tasks (0.5% faster) and gaming workloads.

Insight	Core 2 Duo T9550	Athlon II M320
Gaming	✅ Superior gaming performance	❌ Lower gaming performance
Workstation	✅ Better multi-core power	❌ Weaker in multi-core tasks
Price	✅ More affordable ($0)	⚠️ Higher cost ($15)
Longevity	🛑 Legacy (Penryn (2008−2011) / 45 nm)	🛑 Legacy (Caspian (2009) / 45 nm)

💎 Value Proposition

Insight	Core 2 Duo T9550	Athlon II M320
Cost Efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency	❌ Lower cost efficiency
Upfront Cost	✅ More affordable ($0)	⚠️ Higher cost ($15)

Performance Check

Paired with RTX 4090

To accurately isolate CPU performance, all benchmarks below use an NVIDIA RTX 4090 as the reference GPU. This eliminates GPU-side bottlenecks and highlights pure processing throughput differences between the CPUs.

Note: Real-world results may vary based on your actual GPU. CPU performance impact is more visible in processing-intensive titles and high-refresh-rate gaming scenarios.

Core 2 Duo T9550 Benchmark Check

Athlon II M320 Benchmark Check

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of Core 2 Duo T9550 and Athlon II M320

Core 2 Duo T9550

The Core 2 Duo T9550 is manufactured by Intel. It was released in 1 January 2009 (16 years ago). It is based on the Penryn (2008−2011) architecture. It features 2 cores and 2 threads. Base frequency is 2.66 GHz, with boost up to 2.66 GHz. L3 cache: 6 MB L2 Cache. L2 cache: 6 MB. Built on 45 nm process technology. Socket: PGA478. Thermal design power (TDP): 35 Watt. Passmark benchmark score: 1,804 points. Launch price was $316.

Athlon II M320

The Athlon II M320 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in 2009-01-01. It is based on the Caspian (2009) architecture. It features 2 cores and 2 threads. Max frequency: 2.1 GHz. L2 cache: 1 MB. Built on 45 nm process technology. Socket: S1g3. Thermal design power (TDP): 1 MB. Memory support: DDR2. Passmark benchmark score: 1,795 points. Launch price was $149.

⚡

Processing Power

Both the Core 2 Duo T9550 and Athlon II M320 share an identical 2-core/2-thread configuration. Boost clocks reach 2.66 GHz on the Core 2 Duo T9550 versus 2.1 GHz on the Athlon II M320 — a 23.5% clock advantage for the Core 2 Duo T9550. The Core 2 Duo T9550 uses the Penryn (2008−2011) architecture (45 nm), while the Athlon II M320 uses Caspian (2009) (45 nm). In PassMark, the Core 2 Duo T9550 scores 1,804 against the Athlon II M320's 1,795 — a 0.5% lead for the Core 2 Duo T9550.

Feature	Core 2 Duo T9550	Athlon II M320
Cores / Threads	2 / 2	2 / 2
Boost Clock	2.66 GHz+27%	2.1 GHz
Base Clock	2.66 GHz	—
L3 Cache	6 MB L2 Cache	—
L2 Cache	6 MB+500%	1 MB
Process	45 nm	45 nm
Architecture	Penryn (2008−2011)	Caspian (2009)
PassMark	1,804	1,795
Geekbench 6 Single	—	188
Geekbench 6 Multi	—	1,955

🧠

Memory & Platform

The Core 2 Duo T9550 uses the PGA478 socket (PCIe 1.1), while the Athlon II M320 uses S1g3 (PCIe 2.0) — making them incompatible on the same motherboard.

Feature	Core 2 Duo T9550	Athlon II M320
Socket	PGA478	S1g3
PCIe Generation	PCIe 1.1	PCIe 2.0+82%
Max RAM Speed	—	DDR2-800
Max RAM Capacity	—	8 GB
RAM Channels	—	2
ECC Support	—	❌
PCIe Lanes	—	0

🔧

Advanced Features

Virtualization: not specified (Core 2 Duo T9550) / AMD-V (Athlon II M320). Primary use case: Athlon II M320 targets Legacy Laptop. Direct competitor: Athlon II M320 rivals Core 2 Duo T6400.