The larger L2 Cache of 12 MB has a noticeable impact on performance. Compared to its predecessor, the QX6850, the new QX9650 pulls ahead in our benchmark suite by almost 7% at the same clock speed. There's not a single application that doesn't gain at least a little performance.

Serious Sam 2 and Quake 4 show especially strong gains as a result of the larger L2 Cache. Xvid even runs 15.2% faster.

Intel 45% Faster Than AMD

The performance results are nothing short of appalling for AMD. Intel's new Penryn-based QX9650 pulls ahead of AMD's fastest desktop model, the Athlon 64 X2 6400+, by 45%.

Since AMD currently only has dual-core processors for its desktop CPU line, its Athlon 64 X2 6000+ falls behind by as much as 52.9%. In several applications, such as MainConcept, 3D Studio Max, and Cinema 4D, the Intel chip is even twice as fast as its direct competitors.