Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 Processor 2.66 GHz 1333 MHz 6 MB LGA775 EM64T CPU (BX80580Q9400)

Replaced the well-known and reliable Intel Core2Duo E8400 65-watt dual-core cpu with this Core2Quad Q9400 95-watt quad-core. Got a nice performance boost and temperatures remain stable. Apps open a little quicker and snappier than before, video plays smoother, and multi-tasking is very noticeably improved. It's worth noting that it went into a small form factor Lenovo M58p business PC. These Lenovo models have their own heatsink/fan attached to the chassis/frame. I noted in the maintenance/service guide that the heatsink for a 95-watt cpu (Q9400) is a different part number than for the 65-watt cpu (E8400). But, the existing Lenovo heatsink seemed substantial enough, so took a chance and installed the Q9400. Seated it using Noctua thermal paste so that may help a little in keeping it cool. Depending on room temperature, the Q9400 idles between 36°C. - 38°C. With several browser tabs open and video playing fullscreen temps are 56°C. - 58°C. Much the same when doing multi-tasking Office work. Edited about 4GB video recording, and that pushed the temp up to about 64°C. This is very satisfactory for a small form factor PC. For a small investment the Q9400 is definitely a bargain for boosting performance and extending the life of an older PC. Recommended.

Works like a champ! Drop in replacement. Arrived earlier than expected.

I spent several days researching the differences between all the current Intel processors before finally deciding on this one. The problem is that most of them are very close in price so it's difficult to make a decision on price alone. I found that when you consider all the factors like number of cores, mhz, cache and price, this is the best option. It is fast enough for the most demanding multimedia and games and has all the energy saving features so you won't waste energy while doing something like typing word documents. If you are building strictly for gaming then you should probably spend the extra $30 on the Q9550 even though this one will do quite well if paired with a high end graphics card. On the other hand, if you are building as a office type computer for email and word processing etc, you should probably save the $20 and go with the E8400. This one is the perfect middle ground for great performance at a great price!

This is a real amazing processing unit, it is optimized to create edit or playing back HD multimedia content, it has a real low operating temperature even if you are demanding all of the power it can give, i have a intel extreme motherboard with 6 Gb of Ddr3 1333 mhz a 500 Gb hard disk, and a 256Mb pci express video card, i use it for editing every kind of digital content, i use the power of the cpu at 90% all the time, i dont power off the computer at any time, i really think it is a great option to bild a powerford pc at a great price, so i recomend this nice piece of hardware is a real must have.

Wonderful processor; it just did not work on my chipset... My bad.... Still great... If your going to have an extra processor in the drawer this is it....!!!

I had a dual core in my PC and had some speed problems when rendering video and large images. I picked this CPU because it's designed for video and graphics work, and it delivers. Faster FSB, bigger cache and quad CPU's. Easy to install, and it includes a heat sink (with fan.) The heat sink has thermo-grease already applied. Great deal for a nice CPU.

I can't believe how much better this is than my E7500 @ 2.93mhz. Even when I had it OC'd to 3.4 it couldn't hold a candle to this puppy. Don't be thrown by the slightly lowered speed (2.66mhz), this thing screams. Paired with a OCZ Vendetta 2 cooler, and my temps are 26C idle and 37C under load (load being Mass Effect 2 or Dragon Age at max settings). I haven't OC'd it yet because I'm so impressed with it's stock power, but I'm sure I'll start playing with it in a week or so.Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 2.66 MhzOCZ Vendetta 2 coolerAsus P5Q PRO TURBO Mobo6G Corsair Dominator 1066 MhzCorsair HX850 PSUPalit GSX260 Sonic 216 GPUSeagate Barracuda 1TB X 2Windows 7 64bit

This was the perfect upgrade for my Pentium. I can run Crysis really smooth on High level. Granted it's not an i5 or i7 processor, but the ease of use, and upgrade in speed for my computer is great.I can run Power Point, Word, and web browser (multiples) without very much lag. I'm a casual gamer, but this processor lets me play with ease, and graphics aren't slow.