Compared to Intel Q9550, Phenom II is slower in some synthetic benchmarks that don’t rely on memory controller and operations with memory, Blender and few games. The interesting thing is fact that scaling of performances is better for Phenom II in 64-bit mode and this is where Phenom II performs better then Intel Q9550. Thanks to integrated memory controller and nicely tuned system results in compression are slightly better on Phenom II then on Intel Q9550. Games in higher resolutions with graphics cards in CrossFire achieve better results than on Core 2 platform. Bottom line is: Phenom II is same product class as Core 2 Q9500. When it comes to overclock, Phenom II with its unlocked multiplier can be easily overclocked on almost any motherboard with results that depend on motherboard quality.