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Overclocking

Overclocking the D 805 was an interesting experience.

In some ways, it was the easiest overclock ever. With a big heatsink and fan, the first attempt at overclocking - which was setting the multiplier to 18, and the FSB to 800 MHz at default Vcore - just worked. No muss, no fuss.

A core clock of 3.6 GHz with an 800MHz FSB is nothing to sneeze at -- it would be equivalent to a "D 860" processor following Intel's numbering convention, so I have to say that I am very pleased overall.

Unfortunately that early success raised my expectations to perhaps an unrealistic level - no matter how hard I tried - and I tried plenty hard - I could not get the FSB higher than 207 MHz, not even with a 14x multiplier. Since I saw the core running at a much higher MHz rating, and since I've run the motherboard with an 1160 MHz FSB before, the limit had to be the processor. Frankly, I have to wonder if Intel did not put PLL circuitry on the chip to limit the maximum reachable FSB.

Now before I sound like "sour grapes", I have to thank Intel, because they left the multiplier adjustable between 14-20 making the D 805 an excellent low-cost tweaker's chip. I just wish the FSB was a bit more flexible.

Bumping the Vcore did not help - as a matter of fact it made things worse, often initiating thermal shutdown. The power envelope on the D 805 is 95W, and it is 135W on the D 840. I have to wonder if the thermal shutdown temperature is fixed at a lower level on the 805.

Even though I had to describe what I tried, and even though I wish I could have pushed the FSB further, I want to make it crystal clear that I am very impressed with this chip. Overclocked, it even makes a decent gaming platform. Without any overclocking, it will still present a "smooth" business / multimedia / home experience.

Conclusion

Just as a reminder, this was a processor review, NOT a video card review, which is why the "game" tests were run at 640x480. Modern video cards have so little trouble with rendering at 640x480 that game benchmarks are effectively processor benchmarks. That is why the CPU benchmarks done with the GeForce 7800 GTX are comparable to the benchmarks done with a GeForce 6600 GT -- the 6600 GT still flies at 640x480, making the benchmark roughly indicative of relative CPU performance.

Memory performance is lackluster with the D 805 at stock speeds until you raise the FSB to 800 MHz (or as near to 800 MHz as you can manage) -- and I'm a memory performance aficionado. However, once at or close to DDR2-800, the D 805 performs quite well, easily outperforming Intel's own D 820 and D 840 at stock. Mind you, the D 840 can be overclocked very nicely -- in my review I had it running with a 1160 MHz FSB getting me some of the highest memory bandwidth readings I've ever seen.

Regardless of the limitations, the D 805 is a lot of fun and provides a splendid bang for the buck. If the sample sent to us by Intel is any indication of retail product, getting it to run at 3.4 or even 3.6 GHZ should be as easy as using proper cooling and simply setting it to run at 17x200 or 18x200 at stock Vcore. This is simply a great chip for both whitebox OEMs and tweakers on a budget.

I would not hesitate to reccomend this processor to an enthusiast with a tight budget, and heck, I'd even reccomend it over faster single core Intel processors for home / business PC's. I dare say that the 805 D could very well be one of the best budget overclockers in history. The scent of the Celeron 300A lingers strong with this one.