Intel Core 2 Duo E8400

The new E8400 is a very impressive processor and the fact that it can be purchased for the same price as an E6750 is remarkable. Although the E8400 is clocked at 3.0GHz like the E6850, it will actually be replacing the E6750 at $183 US. The E6850 will be phased out by the E8500, while the E6550 will be retired by the E8200. This means consumers are really getting a free performance increase out of the new E8000 series.

The fact that we were able to reach 4.4GHz without having to use a water-cooling system is impressive. However, while 4.4GHz is a huge achievement for this E8400 processor, we are just as impressed with the 3.6GHz overclock. At this frequency the E8400 almost ran no hotter than it did at 3.0GHz, as we were not required to adjust the voltage in any way. Furthermore, at 3.6GHz it is possible to get away with using cheap DDR2-800 memory. For gamers the best performance gains can also be seen when going from 3.0GHz to 3.6GHz, as pushing the processor further only accounted for very minimal performance gains!

When compared to a quad core CPU, the performance of the E8400 is overshadowed by the Quads. Taken on its own merits, the performance of the E8400 is very respectable. The way to try and equalize that performance is by overclocking the CPU to gain some additional power. You know we all love something "Extra." When it came time to overclock the E8400, it gave all it had to the tune of 4.5GHz; a 1.5GHz overclock on air is pretty decent in my book. However, there is also a point where long term stability has to come into play since I'm not a huge fan of reloading the OS every week. This point was reached at 4.2GHz, with 1.45 volts needed to make this overclock Prime 95 stable. At 4.2GHz there is a nice performance bump to be had. If you play at this voltage range be prpared for temperatures higher than you would like with a retail heatsink. By using a Tuniq Tower the temperatures were kept under control in the mid to high 50 degrees Celsius range. Aftermarket cooling will be a mandatory item for overclocking. Overclocking is not the great equalizer in terms of performance, but the extra power is there if you need it.

If you are in the market for a computer upgrade or want to make the move to 45nm, the E8400 is a superb choice and will no doubt become the most popular 45nm Dual-Core model. It delivers top-rate performance, increased thermal benefits, greater power efficiency and best of all, sells for an easy-to-swallow $220, on average. Nothing changes when overclocking is brought into the picture. Although the higher-binned E8500 might yield better extreme overclocks, the E8400 delivers incredible potential and costs a full $100 less. We are dealing with a processor that can handle an overclock so large, it eclipses the Quad-Core Q6600. It's hard to be disgruntled with a processor of such potential.