Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Review:

The Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 processor was developed to meet all these demands. Core 2 Duo E8400 built on the innovative Intel Core microarchitecture, the Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 desktop processor delivers revolutionary dual-core performance and breakthrough processor energy efficiency. With Intel Wide Dynamic Execution, Intel Smart Memory Access, Intel Advanced Smart Cache and Intel Digital Media Boost, this new processor is designed to do more in less time. Additional features to support enhanced security, virtualization, and 64-bit computing make the Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 the most impressive new processor developed for an increasingly multimedia-centered, high-definition world.Design changes in the Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 processors that improve performance also increase processor energy efficiency by operating at lower frequencies that require less power to run. Intel Intelligent Power Capability optimizes energy usage of the processor cores by turning on computing functions only when needed. This more energy-efficient processor supports smaller, more capable, and quieter desktop PC to conserve critical power resources.

The 45nm process allows Intel create a smaller, cooler chip. The Core 2 Duo E8400 has a number of other improvements over earlier Core 2 Duo chips, including 6MB of L2 cache shared between its two cores and improved SSE4.1 multimedia instructions. The Core 2 Duo E8400 has a thermal design power (TDP) level of 65 watts, 10 watts fewer than older 65nm Core 2 Duo chips. This means the chip runs cooler, while using less power.

The Core 2 Duo E8400 has lots of overclocking headroom. Using a Thermalright 120 Ultra Extreme CPU cooler with a 120mm fan and an Asus P5E3 Premium motherboard, we were able to easily take the chip to 4GHz and run our full suite of benchmark tests. Even overclocked, the CPU peaked at a temperature of 44 degrees Celsius at full load.

The chip’s performance is excellent. In tests that don’t take advantage of more than two cores, the Core 2 Duo E8400 bested a quad-core QX9650, finishing the iTunes conversion test in 5 minutes and 10 seconds, compared to 5 minutes and 34 seconds for the quad-core chip, and 7 minutes and 51 seconds for AMD’s similarly priced triple-core Phenom X3 8750. Applications that can use more than two cores didn’t fare as well, of course. Our Sony Vegas 8 MPEG 2 encoding test took 6 minutes and 24 seconds, compared to just 3 minutes and 24 seconds on the costly quad-core QX9650. Still, only a small percentage of today’s applications currently take advantage of more than two cores.

Overclocked, the Core 2 Duo E8400 was a real speed demon. At 4GHz, our iTunes conversion test dropped to just 3 minutes and 55 seconds, cutting well over a minute from the encoding process. The Vegas 8 MPEG-2 encode dropped to 4 minutes and 58 seconds, only 36 seconds slower than AMD’s quad-core Phenom X4 9850.

As far as gaming goes, the majority of today’s games rely more on graphics card performance than CPU speed. Except for the very few games that can take advantage of more than two cores (such as Microsoft Flight Simulator X and Supreme Commander), the Core 2 Duo E8400 should provide as good a basis for running today’s most demanding games as a more expensive quad-core chip.

Intel does have a faster Core 2 Duo chip, the 3.16GHz E8500, but this $266 chip adds a large price premium for a mere 166MHz of additional speed. Overall, the Core 2 Duo E8400 is an impressive value. If you’re into video editing or heavy multitasking, a quad-core chip might be a better choice. But for typical office applications, gaming, photo editing, and other tasks that don’t take advantage of more than two processor cores, the Core 2 Duo E8400 offers top-notch performance at a very low price.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 User Review:

Unbelievable upgrade from my Core2 Duo 2.13 CPU. First, and MOST importantly, the heat generated from the Core 2 Duo E8400 is significantly less than any other Intel processor I have bought. One thing I immediately noticed is the Intel heatsink/fan is about 50% smaller than ones I purchased previously. I did some research and found that Intel uses the Celeron version of the heatsink and fan with the Core 2 Duo E8400. Although I had ordered the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro to help cool this processor, I have discovered the Intel retail heatsink/fan does just as well (although not as quiet as the Artic Freezer). Am I satisified with the Core 2 Duo E8400 ? YES!! Runs faster and cooler that my Core2 Duo 2.13. I paid $219 plus shipping and think I got a great dea!

By Jerry

Buy Intel Core 2 Duo E8400