Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 & E6400: Tremendous Value Through Overclocking
by Anand Lal Shimpi on July 26, 2006 8:17 AM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
The Test
The performance results in this review are largely the same as those from our earlier Core 2 review. However, there are a few changes to the test configuration that are worth noting:
- The E6300/E6400 were run on the ASUS P5W DH Deluxe as it is a better motherboard for overclocking than the Intel D975X. Performance differences between the Intel and ASUS boards are negligible and thus the results are directly comparable to one another.
- The E6300 numbers in this review are a bit higher than in our last review because we are using a B1 stepping E6300, compared to the A1 stepping E6300 used in our previous article. The A1 CPU we used in the last article was a pre-production chip, while the B1 CPUs we're using here today are production CPUs that offer slightly better performance in some cases. All other Core 2 and Core 2 Extreme CPUs in this article are all B1 or later.
- As we mentioned earlier, we did not have a Socket-AM2 X2 3800+ on hand that we could use for overclocking results, but you can get an idea of what an overclocked X2 3800+ would perform like by looking at the performance results for the X2 4600+, 5000+ and the FX-62. We looked at Athlon 64 X2 3800+ overclocking in the past on socket 939, and we would expect the AM2 chips to overclock similarly.
- We've eliminated all of the Pentium D lineup from the bar graphs except for the Pentium EE 965, which is included as a reference point.
CPU: | AMD Athlon 64 FX-62 (2.8GHz/1MBx2) AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (2.6GHz/512KBx2) AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ (2.4GHz/512KBx2) AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ (2.2GHz/512KBx2) AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (2.0GHz/512KBx2) Intel Pentium Extreme Edition 965 (3.73GHz/2MBx2) Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 (2.93GHz/4MB) Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 (2.66GHz/4MB) Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (2.40GHz/4MB) Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 (2.13GHz/2MB) Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 (1.86GHz/2MB) |
Motherboard: | MSI K9A Platinum (Socket AM2) ASUS P5W DH Deluxe (LGA-775) |
Chipset: | ATI RD580 Intel 975X |
Chipset Drivers: | Catalyst 6.6 (ATI) Intel 7.2.2.1007 (Intel) |
Hard Disk: | Seagate 7200.9 300GB SATA |
Memory: | Corsair XMS2 DDR2-800 4-4-4-12 (1GB x 2) |
Video Card: | 2 x ATI Radeon X1900 XT CrossFire |
Video Drivers: | ATI Catalyst 6.6 |
Desktop Resolution: | 1280 x 1024 - 32-bit @ 60Hz (1600 x 1200 for games) |
OS: | Windows XP Professional SP2 |
137 Comments
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Comdrpopnfresh - Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - link
Unfortunately, this article goes on the assumption that the AMD chips are not overclocked. To say that the low-end intel chips offer overclocked performance that the AMD FX-62 cannot reach is absurd. With an unlocked multiplier, the FX can certainly stay above Core2's low end. The same could be said for Lower End X2's.... I'd like to see a review with them overclocked compared to Core2's at stock.... Especially since such CPUs on the 939 socket are mature and heavily supported by outstanding overclocking mobos....OcHungry - Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - link
Just be patient till advertizing budget is dried up.I wish AMD was more co-operative in paid per review market that has plagued "money buys" technology.net.
goinginstyle - Thursday, July 27, 2006 - link
Dear OC-Sharikou,AMD would have that ability if it were not for that $2.5B loan they just signed and obviously keeping your blog up and running. I hope you are banned for these types of false and mis-leading statements. By the way, where are all of these Intel ads you keep harping about?
Anand Lal Shimpi - Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - link
Advertising and Editorial are completely independent and separate at AnandTech, we have a 3rd party ad agency that handles all advertising and sales. The agency is completely independent from AnandTech, Inc.The OP's points were addressed by the poster above; this article was done after response to the last one asked for more information on the E6300 and E6400. The overclockability of 90nm X2 CPUs is fairly well known, and enough reference points exist within this article to compare overclocked X2 performance vs. E6300/E6400 overclocked performance.
Take care,
Anand
bere - Wednesday, August 2, 2006 - link
Actually I think the article is missleading(not on purpose). To compare a 370FSB OC CPU with a 200FSB on DEF is pointless. I would have OC'ed all at least 2 CPU's from both sides to see what's the best buy for an OC'er.Sorry for my poor english.
jjunos - Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - link
This article also assumes you actually read it. From the article:DigitalFreak - Wednesday, July 26, 2006 - link
Again, STFU