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Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2160 - The Next Overclocking Wonder

By Vijay Anand - 15 Aug 2007

Small in Cache, Big in Returns

Small in Cache, Big in Returns

As the new entry level dual-core processor, the Pentium Dual-Core series entered into the processor market last quarter to offer an efficient and lower cost alternative to the aging Pentium D series and even the Pentium 4 processors. And so the Pentium Dual-Core series sported the same tried and tested Core microarchitecture of the Core 2 Duo series - with the exception of the 'puny' 1MB L2 cache and a constrained 800MHz FSB. Still, it did a dandy job for what it was destined for as compared in our Athlon X2 BE-2350 review .

Despite the entry level processor positioning with an almost Celeron-class price, the Core architecture based Pentium Dual-Core processors had tremendous untapped potential. And so we set out to unleash the overclocking beast within, not knowing how detrimental the 1MB L2 cache would be to modern day processing needs. Air-cooled at a rock-stable 3.33GHz, the Pentium Dual-Core E2160 demonstrated that it was more often than not, far speedier than the Core 2 Duo E6850, the highest performing dual-core processor. At worst, it was still as fast as the E6750 model, especially reminiscent in some of the gaming tests. From a low-end dual-core processor, just an 'ordinary' FSB tweak to 370MHz catapults it to the highest end of the spectrum. For a US$84 processor, if you ask us, that's an awesome capability. And having known the high yields and overclocking headroom of the processors, there's really nothing to lose if you're still not convinced.

The humble Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2160 processor is begging to be overclocked right out of the box, so don't deprive it or yourself - just tweak up the FSB and unleash the hidden beast within!

Intel has been in the headlines for performance of its high-end processors for over a year now and there seems to be no stopping of that anytime soon with overclocking and all added into the equation. As explained in the article, you don't require any exorbitant cooling, or a high-end motherboard or memory for that matter. Any ordinary system can pull this off as long as the motherboard offers the necessary FSB clock control and at no extra cost, you get almost double the processing power! So if you are talking about value for money, absolutely nothing beats this.

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