Intel's Core 2 Duo processors

Final Thoughts...

So then, it turns out that the performance numbers that we ran on the Intel-built Core 2 Duo E6700 system are as good as they looked the first time around. The performance capabilities of Intel's Core architecture are now clearer than ever. There wasn't a single test where the Core 2 Extreme X6800 fell behind AMD's current flagship processor - the Athlon 64 FX-62. Arguably though, the more intriguing processors are the lower-end Core 2 Duos, namely the E6600 and the E6400.

There are many occasions where the Core 2 Duo E6600 is hot on the heels of the Athlon 64 FX-62, and in many cases Intel's slowest 4MB L2 cache Core 2 Duo outperforms AMD's flagship chip for roughly 1/3 of the price. On the other hand, there are many occasions where the Core 2 Duo E6400 puts in strong performances against the Athlon 64 X2 5000+ and X2 4600+ processors. In many situations, it came out on top of the X2 5000+ while costing considerably less than AMD's Athlon 64 X2 3800+.

Overclockers UK is listing the chips on pre-order, starting at £152 for the E6300. The Core 2 Duo E6400 comes in at £182 including VAT - we think that this represents excellent value for money. Having said that, the Core 2 Duo E6600 represents great value, too. At £252 including VAT, it is marginally more expensive than the Athlon 64 X2 4600+, but the performance delivered by it is in a completely different league altogether. Meanwhile the Core 2 Duo E6700 and Core 2 Extreme are on pre-order for £411 and £775 respectively.

Intel has spent a long time shouting about it's Core 2 Duo processors, and now it is clear why the company has been doing so for such a long time. The architecture is incredibly fast, and based on our preliminary testing, there is plenty of room for the architecture to scale, too. We were able to get our Core 2 Extreme X6800 running quite happily at 3.46GHz. Unfortunately though, due to the time that we had available, we had to cut short our overclocking testing and save it for another day - it's something that we think is definitely worth revisiting.

In fact, there are a whole bunch of architectural caveats to investigate on Intel's Core 2 Duo processors. One that we hope that we have answered here is the question of L2 cache. Despite there being some performance improvements as a result of having 4MB of L2 cache, we don't think that the performance deficit is as big as some have made out. Out of the four processors we've looked at today, the E6400 looks to be a steal at £182, while the E6600 also represents good value for money.

We have a hard time recommending the Core 2 Duo E6700 and Core 2 Extreme X6800, but there is no doubting that the performance that these processors deliver is in a different league in virtually all scenarios that we've tested them in. If you're looking to spend this kind of money on a new processor, you're not going to go far wrong with either chip. Of course, AMD is set to reduce its prices on July 24th - that could make things very interesting, but it isn't going to change the benchmark scores. Right now, the benchmarks are in Intel's favour.