Core2Duo E8200 E8400 E8500 Gaming Performance Review Part1

Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 E8400 & E8500 Gaming Performance Review

Intel recently refreshed their Core 2 Duo line up with Wolfdales made from the 45nm Hi-K metal gate process. The most notable changes will be the 50% boost in L2 cache, from 4MB to 6MB. These new models are made to run faster & yet consume less power than their 65nm predecessors. Besides, the Wolfdales are great overclockers too, many managed to hit 4Ghz easily on air cooling.

E8400 is retailing for $220, while a Phenom X4 9600 is retailing for $210 (prices from TigerDirect.com). In this extract of the original review, we will be focusing at the gaming performance of various processors.




Specifications:

Product	E8200/E8400/E8500
Clock Speed	2.66/3.0/3.16 GHz
FSB	1333 MHz
Stepping	C0
Socket	LGA775
Process	45nm Hi-K
TDP	65W
Features	SSE4.1, EIST, EM64T, XD, VT
L2 Cache	6MB shared
Service & Support	3-years limited warranty (box)

Test Platform


Intel components:

• 2GB dual channel DDR2-800 4-4-4-12-2T
  
• DFI LANParty LT X48 T2R

AMD components:

• 2x1GB dual channel DDR2-1066 5-5-5-15-2T (Phenom),
  
• 2x1GB dual channel DDR2-800 4-4-4-12-2T (Athlon X2)
  
• Asus M3A32-MVP Deluxe

Shared components:

• Nvidia GeForce 8800Ultra 768MB
  
• Seagate 7200.10 160GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gbps
  
• PC Power and Cooling Silencer 750W PSU
  
• Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit
  
• DirectX 10.1
  
• Nvidia Forceware 165.25
  
• Intel INF 8.3.0

CPU

• Core2Quad Q6700 - 2.67GHz, 2x4MB L2, 1066MHz FSB, 65nm Kentsfield
  
• Core2Quad Q6600 - 2.40GHz, 2x4MB L2, 1066MHz FSB, 65nm Kentsfield
  
  
• Core2Duo E8500 - 3.16GHz, 2x6MB L2, 1333MHz FSB, 45nm Wolfdale
  
• Core2Duo E8400 - 3.00GHz, 2x6MB L2, 1333MHz FSB, 45nm Wolfdale
  
• Core2Duo E8200 - 2.66GHz, 2x6MB L2, 1333MHz FSB, 45nm Wolfdale
  
  
• Core2Duo E6850 - 3.00GHz, 4MB L2, 1333MHz FSB, 65nm Conroe
  
• Core2Duo E6750 - 2.67GHz, 4MB L2, 1333MHz FSB, 65nm Conroe
  
• Core2Duo E6550 - 2.40GHz, 4MB L2, 1333MHz FSB, 65nm Conroe
  
  
• Core2Duo E4500 - 2.20GHz, 2MB L2, 800MHz FSB, 65nm Allendale
  
  
• Phenom X4 9500 - 2.2GHz, 2MB L3, 4x512KB L2, 1.8GHz HTT/NB, 65nm Agena
  
• Phenom X4 9600 Black Edition - 2.3GHz, 2MB L3, 4x512KB L2, 1.8GHz HTT/NB, 65nm Agena
  
  
• Athlon64 X2 6400+ - 3.20GHz, 2x1MB L2, 1.0GHz HTT, 90nm Windsor
  
• Athlon64 X2 6000+ - 3.0GHz, 2x1MB L2, 1.0GHz HTT, 90nm Windsor

Part 1: Specifications & Test Platform
Part 2: Crysis & World in Conflict
Part 3: Power Consumption