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Core 2 Duo: Going Strong at 3.60 GHz

10:28 - Tuesday 21 August 2007 by Bert Töpelt
Source: Tom's hardware UK – Keywords: overclocking, intel
Categories: Hardware

Table of content:
8 – Core 2 Duo: Going Strong at 3....
  1. 1 – Four Cores at 3 GHz: Intel’s Core 2 Extreme QX6850
  2. 2 – The New Core 2 Models with FSB 1333
  3. 3 – An Overview of the Core 2 Steppings
  4. 4 – An Overclocking Powerhouse: The new G0-Stepping
  5. 5 – Lower Core Voltage
  6. 6 – Core 2 Extreme QX6850 Rock Solid at 3.66 GHz
  7. 7 – Core 2 Extreme QX6850 Rock Solid at 3.66 GHz (Cont’d)
  8. 8 – Core 2 Duo: Going Strong at 3.60 GHz
  9. 9 – Core 2 Duo: Going Strong at 3.60 GHz (Cont’d)
  10. 10 – Power Consumption
  11. 11 – FSB1066 vs. FSB1333
  12. 12 – Which Board will run an FSB 1333 CPU?
  13. 13 – Pricing: Cheaper than the FSB1066 CPUs
  14. 14 – New Hard- and Software for our Benchmark Suite
  15. 15 – Benchmarks and Settings
  16. 16 – Benchmarks and Settings (Continued)
  17. 17 – Benchmarks - Video CloneDVD, DivX
  18. 18 – Benchmarks - Video Xvid, Premiere
  19. 19 – Benchmarks - Video Studio 11, Mainconcept
  20. 20 – Benchmarks - Audio iTunes, Lame
  21. 21 – Benchmarks – Applications HD-Video, AVG Antivirus
  22. 22 – Benchmarks – Applications Photoshop, PDF
  23. 23 – Benchmarks - Applications Cinema 4D, 3D-Studio Max
  24. 24 – Benchmarks – Applications Fritz, WinRAR
  25. 25 – Benchmarks - 3D Games Quake 4, Prey
  26. 26 – Benchmarks - 3D Games Serious Sam 2, Unreal Tournament 2004
  27. 27 – Benchmarks - 3D Games Warhammer, Supreme Commander
  28. 28 – Benchmarks – Synthetic Sandra CPU
  29. 29 – Benchmarks - Synthetic Sandra Multimedia
  30. 30 – Benchmarks - Synthetic Sandra Memory
  31. 31 – Benchmarks - Synthetic 3D-Mark
  32. 32 – Benchmarks - Synthetic PC-Mark
  33. 33 – Conclusion: New Overclocking Potential with the G0-Stepping

Core 2 Duo: Going Strong at 3.60 GHz

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Due to their lower price, the dual-core processors will be much more interesting to most of our readers than the quad-cores. For this reason, we also took a close look at the engineering sample of the Core 2 Duo E6750, which Intel kindly provided, to determine what overclocking potential the dual-core version of the G0-stepping chips offer.

cpu e6750

We began by running the Core 2 Duo E6750 through our benchmarks at its stock speed of 2.66 GHz.

The overclocking procedure used on the Core 2 Duo processor is a little different from that on the quad-cores. Since the dual-cores do not possess an unlocked multiplier, the only way to overclock them is by raising the speed of the front-side-bus.

The highest multiplier available on the Core 2 Duo E6750 with its 333MHz FSB is 8x. We tested the processor’s stability when overclocked to 3.40 GHz. This corresponds to a clockspeed increase of 27%, or 733 MHz.

Since the processor runs at a high FSB of 333 MHz to begin with, FSB-based overclocking quickly yields very high bus speeds. For example, to reach 3.40 GHz, we had to set the FSB to 425 MHz. Like its quad-core, Extreme-Edition sibling, the Core 2 Duo had no trouble reaching this speed, without so much as a core-voltage tweak needed.

cpu-z

The Core 2 Duo E6750 was even able to achieve the sensational speed of 3.5 GHz at its stock voltage of 1.350 Volts, with the system proving to be rock-solid. In order to reach this speed, we had to set the FSB to 438 MHz. This should not be a problem for the majority of motherboards based on the P35 or i965 chipsets.

Increasing the core voltage by a practically infinitesimal 1.8% from 1.350 to 1.375 Volts even allowed us to push the processor to 3.60 GHz. Once again, Windows, benchmarks and applications were completely stable. The FSB required for this level of overclocking is a respectable 450MHz.

When utilizing such high FSB speeds, it is essential to ensure that the north bridge is kept sufficiently cool. If it gets too hot, the system quickly becomes unstable. Users with a Core 2 Duo capable motherboard based on the 975X chipset may very well find their chipset to be the limiting factor. Here, the FSB may hit a wall long before the processor itself is at its limit. In such cases, the chipset can create system instability.


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Talkback
spuddyt 22/08/2007 03:46
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spuddyt

I hope Intel doesn't start 2 get a monopoly...

Cabelo 28/08/2007 04:19
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Cabelo

You're probably right to worry, but I read that AMD has taken a big upswing this month... hopefully it'll sort itself out.

I even fear the game monopoly :(

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