1.6GHz - MPN: BX80557E2140
Strengths: Affordable budget priced Dual Core that can hit performance of much more expensive Core 2 Duo
Weakness: Less than ideal level 2 cache on die
Excellent entry level Intel dual core processor. Even though it's called "Pentium Dual Core", it's the same as the Core 2 Duo processors, just with 1mb cache shared by 2 processors. It is a little light in terms of gaming performance due to L2 cache deficiency, but it can be overclocked to over 3Ghz with capable motherboard and memory. At 3Ghz speed, it'll be a great performer with a low price point. Get this one if you intend to overclock, otherwise get something with more L2 cache such as E4500 or E6600
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TopStrengths: Low energy consumption, cheap upgrade to Core 2 Duo
Weakness: so far so good
I have been waiting for upgrading to Core 2 Duo for a long while. I have two ancient machines, one with Celeron 2.7GHz, and the other with Intel Pentium 4 1.6GHz. After upgrading to this CPU, obviously, I've notice a significant improvement. Your mileage may vary though, especially if you were looking for a game rig, then this CPU might not be your best choice. However, if the main usage of your machine is for web browsing and office application, I believe CPU will do the work.
I bought this CPU mainly for setting my first overclocking machine. Originally, I was waiting for e43xx to drop its price, but then I found out the existence of e2140. Based on the review on Newegg, it seems people have had success on overclocking this CPU. Armed with these good reviews, I purchased this e2140 with a popular MB for OC, GA-965P-DS3. I have also purchased Kingston PC25300 Value RAM early on. Then I started my journey on building my overclocking machine.
Putting things together are surprising easy. :-o I had some experience moving PC parts here and there, but building a machine from scratch is rather exciting to me. It's easy to put CPU into the 775 socket, and the stock fan is surprising quiet. I have two quiet fans, but neither of them can fit into the GA-965P-DS3 MB. :-( I was only putting the stock fan to test if the CPU works, but happily found out that the stock fan is quiet enough for me. When the case was open, I only noticed the noise from the 92 intake fan from Nexus, which is supposed to be quiet.
After the machine was up and running, I could not wait to see how does the machine do under overclocking. Gigabyte delivers a convenient utility for overclocking, i.e. Easy Tune 5. It's a very useful tool for a OC newbie like me. By simply pressing the up button, the CPU moved from 1.6GHZ to 2.0GHz. To be honest, I could not notice too much difference since I mainly used net browser or editing some documents. But the CPU temperature did not move up a bit. :-)
I will recommend this CPU for people who are interesting in doing a bargain upgrade and overclocking. For me, this is the most economic way of system upgrade so far.
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TopStrengths: CHEAP! Overclocks to 2.8ghz - 3.2ghz on air cooling
Weakness: Lower Cache than the higher model duos which could be a problem if you do a lot of multimedia heavy editing/encoding.
I bought the m0 stepping of this processor. Its a crippled core duo coming with only 512kb cache per core 1mb total, unlike the higher model duos with 2mb cache and up. But non the less paired with an Abit IP35e & Hyper TX2 Cooler I was able to over clock this to 3.0ghz on stock cooling. I only paid $65 shipped for this chip, and to get such performance you would need to spend around $200 or more!
Seriously if your on a budget and don't do tons of multimedia Editing & Encoding, then buy this chip with a good board and decent memory.
For under $300 for a system build that clocks in at 3Ghz I could not be happier.
Dollar for dollar this chip is a Bang for your buck!
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TopStrengths: Highly overclockable, Affordable
Weakness: 1mb L2 cache
Remember the days of the highly overclockable Northwood core? Well, this chip is now the king of overclockablity. With the right motherboard, memory and power supply, you can obtain 100% overclocking to 3.2ghz on the stock cooler! The performance at 3.2ghz will beat the more expense e6850. If you’re considering a sub $100 AMD X2, forget it. At stock speed, the Intel will beat the AMD in all benchmarks. If you’re a gamer, Get the chip, overclock it and spend the extra money you saved on a good video card.
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TopStrengths: Affordable
Weakness: None
I purchased this processor as part of a general upgrade of my system (from a Pentium 3.0 Ghz). There are no inherent, visible weaknesses as my computer runs smoothly. The best advice that I could give to someone looking to upgrade their system (and their processor) is to not go crazy choosing from, say a 1.6Ghz Core 2 Duo and a 1.8GHz, etc. processor. Being an average -- and not a gamer, etc. -- user, the savings does not appear to come at the expense of any noticeable slow-downs or sluggishness.
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TopStrengths: Price and Performance
Weakness: Cache
First time overclocker. Clocked to 3.0 on Abit IP-35e on air cooling [zerotherm BTF-80]. May be able to get more yet. Stable for 3 weeks now. Great Bang For The Buck!!!!! 3.0 g for $93.00 WOW. CPU vtt 1.21 CPU Core 1.34 31C no load around 50c w/prime 95 [almost stock voltage too].
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TopStrengths: Runs Cool, Good Overclocker, Nice Price/Performance ratio
Weakness: Heat sink takes a bit of getting used to (installing)
This was my first dual-core purchase for a low-end budget machine. If it's your first time installing the heat sink, you may want to search youtube for the instructional video. Even without the heatsink properly attached (when I didn't realize it), my fresh windows installation ran without a hitch! A very durable processor.
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TopStrengths: Core 2 Duo architecture
Weakness: Low frequency and cache
This is the lowest end desktop dual core processor based on the Core 2 Duo architecture that Intel makes. As such, it has all of the advanced features like dual-core, shared L2 cache, and 4-issue execution core.
Unlike its bigger brothers, the E2140 has to do with only 1.6GHz, 1MB of shared L2 cache, and no vitualization support. However, for most tasks, you will hardly notice the difference. Bioshock runs very well with this processor when paired with a Geforce 8800GT, since 3D games are limited by the graphics card these days.
At around $70 retail, it is a steal for so much processing power. Pair it with a good P35 motherboard, and you leave yourself room to upgrade to a better processor in the future when they become affordable.
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TopStrengths: core 2 duo
Weakness: cheap
It is a good cheap processor for HTPC. It is very fast and can be overclocked. It is not ideal for gamers and video editors. But for average users it is perfect. Great value for money
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TopStrengths: price, easy to install
Weakness: none
this is the entry level dual core processor from intel. it was very easy to install with/without the instructions. this is a nice add to my budget computer build. i have not really tried to overclock this cpu yet but it seems easy enough following motherboard instructions. i did not install the included cpu fan so i can't comment on that. bottom line: between what it cost (vs. previous generation processors) and its performance, this is a great processor for almost every computer user out there.
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TopStrengths: Cheap, great overclocker
Weakness: Small cache
I picked up this processor along with a cheap Gigabyte ga-p35-ds3l motherboard. The end result: it runs at 2.8GHz no problem! I was hoping to break the 3GHz mark, but it doesn't want to post at much over 2.8. Keep in mind, this processor is only rated at 1.6GHz, so 2.8 is nothing to balk at! In application, I couldn't be happier with this cpu. It runs circles around my old Athlon X2 3800+ (2GHz). Even at the stock 1.6GHz, I'm seeing a 20% performance increase in video rendering. At my overclocked 2.8GHz, it perform nearly twice as well in all my benchmarks.
Don't be put off by this processors cheap price and low stock clock speed. This processor can easily keep up with ones three times it's price. There is nothing to not like about it! Depending on your application, the smaller cache may not even make a difference. Highly recommended.
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TopStrengths: Price, overclockability
Weakness: 1mb L2 cache
This chip is cheap - meaning it's inexpensive - not low quality.
I've put together a number of systems with this processor, & the lowest overclock I've achieved (with value ram & budget mobos, mind you), is ~500mhz. I've had two cpus go to 2.6ghz & those don't even approach the best results I've seen online.
Even at stock speeds, these will tear through any normal/average home/office user's day to day apps. OC'd to >2.4ghz, they hold their own against processors that cost twice as much. They are a tremendous value.
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TopStrengths: cheap price with moderate performance
Weakness: cache size (only 1 mega), somewhat slow when playing games
Unbelievable performance with its cheap price. You can do anything with this processor including word, web surfing, games (although it is somewhat slow, movies and so on.
It works great with my Samsung memory (ddr2-667) and
MSI 945G motherboard. Quiet fan with reasonable cooling.
I didn't try any overclocking, but this one is famous for
its great overclocking possibility.
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TopStrengths: Low cost, decent performance at stock speed. Low power/heat.
Weakness: Intel stock heatsink/fan seems a bit cheesy (all aluminum) but seems to do the trick. More cache would be nice but can't be expected at this price.
This is a great little processor to use as a low power internet surfing/desktop publishing rig or htpc. Overclocked they deliver quite a punch. I've got a friend *cough* whose E2140 will run Super Pi 32M stable 3.2GHz@default voltage. Pair this with a good P35 motherboard and this will easily tide you over until the 45nm chips arrive. About the only people I don't recommend this for are hard core overclockers/gamers who run at least an 8800GTS video card and want maximum performance or those who need quad cores.
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TopStrengths: Core2Duo power at a good price
Weakness: Overclocking not a guarantee
What can you say about C2Ds that hasn't already been said? They're fast, they're at a good price, and if you're lucky the chip will overclock to the moon. This one of mine hasn't, "only" up to 2.1 from 1.6, but I haven't tried too hard at it yet, either. Runnning it at stock for awhile, it's still plenty fast -- games play fine, it can play 1080p HDTV at 50% or so max usage, etc. If you need fast video encoding speed or something you might be better off with a guaranteed-higher ghz model, but for the price this is hard to beat. The 1mb cache only affects certain applications.
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TopStrengths: Dual Core, low cost, runs very cool, quiet.
Weakness: Nothing noticeable. 1MB L2 cache, 1.6 GHz clock speed (but can be overclocked)
Used with one of the cheapest combo motherboards I could find with 2gb ddr2 667 memory, and a 160gb hard drive.
Installing the processor was easy, seating the heatsink and fan wasn't difficult but takes quite a bit of force before it will lock into place.
Runs great at the stock 1.6ghz; applications open and run quickly and multitasking isn't a problem. This processor is known to be a great overclocker but I was very limited by my motherboard.
My Setup:
Intel E2140 retail processor.
ECS P4M900T-M Motherboard (onboard audio & video).
1gb - HP ddr2 667mhz memory.
160gb Maxtor sataII hard drive.
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TopStrengths: It's called a Pentium but it's really an Allendale Core 2 Duo with 1MB L2 Cache, I bought it for an amazing $55 shipped on eBay, OCs like nothing I've ever owned before.
Weakness: None
I bought this CPU on eBay for only $55. I have it overclocked to an amazing 3.2GHz 1.3v (100% OC). For it to be stable I had to raise the motherboard FSB and SPP by .1v. It does 19.203 seconds in Super PI 1M (@ 3.2GHz). There's not even a Core 2 Duo for sale that's clocked at 3.2GHz! My computer is so fast now it's unreal! It boots up in about 15 seconds! Who can complain with a 100% OC! If you want the best bane for your buck I highly recommend you get a E2140, E2160, or E2180! Your won't find anything better for your money!
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TopStrengths: low price, overclocks very well
Weakness: low L2 cache, price keeps on dropping
This is a great budget dual-core CPU that offers more a lot of performance for the price. It delivers more than enough computing power for office and regular tasks, but it might come up a bit short when it comes to gaming or heavy multimedia. This chip also has the least amount of L2 cache of all Core 2 Duo CPUs. While the difference is negligible in most applications, performance might drop as much as 10% in certain game, compression, and encoding applications.
If you're a budget overclocker, this is definitely the chip to get if you need something now. Currently, I'm sitting at 2.9Ghz with all default voltages with a EVGA 650i Ultra motherboard and Crucial Ballistix PC6400 2GB kit.
The price of this chip is rumored to drop in another month, and the upcoming Penryn cores will outperform by quite a large margin. So if you're building a budget/budget overclocking computer, this is a good chip to get.
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Top
So what are these new Pentium dual-core processors? Well, in essence they are stripped down Conroe processors featuring a tiny 1MB L2 cache with an 800MHz Front Side Bus (Conroe processors have a 4MB L2 cache and use a 1066/1333MHz FSB).
Top
Bottom-of-the-line bargain
Strengths: Fast, dual-core, low power and runs cool, includes a nice, quiet fan. But most of all: VALUE.
Weakness: "Only" 1MB L2 cache, 800Mhz FSB, 1.6 GHz clock speed.
The E2140 is Intel's bottom of the line Core 2 Duo chip, and correspondingly comes with only 1MB of L2 cache (compared with 2MB in the 4xxx and 4MB in the 6xxx series) and runs on a FSB of only 800 MHz (compared with 1333MHz in the latest chips). It's also clocked at only 1.6GHz. But the beauty of this chip isn't its raw power; it's that for a mere $70 (August 07), you get a latest-gen dual-core chip that blazes through day to day multitasking including web page rendering, photo editing, HDTV decoding, occasional gaming, and anything else your average user might throw at it. Sure, if you have unusual processing needs or insist on the latest and greatest, this isn't for you. But for most users -- even enthusiasts like myself -- the E2140 is a bargain and doesn't disappoint.
It took some time for me to get over the psychological hump of buying the cheapest, slowest chip in the lineup, but I decided to put my money towards more RAM and nicer peripherals; I don't regret it. My system is incredibly responsive and I've yet to run into CPU bottlenecks. Plus (and this is one reason to choose it over a comparable AMD solution), the E2140 uses the LGA775 socket, so when the time comes there's a drop-in upgrade path to the fastest quad-core chips currently available.
A few notes: I'm using the included cooler/fan at stock speeds, and it runs cool and quiet. I haven't tried overclocking, but I suspect it could do 2Ghz at least -- and others have reported much more, making it an even better value. I'm running it with the 945GC chipset and 2GB of DDR 667. My previous system was a PIII 800Mhz, so my bar might be lower than yours when it comes to "incredible" speed. Still, I stand by my comments -- for those looking to save money, the E2140 is a lot of processor for a great price.
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