Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 Overclocking

Tom’s Hardware built an Intel machine with an MSI Intel P45 motherboard and Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 processor, and then overclocked it up to 4.2 GHz.

System Setup:

• 3.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 processor
• MSI P45D3 Neo-F motherboard
• 2 x 2GB DDR3-1600 Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D memory
• 300 GB Western Digital VelociRaptor SATA/300 16 MB Cache HDD
• Fortron Everest 1010, 1010 W power supply unit

“Although the 4.26 GHz setting provided the most performance, the 3.9 GHz overclock turns out to be the winner of this efficiency analysis. The clock speed increase provides a nice speed bump when compared to the 3.33 GHz stock speed without bumping power consumption up to excessive levels. If you are looking to get the best performance paired with the lowest effective power consumption, the fastest possible speed without a voltage increase should be your goal.” [Tom’s Hardware | Overclocking Core 2 Duo: Power Versus Performance]

Although an Intel Core i7 and/or AMD Phenom II based system would be the ideal setup for future-proofing your build, the Intel P45 and Core 2 Duo E8600 combo is still a great one to have, especially if you are into overclocking.

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