INTEL Core 2 Duo E6300 Processor

Dual core processing, we hardly knew ye, and despite the advent of four cores, we'd still like to get acquainted. Sure, we'd have no qualms about accepting a Core 2 Quadro rig outfitted with four gluttonous 8800GTX videocards to satiate our quad-SLI craving, but the problem is we don't know anyone giving away such a feast of PC debauchery. And call us penny pinching misers all you want, we're just not taking out a second mortgage in order to fund a faster Super Pi time that won't help us shoot straighter in Counter Strike or increase our productivity with negligibly quicker load times for Word or Excel. And thanks to Intel's Core 2 Duo lineup, we need not feel bad about picking up a more budget friendly solution because when it comes to real world performance, there's not a whole lot that separates a sub $200 processor from a $1K chip. Today we look at Intel's budget minded Core 2 Duo E6300 processor. Clocked at 1.86GHz coupled with 2MB L2 cache and an economical price tag, the E6300 looks to be the ideal jumping off point for that upgrade to a Microsoft Vista capable system.

Intel's Core 2 Duo line shares the same IHS (Integrated Heat Spreader) as the Pentium D lineup, which was Intel's first attempt at offering a dual core processor. Also familiar to Intel aficionados is the MALAY marking, denoting this chip was packaged (not manufactured) in Malaysia. The 8 digit FPO/Batch number also appears on the IHS, and they refer to the following (in order):

x = Test Site
x = Year of Manufacture
xx = Week of Manufacture
xxxx = Lot Code Identifier (includes Stepping)

Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo E6300
CPU Socket Type	LGA775
Core	Conroe (w/ half of the 4MB L2 cache d isabled)
Operating Frequency	1.86GHz
L1 Cache	2 x 32 KBytes
L2 Cache	2MB
Processor Type	65nm
TDP (Max Thermal Power)	65W
Hyper-Threading (HT)Technology	No
64-bit Support	Yes
Instructions	MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, EM64T
Voltage	0.85V - 1.3525V
Thermal Specification	61.4C
Warranty	3 Years (Retail Boxed)