Intel Core 2 Duo E8400

Back in March we had looked at the Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 mobile processor with its Penryn core and 6MB of shared L2 cache between its two cores clocked at 2.50GHz. We were very pleased with the performance of this mobile processor on Linux, which was found within a Lenovo ThinkPad T61 notebook, and today we are looking at the Penryn's desktop counterpart. Intel's Core 2 Duo "Wolfdale" E8000 series processors were released earlier this year with 6MB of L2 cache, 45nm manufacturing, a 1333MHz FSB, and support for SSE 4.1. The processor from the Wolfdale series we are looking at today under Linux is the Core 2 Duo E8400.

The Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 "SLAPL" is clocked at 3.00GHz and has a 65W TDP with the VID voltage range from 0.85V to 1.3625V. Aside from the 1333MHz bus and 45nm manufacturing, some of the other shared features for Wolfdale processors include Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST), EM64T, Intel Virtualization Technology (VT), Enhanced Halt State (C1E), Execute Disable Bit, and Intel Thermal Monitor 2. For more details on some of the other architectural advancements made with these latest Intel dual-core processors with technologies such as Advanced Smart Cache and Smart Memory Access, check out our Intel Core 2 T9300 review.

While the design is much the same, the heatsink shipping the Core 2 Duo E8400 is much slimmer than some of Intel's earlier LGA-775 reference heatsinks. This heatsink fan is quiet during operation and has a 4-pin connection for PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) support. The slug of the heatsink that is exposed to the Intel processor has thermal paste pre-applied. This portion of the heatsink is made of copper while the surrounding fins are aluminum.