Desktop Computer Review: Intel - E2160 1.80G 1MB 800MHZ Pentium Dual Core Processor Box Review

As the title states this CPU is a terrific buy if you'd like to have a high-end (yes i meant high-end) PC on a budget. even by now Feb-2008 it still is a decent processor on stock speeds. don't let the dual core name fool you this is a full core 2 duo but with crippled cache, yes i know the cache is important but when you look at the benchmarks the only REAL benefit of cache memory is in office applications (let me say where it is not required to have much power). Once you overclock this baby you'll know what i'm talking about, i bought a cheap aftermarket cooler with only 3 heatpipes for 12$ and i was able to overclock the cpu to 3 Ghz without tweaking the voltages, and to 3.4 with a small bump on the latter. being said that in my city the ambient temps hits constantly 32ºC and it is not in an Air conditioned room.
It is also very economic on the performance-per-watt prospective because it draws less than 70W at full load at stock speeds but it hits 86W when the voltage is raised by 0.2V
with cpus originally shipped with 1066 and 1333mhz bus it is VERY hard to get decent overclock rates beacause the OC gets Motherboard limited or FSB limited that's why this one is so good because it ships with 800Mhz bus so when you increase the FSB to a "normal" 1066Mhz you'll get 3Ghz out of it without pushing the Motherboard.
on the performance-per-dollar prospective it shines even more being able to beat many of the newer/pricier chips with a bit of effort http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/pentium-e2160_14.html#sect0
why pay 3 or 4 times the price of this model for only 10-20% more speed (refering to the yorkfields) if you buy and OC this one you will have more bang for your buck. although it can be found cheaper elsewhere.

however i'm giving it 4 stars because of the cache size and because at 3ghz it "only" gives 5.7 in the Windows Vista cpu benchmark, the maximum being 5.9, awesome

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Product Description:
Intel newest addition to the Intel Pentium family with dual-core processor technology that delivers great mobile performance, low power enhancements, and multitasking for everyday computing.