Intel E8600 Core 2 Duo Processor Review

Conclusion

For most consumers the E8600 is just another speed bump in Intel’s product line. For a small number of consumers the E8600 represents a means to hitting 4500+MHz consistently. For an even smaller portion of consumers, the E8600 makes the QX9650 and QX9770 obsolete for most benchmarking. Depending on where you sit in that break down, the E8600 may have immense value or be simply another expensive toy. Priced at $286 per processor, the E8600 costs $100 more than the E8500 which may be a tough bullet to bite for a 133MHz speed bump but I personally felt it was worth it.

With the new stepping I was also able to run the processor at a lower vcore at stock speeds. I was using 1.05v for 3.33GHz and under the QX9650 heatsink I was loading at only 45 Celsius. This is incredible and it only gets better as the frequency increases. I imagine this processor could easily run at stock speeds with a large passive cooler and run just fine.

If you already have an E8xxx or Q9xxx processor, don’t feel pressured to buy the newest toy on the block as you won’t gain much from it. Like all top tier processors, you pay quite a lot for very little and the $182 E8500 is a much more attractive choice for most consumers. Now, if you absolutely must have the fastest processor on the market or eat, sleep, and dream about overclocking then the E8600 should be in your shopping cart as you read this. Chances are this is as fast as it’s going to get until Nehalem comes out, so you might as well get it now and enjoy it for a few months.

Legit Bottom Line: The E8600 is a speed demon for those willing to unleash it. The fastest processor on the market for only $286 is an incredible deal.