Thread: The Core 2 Duo E7200 Processors

WITH A SEEMINGLY Midas touch, Intel has managed to churn out CPUs that out¬class all similarly priced AMOs. The latest Intel CPU that we laid our hands on is the Core 2 Duo E7200. The nomenclature may be con¬fusing initially - the 7 series was earlier for laptop CPUs, but the preceding 'E' indi¬cates that it's a desktop model (laptop CPUs have the letter 'T').

Specifications -Stripped down, yet potent This dual core CPU is based on the 45nm manufacturing process. It has a reduced L2 cache, 3MB shared between both cores. The clock speed is a moderate 2.53GHz and it also has the now fairly stan¬dard 1066MHz FSB. While this is not the fastest Intel out there, it suffices for even heavy tasks such as multime¬dia editing and 3D rendering. Gaming on this CPU is more likely to be constrained by the video card rather than the CPU itself. Needless to say, everyday tasks won't be a problem at all.

Performance - Best in Class
The Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 is available for about Rs. 6,000; roughly
Benchmark the price point of rival AMD's new triple core Phenom X3 8450+ and the older dual core Athlon 5600+.

Versus AMD's Dual Core:

In our tests, the Core 2 Duo outclassed the Athlon 5600+ by a long margin. In PC Mark's 2005 CPU test, the Intel scored 6,415 points, while the AMD managed only 5,650 points, a difference of 12 percent. Similarly, Cini¬Bench's 3D rendering test returned a score of 5,253 for the E7200 and the 5600+ was again slower by 12 percent, scoring 4,664 points. For CPUs that are priced almost identical, a 12 percent difference in performance is significant. Interestingly, the next higher AMD CPU, the Ath¬Ion 6000+, which costs a whole Rs.l,OOO more than the Intel E7200, is still beaten by the latter (of course, by a lesser margin).

To test the gaming performance, we ran F.E.A.R., at 1024 x 768 resolution at medium quality set¬tings. The E7200 produced 236fps and the E8500 was faster at 286fps, by 15 percent. Note that for this test we used one of the fast¬est video cards avail¬able today, the Nvid¬ia 8800GTX. With packs formidable performance in its class, and also has headroom for overclocking.

the CiniBench 3D rendering test for example, the Phe¬nom scored 5863 points, and the Core 2 Duo reached 5,253 points. We expected the difference to be larger, owing to an additional com¬puting on Phenom X3.
With gaming however, the Core 2 Duo maintains its lead, making for an overall faster CPU.



In WorldBench 6.0, PC World's real world bench¬marking suite, the Core 2 Duo E7200 scored 107 points. This score seems low compared to the last Intel CPU that we reviewed, the top of the line Core 2 Duo, the E8500 that managed an impressive 124 points. But then, the E8500 costs Rs. 12,000, is clocked 630MHz higher and has twice the amountofL2 cache (6MB). For about 40 percent lesser cost, the performance hit you take is only about 14 percent, lending very high value for money Versus AMD's Triple Core: When it comes to CPU intensive tasks, the addition¬al core on the Phenon X3, has an obvious advantage.

Performance' Score

In mid-range cards, the impact of CPU on the frame rate will be much less pro¬nounced. This CPU is most likely not going to hold you back in gaming.
Verdict

At this price range, the Core 2 Duo E7200 is the fastest CPU, except for the multi¬threaded CPU intensive tasks like 3D rendering, in which case the Phenom X3 benefits by an additional core, but not by a significant amount. For gaming and most other applications, the E7200 is the way to go. One advantage to taking the AMD route is the availability of motherboards with excel¬lent onboard graphics, thus combining a multi-core CPU with good graphics for mod¬erate gaming.