INTEL E7300 AND OVERCLOCK review

Intel is the world leader in the microprocessor market. Its main competitor, AMD, managed to steal the performance crown on a few occasions in the past but currently Goliath wins against David. Today I will review the intel Core 2 Duo E7300 processor and explain how you can achieve a better performance if you are willing to overclock it.

DISCLAIMER
Overclocking is not for the faint of heart. The performance benefits come with a cost. Overclocking could DAMAGE your processor PERMANENTLY and it VOIDS your warranty. Do not attempt anything unless you understand the risks of what you are doing.

It is important to warn you about the danger of overclocking but on the other hand, I don't want to scare you. Overclocking isn't an underground practice anymore reserved to the self proclaimed computer elite. Major motherboard manufacturers such as Asus provide whole BIOS configuration pages dedicated to overclocking.

Basically overclocking is having your processor clock run faster than the standard frequency proposed by intel or AMD. Obviously this makes your processor faster and if you are a technology enthusiast, chances are you want to get the most out of your components. You have to keep in mind that every processor is unique. The results I achieved with my E7300 are likely different that the results you would achieve with another E7300.

Before talking about overclocking, let's see the intel Core 2 Duo E7300. As its name implies, that is a dual core processor. The official specifications (directly from the intel web site):

sSpec Number: SLAPB
CPU Speed: 2.66 GHz
PCG: 06
Bus Speed: 1066 MHz
Bus/Core Ratio: 10
L2 Cache Size: 3 MB
L2 Cache Speed: 2.66 GHz
Package Type: LGA775
Manufacturing Technology: 45 nm
Core Stepping: M0
CPUID String: 10676h
Thermal Design Power: 65W
Thermal Specification: 74.1°C
VID Voltage Range: 0.85V – 1.3625V

The specs in bold are the most important ones to check and I will explain them in this article. The E7300 comes with a basic HSF (heatsink fan) that will do the job if you want to run it at stock speeds but you will need a better cooling unit if you want to overclock, such as the OCZ Vendetta 2 (see my previous review). The reason is a higher clock (and often a higher voltage, more on this later) will generate more heat. To dissipate that heat and ensure the stability of the system, you need a good HSF. When buying a new HSF, make sure that it supports the package type you have (LGA775 for a E7300). Most HSF support multiple types while others support only one specific type.

To overclock you need to go to your BIOS and change some settings. Motherboards have different names for these options. On my Asus P5Q Pro motherboard, the section is called Ai Tweaker. You will see options such as multiplier and FSB (names can be different, it can also be a ratio instead of a direct FSB option). A stock E7300 runs at 10 (multiplier) x 266 Mhz (FSB), resulting in a 2.66 Ghz frequency. To achieve a higher frequency you can increase or decrease the multiplier and the FSB. For example, I run my E7300 at 3.8 Ghz with a multiplier of 9.5 and a FSB of 400. Unfortunately, overclocking is not as simple as that. With a higher frequency, your system might become unstable. To avoid that, you need to increment the voltage of the processor (maybe the Northbridge and Southbridge) and make sure your temperature is not too high. As you can see from the official intel specs, you should not exceed 1.3625V. For my overclock, I had to increase the vCore to 1.3625V to be stable. I didn't need to increase my Northbridge and Southbridge (I don't recommend it unless you use a better cooling system for these and find the official safe voltage specifications).

You want to use the lowest voltage possible while having a stable system. You need to start low and do some tests. If the tests fail you increase the voltage and start over until you are satisfied. As you can see, it is impossible to prove that your system is stable, you can only prove that it isn't. To check your system stability I recommend a few utilities (all of them are free). To check your temperature (remember, a E7300 must not go higher than 74.1°C) you can use Speedfan. The main stability test I use is Prime 95. I execute a torture test (it is the actual name of the test in Prime 95) of 15 hours straight. If no errors are detected, I consider my system stable. If you are running a 64-bit version of Windows, make sure you use the 64-bit version of Prime 95 as it will push your system to its limits even more. Another stability test I use is Intel Burn Test (also compatible with AMD now). This is an EXTREME test, make sure you monitor your temperature since it will go about 20°C higher than it would have after running a few hours of Prime 95. Again you should use the 64-bit version for a better test of your system. Finally I also use Memtest86+ to check the stability of my memory. The easiest way to use it is to burn it on a CD-R/RW and boot from the disc.

To conclude I'll simply say that this article is a simple introduction to the concepts of overclocking. If you are serious about overclocking, before attempting anything you should read more in-depth articles. Remember, this could DAMAGE your processor and it VOIDS your warranty. You should not consider this solution to save money as it is time consuming, I only recommend it to fellow computer enthusiasts. And please, don't try it on a $1k processor... Doing it on a $120 processor is alright, doing it on a $1k processor is just crazy. Sorry if you got a $1k processor, my $120 processor has a higher clock than yours ;p (intel doesn't make Core 2 or Core i7 processors at 3.8 Ghz yet).