Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Preview

Introduction:

You've gotten the upgrade itch again. Your system is up to date, you have a dual core processor already, but that hardware jones just won’t go away. Kind of like the new car itch. You get in and smell the newness, kick the tires, and the salesman leads you down the hallway to the finance room to talk to the numbers guy. Then you finally put your name on the dotted line and you are now the proud owner of a new car. On the way home the buyers regret starts. By the time you get home, you start to realize that the other car was still pretty nice. You won’t have to sign on the dotted line and promise out your first born child to be able to own one of Intel’s latest Core 2 Duo CPUs. In fact, with the latest price drops, they are downright affordable. For the Average Joe, 2.66 GHz, 1066MHz and 1333MHz are numbers that really don’t mean a whole lot.

For the enthusiast, those numbers bring the hope of increased performance and higher clock speeds from the CPUs that we chose. Intel’s latest Core 2 Duo CPUs feature a 333 FSB instead of the 266 FSB we have grown accustomed to. Built using the same 65 nanometer process as its predecessors, it includes a shared L2 cache of 4 megabytes with 64 bit support on a socket 775 platform. Many motherboards currently on the market have the capability to use these new CPUs, while some need just a simple BIOS update to gain the capability. So why not jump in and take a look while we see what the latest from Intel has to offer.

Intel was formed at a time when the average size computer took up a large amount of space, usually several rooms. My how times have changed. Now the heart of a computer can be held in the palm of your hand with no thoughts of being crushed. Intel has lead the way with innovation and continually reducing the size of the processor and increasing the level of performance.

Installation:

The installation process is slightly different from many processors that have been produced. With the 775 socket, Intel has migrated away from using pins on the bottom of the CPU to make contact with the socket. Instead of the pins being on the processor, the pins are spring loaded in the socket and the contact surface on the CPU is just a flat circular disc. This eliminates the fear of bending a pin if for some reason you drop the processor or it was handled roughly during shipment. While this is a change, it is for the better in my opinion.

Installing this processor into the motherboard is no different than any other socket 775 Intel processor. You will want to start out by opening the hold down mechanism. Lift out and up on the retention arm to release the hold down mechanism. Then lift the hold down plate and insert your CPU, making sure you index the processor into the socket using the two notches on the socket and processor as your guide.