This article will cover an excellent 8-year-old central processor - Intel Core 2 DUO E7400. The characteristics of this chip today can not be called relevant, but it still looks great as the basis for office or budget system units. It is in this context that its specifications will be considered.
CPU Niche
At the time sales began, this processor belonged to middle-class solutions. Most of the existing software at that time on it could function quite successfully. Of course, some of the toys on this hardware did not go at the maximum settings, but still they started without fail. But now the situation has changed. In some of the freshest and most demanding toys there is a check for 4 cores, and there are only 2 in this chip. Therefore, such software will not work on it. As a result, such chips belong to the entry-level semiconductor solutions.
Delivery options
In two possible configurations, an Intel Core 2 DUO E7400 processor was supplied. The description on the official website of the manufacturer indicates BOX and TRAIL. The second one was more modest and included the following:
- The chip itself.
- Signature sticker with the logo of the CPU model.
- Warranty card from the manufacturer.
- Quick start guide for using a semiconductor product.
The first option was more extended and, in addition to everything previously listed, included the following:
- Brand cooler.
- Thermal grease.
CPU socket. CPU General Features
At that time, the Intel Core 2 DUO E7400 was to be installed in the main and most common processor socket.
Specifications indicate support for the LGA775. To date, all the processors of this socket are morally obsolete and discontinued. But there are still its stocks, and therefore it is still possible to buy such semiconductor products. This processor has only 2 computing modules. He also lacks support for NT technology and the 2nd increase in the number of logical flows at the software level in this case is impossible to obtain.
Production technology
According to the most advanced technical process in 2008, Intel Core 2 DUO E7400 was manufactured. The characteristics of this silicon crystal indicate a tolerance of 45 nm. Now the most advanced CPUs are already manufactured at 14 nm. Considering the difference of 3 times and taking into account the time interval of 8 years, the difference is not that big between the hero of this review and the latest-generation budget central processors.
Cache
Only 2 levels of cache are in Cor 2 DUO E7400. In 2008, among the chips for ordinary personal computers, it was still impossible to meet a 3-level cache memory. Therefore, in this regard, this chip was not distinguished by anything special. Now this is one of the reasons why this CPU cannot compete in speed with the most affordable processors of the last several generations. The first level had a total size of 64 Kb. Moreover, they were divided into 2 equal parts, the size of each of which was 32 Kb. The second cache level was common for all CPU computing resources and had a size of 3 MB.
RAM
For use in conjunction with DDR2 memory , the Intel Core 2 DUO E7400 processor was calculated. The specifications of this CPU indicate recommended frequencies of 800 MHz or 1,066 MHz. The RAM controller, unlike current chips, was not part of the CPU semiconductor chip. Therefore, its specific performance depended on the set of system logic on the motherboard.
Frequency. Overclocking
The clock frequency for this semiconductor solution was set to 2.8 GHz. The multiplier for this CPU is set to 10.5. This value is fixed and it is impossible to overclock this chip by simply changing this parameter. Therefore, the only way to increase the performance of such a PC is to increase the frequency of the system bus on the motherboard. Its value is set to 266.7 MHz. In practice, with a high-quality cooling system, the frequency of the system bus could be raised to 390 MHz and get already 4.1 GHz for the chip. In percentage terms, this is 46%. As a result, it can be noted that this CPU had excellent overclocking potential.
Reviews Price
At $ 110 at the beginning of sales, the TRAIL configuration option was evaluated by the manufacturer of this chip. At $ 125, the more advanced BOX Intel Core 2 DUO E7400 was priced. The characteristics (reviews of owners and specialists confirm this) for this CPU are very modest, and it is inferior in speed to even the most budget processors of the latest generation. The key difference here lies in the frequency and cache memory, which currently already has a three-tier organization. You also need to take into account the fact that this processor has been released for a long time, and therefore it is not worth considering it as the basis for a gaming system. It is outdated and suitable only for solving the simplest tasks: playing video or audio recordings, web surfing and office programs. You can also add to this list the current least demanding or even outdated old toys. Something more cannot be squeezed out of this semiconductor CPU .
Summary
For 2008, the Intel Core 2 DUO E7400 was an excellent processor solution . His characteristics were really good at that time. But now this CPU is outdated both morally and physically. Over the past time, he moved from a niche of middle-class products to the budget segment. As a result, on such personal computers it is only possible to solve the simplest tasks now. Well, for something more, it will not work to use such a computing system.