bit-tech Shopping: Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Dual Core Processor

Rating: 8

Time with product: 8 Months

Strengths: As everybody here said is 65 (it doesn't get to hot) 2.33, OC indeed very well, and paired with a good air cooler goes very well up

Weaknesses: NONE

Summary: I bought 6 months ago the ASUS mobo P5K3 deluxe, I got back then 2 gb DDR3 Kingstone 1066 modules Value Ram, and with Sapphire ATI HD2600XT GDR4 memories runs Vista in 64 bits very very fast.I have

Rating: 8

Time with product: 2

Strengths: great price, and stays relatively cool

Weaknesses: none at all.

Summary: I bought this for a very cheap price and discovered that it was worth it. Along with it's abilities to stay cool and even quiet, prices compared to other processors at the same power just can't beat it.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 1 Week

Strengths: It?s an Intel!

Weaknesses: Besides the $, none

Summary: Once you decide on Intel over AMD, which one to get? Core Due, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, Core 2 Extreme? I decided that for an average user (non-gamer) like me, Core 2 Duo is sufficient. The higher-ups (Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Extreme) will cost more than an average complete system. Then, the next question is which Core 2 Duo? I decided to go for the one with the best price/performance ratio, though I am certain this matrix is changing continuously. The E6550 was it. It is 2.33 GHz (midway between 1.8 and 3), a 4 MB L2 cache (the largest in the Core 2 Duo family) and a FSB of 1333 MHz (the fastest in the family). Yes, I am aware of the memory speed sync issue. The E6550 is not the fastest and is not the best but it is sufficient for me.I brought the retail package, not the OEM package. The only difference is that the retail package comes with a big heat-sink and fan unit. For several dollars more, the retail package is a better value, unless one has a bigger and better heat-sink and fan unit. Be careful, there is some heat transfer glue/jell on the heat-sink. Don?t touch it and don?t whip it off.The mounting instruction for the heat-sink and fan unit is either not clear or totally incorrect. It took me more than half hour to mount and install the unit correctly. This is my first time in more than a decade in building a new system. Examine and understand how the pin mechanism works first before trying. Once I understand the mechanism, it only took me several minutes to correct the errors and mount the unit correctly.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 1 Weeks

Strengths: 1333FSB and for the fact that this CPU costs as much as the 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo 1066FSB.

Weaknesses: The first processor I purchased was DOA so I had to send out for a replacemnt. The CPU fan is made poorly!

Summary: I wasn't too thrilled that the first processor I received was DOA, but after getting a working one I was fine. The 1333FSB give this processor a good kick and this is probably the best processor out there in it's price range. I've always used Intel based systems because they not only make the best desktop processors but the best notebook processors too. The heatsink/fan that comes with the 775 socket processors is really poorly made, its hard to put on, loud, and doesn't do a very good job cooling the CPU. I've always put on an aftermarket CPU cooler which is much better for overclocking too.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 2 Weeks

Strengths: Not too expensive. Very fast performance. Runs extremely cool and quiet.

Weaknesses: none

Summary: Even with the stock heatsink this processor runs extremely cool and is very quiet. It is not too expensive considering it's huge 2x2 MB cache and lightning fast 1333 MHz FSB. Very fast performance for such an inexpensive CPU. My only note, since this was my first socket 775 install maybe this is normal, I don't know... When closing the CPU retention bracket, it made a very loud click just before it closed completely. I opened it to see if the CPU was OK, and it was. So I closed it up again and it made the same horrid noise, but it's working like a champ!