Reviews for Intel Pentium E2160 Dual-core 1.80GHz Processor

Intel E2160

Strengths: Inexpensive, Fast, Overclockable, cool running.

Weakness: small cache

This Intel Dual Core processor is basically a Core2Duo in disguise - the major difference being that the cache is reduced to 1Mb.

I bought this processor to go into a HTPC I was building, and I didn't want to break the bank on it. This processor fits the bill nicely. I've coupled this processor with a GeminII and an Antec NSK2480 for a VERY quiet box. I have not installed any fans on the GeminII, and the case fans are running at lowest speed.

When playing normal SD content or DVD, the CPU temperature goes 3 or 4 degrees above ambient. One of the reasons for getting this CPU is that it's very overclockable, and in the future I want to be able to play HD content. I've done a couple of tests on the CPU I received, and I can happily overclock it from the stock 1.6GHz to 2.4GHz on a fanless GeminII, which should be enough to decode HD. If it's not, I know that I can install a fan or 2 and ramp the clock speed higher.

If you're looking for a fast CPU for gaming, I would look elsewhere. If you're looking for one for a HTPC, give this chip serious consideration. If you're looking for a cheap CPU for web surfing, email etc (ie the stuff 80% of us spend 90% of our time doing), then this processor will serve you well.

Recommended.

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Get a $300 chip for under $100

Strengths: Highly overclockable, Affordable

Weakness: 1mb L2 cache

That’s right, you get the same performance from the e2160 dual core chip that rivals the more expense e6850. Disclaimer: The performance is based on overclocking this chip to 3.2Ghz, which is easily done with the right motherboard, memory and power supple. This chip is highly overclockable, some has reached 100% overclockability. Clearly, this is the best bang for you buck. If you’re not going to overclock, look elsewhere, the 1mb L2 cache will hold you back in gaming performance, but is decent for everyday computing.

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E2160

Strengths: Low cost, high permformance.

Weakness: None.

Intel Pentium E2160 dual-core processor. This is one of the low-cost Dual-Cores that Intel has been selling recently. These processors are underclocked from the factory, but are capable of extreme overclocking. Do not think that because of their low cost that they are weak. You can overclock these with ease and you can still use the stock coolers.

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Great budget processor, but you would never know it

Strengths: Very nice price for a dual core, Very fast, and very cool (temperature) processor.

Weakness: Stock heatsink/fan is difficult to install.

I haven't tried overclocking it, but I believe it could overclock very well. It is running 79 degrees Fahrenheit idle, and 110 degrees Fahrenheit under a load. This is with Arctic Silver Ceramique thermal paste, and the stock heatsink and fan (which was very difficult for me to install, I much prefer the AMD am2/939 retention method to these plastic clips that hold the heatsink to the motherboard and you drive a pin through to hold it in.)
I love the new 4 pin CPU fans that change the speed automatically when the CPU temp increases.
I would highly recommend this to budget users and power users alike for the great cool temperature, great overclocking (Unverified by me), and it feels very fast running.
I paired it with an Abit IP35-E, 2GB OCZ 800mhz ram, and an Antec NSK4400 case, and I am loving it so far.

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E2160

Strengths: Cheap and fast

Weakness: None

This is essentially a detuned core 2 duo. They are based on the same architecture. It only runs at 1.8GHz but can easily be overclocked with the right board. I have a DG965WH and cannot overclock with it. For the price you can't beat it.

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E2160 - Core 2 Duo Performance at Dual Core Price

Strengths: low cost, performance, overclocking capability

Weakness: small level 2 cache, overclocking potential varies from processor to processor

This review is targeted to those who are looking to overclock their processor as this particular chip is well known to overclock significantly. Those who just want a chip to run at stock speed are better off with the slightly faster E2180, E2220 or one of the lower end Core 2 Duos like the E4400 or E4500.

I recently decided to build my first computer. I am above average in computer knowledge, but up to now I have always found it cheaper to buy a pre-built computer. I was intitially looking at the E4400 Core 2 Duo which is currently priced at about $120. However, I was intrigued by the Pentium Dual Core, which is essentially a Core 2 Duo with only 1MB cache instead of 2MB or 4MB.

I am not a gamer and don't do any video editing or intensive computing, so the smaller Level 2 cache did not dissuade me. There are a couple features absent from the Dual Core (for example, virtualization technology) but for the average computer user these features will not be missed.

A heat sink is included in the retail box, but I decided to purchase an after market heat sink because I intended to overclock the processor to its maximum capability. Many users have reported that the stock heat sink can handle an overclock up to about 3Ghz, which is nothing to complain about.

My chip has the M0 stepping (as of July 22, 2007 all Dual Cores have been manufactured with M0 stepping rather than L2 stepping). The jury is still out whether or not the M0 version overclocks better than the L2 stepping.

The maximum stable processor speed I was able to achieve on an abit IP35-E without exceeding the recommended core voltage was 2.92GHz. This is about average to slightly below average compared to other reports I have seen so far for this chip. The maximum overclock I was able to achieve was 3.33Ghz at 1.5V.

I decided to settle on a slightly slower speed (3.1GHz) since running the processor at such high voltage can shorten its life. At 3.1 Ghz, performance is roughly comparable to the E6750 which runs at 2.67Ghz but has a 4MB cache. Since I paid less than $80 for the processor, that makes it an incredible value compared to the higher priced Core 2 Duos. Realistically, I could have gotten by with the stock heat sink, but I only paid $7 after rebate for a Geminii cooler.

Performance at 3.1 Ghz is snappy. My previous computer had a 3Ghz Pentium 4 processor and my new rig is twice as fast. I would highly recommend this processor to the budget minded do it yourselfer.

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E2160 Dual Core

Strengths: Excellent overclock ability, low price

Weakness: Weak 1mb cache shared between 2 cores

This little processor is one step up from the E2140, but it is still an Intel entry level dual core. Named Pentium, but it's the same as Core 2 Duo brothers, except with less L2 cache. This one has 9x multiplier, you're likely to hit a higher overclock speed with modest board frequency. Like E2140 and E2180, this one suffers from 1mb L2 cache, so if you game or do video editing, etc, you may want something in the E4500 or E6600 class. Otherwise this is a great bang for the buck processor with excellent overclock ability. It should hit 3.0-3.2Ghz with ease.

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Best buy for bucks if you overclock it

Strengths: Price to performance ratio is unbeaten. Easy to run at 3.2 GHz.

Weakness: None so far.

I upgrade my system from my old P4 2.8G computer. Intended for M0 stepping. Bought it for $72. Uses a Cooler Master fan. It runs cool even at overclocked 3.2 GHz. It is the best buy for budget PC. Love it!

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intel E2160 CPU

Strengths: Cheap and very overclockable

Weakness: Small cache

This is a great CPU if you like to overclock. It can easily reach 3GHz or higher with no change in voltage or cooling. I'm using it with a abit IP35-E motherboard and this CPU is a monster! I'm currently running it at 3.2GHz and it is perfectly stable. What a bargain for approximately $50.

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good cheap processor

Strengths: overclocks on strong air cooling to 3.33, ghz, budget price ,really fast at high clockspeeds

Weakness: does not beat high end core 2 duos, no extreme edition version, low L2 cache

i was originally going to buy a core 2 quad to replace my old 90nm Pentium 4 HT 640, but my budget did not allow for it, so i ended up buying this processor, overclocked it to 3.33 ghz, and am loving it, i would definitely recommend this processor for those that are on a low budget that need a processor, as this is much faster than any old Pentium D and Pentium 4 HT

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Value-oriented processor

Strengths: Overclocking potential, low wattage

Weakness: Reduced cache

The cooling requirements of this processor are minimal, allowing me be run it in a very quiet configuration with an after-market cooler. I expect to gain significant additional speed with overclocking, but without needing to increase the fan-speed of the cooler. Excellent balance between cost and performance.

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Good Overclocker!

Strengths: Great overclock for the price

Weakness: 1 Mb L2 cache, L2 stepping, runs a little hotter than I expected.

This was my first time building a computer, and after much reading, I decided to get this budget-priced processor and overclock it. So far overclocking has been really easy; I've pushed it up to 2.7 GHz on just stock HSF (with Arctic Silver 5), while undervolting to 1.225 volts. I'm pretty sure it can go even higher, but heat is a bit of a concern for me; I'm hitting 58 celsius on both cores when maxing out the CPU. I'm guessing the AS5 just needs to set in a bit first. Performance has been quite snappy, especially on a fresh installation of Windows XP.

I only wish I had managed to get the M0 stepping and not the L2 stepping, since M0 is supposed to be better with the thermal envelope. Almost no websites will list which stepping they are selling, so its mostly luck of the draw. I've heard that clubit does specify what stepping the processor is, however. Otherwise, it might be prudent to spend a few extra bucks for the E2180, which is guaranteed to be of the M0 stepping.

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Great Value

Strengths: Inexpensive, great overclocker

Weakness: None

Mine is stable at 3.15GHz @ 1.5V. Idle temp is 38 Celsius with a Scythe SCMNJ-1000 Ninja Mini. I upgraded from an Athlon XP clocked at 2.2GHz, and the performance difference is pretty dramatic for tasks like video encoding. I actually paid about $20 less for the E2160 than I paid for my Barton 2600+ three years earlier, and this is a much better processor (relative to current competition) with a socket that I can actually get an upgrade out of. These E21x0 processors really are an unusually good value.

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Overclocker's Dream

Strengths: Um, overclocking.

Weakness: 1MB cache

Ok this thing is an overclocking beast. If you have a motherboard capable of it, you can easily, and I mean easily get over 3GHz. I pushed mine only to 3.15 GHz since it's for someone else, and heat becomes an issue. I've read of guys reaching 3.6 to 3.7 GHz, but I think that may be a bit much. 3.2 GHz should be easily obtainable with decent cooling. Awesome.

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You can't beat the price/performance (especially if...

Strengths: Highly overclockable; nice fan; dual core

Weakness: none that I know of yet

I finally decided to do an Intel build, and decided to go with the low-end E2160 after doing a lot of research on the web. I haven't done a build in several years, and I was amazed to see how small the chip was, and how big the fan was!
Installation went smoothly, and the large fan really does keep it very cool. It's fast enough for all the basic apps I'm running now, but I'll give overclocking a try sometime in the next couple of weeks.

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Overclocks 66% over stock speed ~ E2160 Pentium Dual...

Strengths: Stellar performer when clocked to 3GHz.

Weakness: 1MB L2 cache and slow 800MHz bus will slow performance when gaming.

After installing an E2160 (revision L2) onto a mid-budget Abit IP35-E motherboard the chip came right up at its rated 1.8GHz speed. It was responsive and fast at that speed, but underneath was a monster waiting to be unleashed.

These chips will often clock to 3.0GHz or beyond. Although many people are able to use only the stock cooler at stock vcore voltage to run at 3.0GHz, mine would not. To run my chip stable at 3.0GHz. (Dual Prime95 for 12 hours+) required a vcore voltage increase from the stock 1.35v to 1.4v. What I received was screaming fast performance for a Celeron price. 1.4 volts produce some significant heat. I used a free after rebate aftermarket cooler (Cool Master GeminII) to manage heat. Temperatures hover around 55-57C during prime testing, which while high, is still acceptable in my book.

Very good processor if you are on a budget and are looking for the most performance for the dollar.

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Best bang for the buck

Strengths: Super low price-performance ratio. 90% overclockable or more!

Weakness: L2 cache halved.

This Pentium is really a Core 2 Duo in disguise (conroe). The default FSB is 200Mhz with multiplier 9 to run it at 1800Mhz. With a Abit IP35 motherboard, I am able to run it stably at 360MHz which translates to 3240Mhz processor speed! That is a 90% overclock! At that speed, this processor becomes more powerful than the Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 (3Ghz) which costs more than 3 times as much. Some people report overclocks of 100% or more! The L2 cache is halved of the normal Core 2 Duos, but performance is not too heavily affected. There is also no virtualization technology, but that is useless to most consumers. All in all, it is definitely wise to get this chip and spend the rest of your money on more RAM or a better motherboard. Remember to also use a good CPU cooler for the best overclocks... but even stock cooler can give you good overclocks.

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Cheap Core2Duo CPU

Strengths: Fantastic value; runs cool; overclockable

Weakness: None?

I was building a Home Theater PC (HTPC), and wanted a cheap processor, to keep the overall system cost down. This CPU fit that to a tee! It has great overclocking capability, but the Intel DG33BUC motherboard does not have that capability. My mistake, so make sure that your motherboard can be overclocked, if you want this capability. Installation was a snap, and the included heatsink/fan did a great job. CPU temperature at Idle is only 30 degrees. I'm running Vista Home Premium, and it works great.

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Awesome overclock chip - Overclocker's dream chip

Strengths: Cost, Dual-Core, 800 MHz FSB, great overclocking potential

Weakness: Fair performance of the included stock heatsink/fan

This is an awesome dream chip for every overclocker. This chip is easily overclocked to 2.8 GHz with Gemenii heatsink. I didn't bother to make any other manipulation in BIOS. With the enclosed Intel stock heatsink/fan, I can only make it go to 2.1 GHz without any concern over core temperature.

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quite overclockable!

Strengths: Highly overclockable

Weakness: none

highly recommended if you wanna build a power machine but don\\\'t wanna break your budget. Paired it with the GA P35-DS3L motherboard and stock fan, overclocked to 2.88, but couldn\\\'t push it higher. I saw many people had it running at 3.2, though.

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Intel Pentium E2140 & E2160 review

So what are these new Pentium dual-core processors? Well, in essence they are stripped down Conroe processors featuring a tiny 1MB L2 cache with an 800MHz Front Side Bus (Conroe processors have a 4MB L2 cache and use a 1066/1333MHz FSB).

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