CPUs > Dual-Core CPUs > LGA775 Socket > 100 GBP to 199 GBP

Advantages: Cheap, fast and cool
Disadvantages: it's not a quad core, £130 may be too much for some

It took a while for Intel to wake up and smell the prices of AMD shares recently (AMD being Intel's main competitor). After years of AMD taking bite after bite out of Intel's market share with innovative, efficient, fast and affordable processors, Intel finally did something about it and released the Core 2 processor. The dual and quad core CPU's completely blew AMD away and AMD still haven't caught up two years later. The Intel Core 2 E8400 is the ...
...advantage of quad cores and Intel has released it's next generation architecture called Nehalem, it's well worth saving your money - with the E8400 costing less than £130, it's value for money, especially if you're overclocking, is undeniable. Whether you're buying a new system with an E8400 in it or upgrading your existing system, the E8400 should be top of your list. ... Read review

Advantages: Fast, good overclocking potential; the best for games (and virtually all other applications)
Disadvantages: Runs fairly warm, but nothing terrible

As a gamer, I needed the best processor out there. Searching around, the only real debate in this price range was whether to go for the E6850, a dual core CPU, or the Q6600, a quad core at a lower clock. After looking at many different benchmarks and reviews, the answer was clear - the higher clocked part (the E6850) was a more power processor, giving better performance in games, and better performance in most ofther software applications as well. ...
...6 months ago when I bought this product; current applications do not need 4 cores to run quickly, especially games. If I was particularly interested in video editing, then I may have gone for a quad-core, but for my purposes it wasn't nescessary. Not only that, but I have used video editing software on this, and it will render incredibly quickly - I was blown away. So, the upshot is - what do you need to use your computer for? A few specialised ... Read review

Advantages: Fast, energy efficiant, cheap
Disadvantages: intel have announced 6 core cpus on the way

Excellent Processor, the usual simple to install and the stock fan does its job well. Very overclockable and can easily reach speeds of 3.0ghz without having to change the cooler. In my oppinion certainly worth picking up as great value for money also with the release and rapid take up of quad core cpus the price of these dual core processors is only going to carry on going lower, meaning if you dont have a need for 4 cores pumping out your office ...
...graphics work that need the extra cores, grab one of these. They will amaze you at the performance you will receive especially if upgrading from something a lot lower, i personally upgraded from a lowly AMD Athlon 2600 and was happier than a sandboy in a jam packed pub. ... Read review

Advantages: Dual Core Technology, Fast, The CPU heatsink + fan are quiet
Disadvantages: Be careful with the new S775 socket motherboards when installing the CPU cooler as can bend the mainboard if put to much pressure to lock the 4 locks

I have used this processor retail version in many a custom built PC that I have done for people. I have tried the D805 (2.66Ghz) and the 3.0Ghz version but for cost and performance this CPU is the one to have for cost and performance in the series. The only problem I can see is the fact that you can get the 900 series version of the 2.8Ghz for a very similar price. The difference between the two are price (but not a lot really a few quid), the core ... Read review

Advantages: Price,Great value = performance/money , stability, low power consumption
Disadvantages: There are faster dual and quad core processors on market

This new Intel core 2 processor E6320 replaces the old Core Duo E6300, and has a series of notable advantages over the latter one. I tested both products and one thing is sure, by adding two extra MB on the processor die, the performance increased quite a little. I've tested both processors in several aplications and the speed difference varies from almost none (rendering), to notable in encoding, compressing, multimedia (3-6 % speed increase) and ...
...the same price like E6300 processor The speed is just great for it's price and if you thing it isn't fast enough this processor is highly overclockable. my tested version worked until 2.93 Ghz with the stock cooler included and without increased core voltage The stability of this core 2 processor is great, never experienced a single type of problem in 10 hour of testing. The power consumption in great, this processor using the B2 technology stepping ... Read review