Why would Intel make its second-fastest dual-core processor a mainstream bargain? Recent price drops have put the company's latest Core 2 Duos firmly within the grasp of mid-budget builders, with the company's FSB1333-based E6750 cheaper than even the FSB1066-based E6700 that it replaces. In fact, today's 2.66GHz speed demon is selling for the same price its former (slowest) E6300 predecessor had just over a year ago!

What could be Intel's rationale? Might this be the first indication of its effort to push costlier quad-cores into the upper-mainstream? Perhaps, although an even greater cynic might find cause to believe that recent price cuts are simply Intel's way of further punishing competitor AMD for its 2005 scramble to steal away Intel market share.

Whatever Intel's reasons, it's clear that the cheaper E6750 will go a long way with frugal enthusiasts, allowing greater numbers to sample the levels of performance previously found only in the highest-end systems. To drive the point home, today we'll compare the performance levels of our first-revision Core 2 Duo E6300 to the latest-revision Core 2 Duo E6750. We'll also test the processor's overclocking capabilities at relatively safe voltage levels to see how far the conscientious overclocker can go.