PC Stats posted Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz 1333MHz FSB Processor Review. The 3.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 CPU is a dual-core chip based on the 45nm 'Wolfdale' core that falls into the upper end of family, supplanted only by the relatively expensive Core 2 Duo E8600.

The Intel Core 2 Duo E8500, with its 3.16GHz clock speed, 1333MHz FSB speed and 6MB of L2 cache, remains a force to be reckoned with. In real-world office applications the E8500 was generally a little faster than the Phenom II X4 955 and a little slower than the Core i7 920. All processors are absolutely fast enough for average desktop applications likely to be encountered in the office or at home. The same holds true during gaming, where the majority of titles are more suited to high-frequency dual-core processors rather than parallel quad-core processors.

Like the Core 2 Duo E8400, the Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 processor is handicapped against triple and quad-core processors in tests that are multi-threaded. In standard desktop applications that people use everyday, like Word or email, surfing the web or doing spreadsheets, the Core 2 Duo E8500 is more than powerful. The real question you'll have to ask yourself is whether the marginal added cost is worth shaving off a few seconds of processing time. In most cases the increase in price is greater than the increase in performance, which makes it difficult to give the Core 2 Duo E8500 a full recommendation when its sibling, the E8400, is so readily available.