Intel and AMD both offer cut down versions of their high-end desktop processor series. For example the cut down version of the Intel Pentium processor is known as the Celeron. Currently the AMD equivalent is known as the Sempron which I have looked at in the past. In the past I have gone out of my way to avoid Celeron processors, for the simple reason that they were a waste of time. With clock speeds well in excess of 2GHz they were extremely sluggish even for general usage. The majority of the last generation Celeron processors only featured a 128KB L2 Cache and utilized a 400MHz FSB. Even when overclocked to 3GHz and beyond, these Celeron processors were amazingly slow.

However the newest Celeron series looks slightly stronger on paper, featuring a 256KB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB support and the ability to utilize the Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology. Nevertheless, these specifications still look very bleak when compared to the base Pentium 4 processors. The standard Pentium 4 processors make use of a massive 2MB L2 Cache combined with an 800MHz FSB and of course also support 64-bit technology. Despite all these facts the Celeron and Pentium series are not designed to be compared, but rather work together in an effort to cover the entire desktop market segment.

The slowest available Pentium 4 processor is the 630 clocked at 3GHz, as the 5xx series has pretty much been phased out. The Pentium 4 630 is an incredible overclocker, but unfortunately the processor is quite pricey. Although the 630 does offer unbeatable value it does cost roughly $170 US. This price tag does not make the 630 a viable option for everyone; while most will jump at this processor, those on a tighter budget will have to look elsewhere. The next best thing Intel offer is the Celeron D range of processors which are significantly cheaper.

Starting as low as $60 US the Celeron D 315 is clocked at 2.26GHz, with the most expensive model being the 355 priced at about $120 US. Today I will be looking at a mid-range Celeron D known as the 336 which comes clocked at a modest 2.8GHz. This processor costs just $70 US and is designed to be used on the latest Intel platform. So the Celeron D 336 costs less than half that of a Pentium 4 630, but does it provide more than half the performance? This is a question that will certainly be answered in the coming pages of this article.

When moving to the next page of this review you will notice a few things about the test system specifications that will upset a few people, these budget processor reviews always do. Firstly most of you will notice that the processors are being compared using a very high-end system. Obviously, no one in their right mind will purchase an Intel 955X motherboard along with a gig of expensive memory, a GeForce 7800 GT graphics card, only to cap it off with a Celeron processor. I am well aware that this just does not happen in the real world. However, for the sake of this overclocking article and those like it, this obscene setup does exist.

The CPU is the brains of the computer, it does all the calculations, all the number crunching and as such we do not want to limit its performance. There is no point in comparing two processors if neither of them can reach their full potential. Would a car magazine test the performance of two cars, yet limit their true potential by using bald tyres? This is exactly the same, in order to gauge what the Celeron D really has to offer, we must first remove all other limitations. When it comes to real-world performance (gaming), the frame rates are not as important as they would be for a graphics card review.

Rather what is important is the percentage of how much slower the Celeron D really is. Also I am not going to include a Pentium 4 630 in this overclocking article, but rather a 660. The Pentium 4 660 is a very high-end P4 processor that costs roughly $340 US. This means if the Celeron D 336 is able to come anywhere near the Pentium 4 660 in terms of performance, it will be a real achievement. I hope you can understand why the system specifications are what they are and enjoy the results on the coming pages.