Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300
Drops into a supported LGA 775 board as it is; check the board's CPU list. How to check.
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300: 4-core, 2.5 GHz, Yorkfield, LGA 775, 1333 MT/s FSB, 4 MB (2 x 2 MB) L2, 95 W TDP.
A 333 MHz bus clock times 7.5 gives the Q8300's 2.5 GHz, a half-step multiplier that slots it between the Q8200 and the Q8400. Otherwise it is standard Q8000 fare: four Yorkfield cores, 4 MB of L2 as 2 x 2 MB, 95 W, launched in Q4 2008 on the R0 stepping, CPUID 1067A. VT-x is the catch. Intel's spec update marks SLGUR, part AT80580PJ0604ML, as VT-capable and SLB5W as not; Wikipedia agrees, and the archived ARK page has no VT-x field at all. So the table gives no single VT-x value, and the sSpec, the code printed on the lid, decides. If virtual machines are part of the plan, only an SLGUR chip will run them with hardware support.
| Family | Core 2 Quad |
|---|---|
| Codename | Yorkfield |
| Socket | LGA 775 |
| Cores / threads | 4 / 4 |
| Base clock | 2.5 GHz |
| Front-side bus | 1333 MT/s (333 MHz base clock) |
| Multiplier | 7.5x |
| L2 cache | 4 MB (2 x 2 MB) |
| TDP | 95 W |
| Process | 45 nm |
| Launch | Q4 2008 |
| Dual-socket capable | No |
| VT-x | Not listed |
| SSE4.1 | Yes |
| Enhanced SpeedStep | Yes |
| Max case temperature | 71.4 °C |
| Voltage range (VID) | 0.85 V to 1.3625 V |
Steppings and microcode IDs
| Stepping | CPUID | sSpec |
|---|---|---|
| R0 | 1067A | SLB5W, SLGUR |
A BIOS needs a microcode update matching the CPUID (and, for Xeons, the LGA 771 platform ID). See LGA 771 Xeon microcode and how to read your stepping.
Mod notes
Nothing physical to change. The board maker's CPU support list should name the Q8300 with its R0 stepping, and a board designed before 45 nm quads may never get a BIOS that adds it.