Intel Core i5-7500 LGA 1151 7th Gen Core Desktop Processor

Just built a new system and I wanted to make sure I had the latest generation CPU available. Coming from a 7 yr old AMD Athlon II system, this CPU is a substantial upgrade. I have detailed the complete listing of parts used below. I use my desktop for Audio Production (multitrack recording/mixing/mastering) so quad cores are important. I researched all the latest CPUs (AMD and Intel) and for the money, the Intel kept coming out ahead in terms of benchmarking. I was holding out for AMD's Ryzen CPUs but ultimately I decided it was time to move to the standard in processors. I read there are still a few bugs to work out on the new AMDs and I will keep an eye out in the next couple of years as to how they compare to Intel's offerings. I don't have allegiance either way but I just want performance without having to overclock and install pricey water cooling systems. I also do a bit of video editing/conversion and I can tell you this CPU is very fast. With the MSI board and Samsung M.2 SSD, this system boots up in 20 secs. I would be faster if I turned on the Fast Boot feature on the mobo but it's not that big of a deal. When converting a MKV to MP4 (480i) in Handbrake ("23" setting using the "Slow" encoding speed), I went from an average of 30 fps to over 130 fps. I know it's not fair to compare a 7 yr old AMD quad to this new one but just illustrating how much of a boost in performance you can get. I would recommend using the Cooler Master T4 instead of the stock cooler. I'm not a fan of the cheap coolers as they tend to get noisy the harder you drive the CPU. With the T4 installed and running Prime95, the CPU never got over 54 degrees C. The cooler fan never went over 900 rpm so it was very quiet. You need to make sure you have a big enough case to handle the T4 but your ears and CPU will thank you.As others have mentioned out there, you MUST have Windows 10 and a compatible motherboard with the Kaby Lake CPUs! The MSI board immediately recognized this processor right from the start. Also, the Kaby Lake processors recognize the DDR4 2400 memory natively so make sure to purchase the right speed. Get every little bit of performance you can!Cheers!Windows 10 Home 64 bitMSI Gaming Intel B250 MORTAR LGA 1151 mATX MotherboardIntel i5-7500 CPU 3.4GHzSamsung 850 EVO 250GB M.2 SATA III Internal SSDSeagate 2TB BarraCuda SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch(2) Ballistix Sport 8GB Single DDR4 2400ASUS Blu-Ray Writer BW-16D1HTANEWKODI USB WiFi Adapter AC600MbpsThermaltake Versa H21 Mid-tower CaseEVGA 500 W1, 80+ WHITE 500W Power SupplyCooler Master Hyper T4 CPU CoolerArctic Silver Ceramique Thermal Compound***Update 2/4/2018*** - After almost a year later, this system still rocks! Very pleased with the performance and have no regrets. For those who mess around with DAWs, I can tell you this CPU can handle a TON of plugins! I use Reaper 5 (64-bit) and using a mix of Waves, Steven Slate and other free plugins, this CPU doesn't flinch when you have over 40 plugins running at the same time. My poor AMD Athlon II X4 would start to struggle once I hit the 40+ mark on plugins. Some of the Waves and Slate plugins do need more processing power but so far, this CPU has handled everything I've thrown at it. The only limitation I could see is if you run some high end samplers. I do run Superior Drummer 3 connected to my V-drums and I would say the sampler is more of a drain on my memory but it does steal some cycles on the CPU. I still wholeheartedly recommend this CPU for everyday use along with video/audio production work. Again make sure to pair it with a large heatsink like the T4. In the right case, you don't even hear the fan running once you start hitting the CPU harder.

I was checking the new AMD offerings with Ryzen while considering a switch, but after some research It became obvious that I still got great performance per dollar with this CPU. A switch would be a waste of time and money. In some corner cases I could have saved at most $20 with Ryzen, money better spent on a cheapo keyboard and mouse combo I guess. After few months I can say that this CPU gives zero problems, no issues, no throttling. Good performance and features on a mature and optimized platform that works well even with demanding games if that's what you care about. Even the HD 630 iGPU is able to play games like Mafia II and Bioshock, I didn't expect that. Paired with a dedicated GPU there's nothing to worry about with this CPU whatsoever. Overall this is a vey good CPU, even if you objectively compare it with Ryzen.

Rebuilt the in-laws computer with this. Upgrading from a build made years ago using the A4-3300, 8GB DDR3 1600mhz ram and a 2.5 inch HDD I had laying around. Suffice it to say their old system was SLOW. The use it for really basic stuff, basically email and internet, but I wanted to make something snappy enough for them to last many years and that would age well.I chose to build using:-Intel i5 7500-MSI B250M PRO-VDH-Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (8GB x2) 3200mhz DDR4 RAM-Samsung 960 EVO 250GB SSDI reused their 430 watt Antec PSU, Rosewill mATX case, an LG sata DVD drive and a card reader.The install was quick and easy. Everything worked without a hitch from first boot to upgrading BIOS to installing Win 10 Pro and copying their data over and running updates. I doubt they will even come close to pegging this CPU but wanted to give them room to grow and figured the breathing room this would give over a dual core (even with hyper-threading) would be worth it long term.My only complaints, and not worth taking stars off for are the following:-The stock coolers mounting uses some cheap plastic push pins to mount. While it appears to do the job I cant say I am confident in how much pressure it can apply to push the cooler to the CPU surface or how well it can stay in place. For now it appears to keep the tempuratures in check but I havent pushed the CPU.-Out of the retail box the bottom of the cooler has thermal paste pre-applied but is not covered by plastic or anything so in the course of packing and shipping there are tiny fibers of what I assume is cardboard or dust all along the contact surface and on the paste. Having used high end coolers for my own builds and seeing those having covered surfaces that are polished to a shine without foreign elements on the surface this was a little unnerving. Doesnt seem to have had any negative effect afaik but for $200 itd have been nice if they could have attempted to protect the surface with $.05 of plastic.In ending I would recommend this as a decent all around processor for every day use, multimedia, office work and maybe even in a relatively budget gaming build (however for ~$30 more you can get an unlocked i5 7600k and overclock it to squeeze out more performance).

I bought this CPU, along with a GTX 1080 FE, to power a dedicated mobile VR platform that I can take to peoples houses for parties, etc. Not commercial grade, but just for letting friends play with VR for a few days. I mounted these in a Micro ATX case with a handle for ease of mobility.Since space was at a premium, I was also concerned with cooling solutions. I decided to go with air cooling for everything (less weight, less complexity) and that was the deciding factor on choosing an I5 over an I7, and I don't regret it.So far the combo of this I5 with a standard GTX 1080 FE has performed perfectly. Many hours of playing VR games, even outdoors, and it doesn't have heat issues. There's no issues with VR games though now with Fallout 4 VR, I feel I'd like to kick it up to a 1080 TI.Overall, this processor has exceeded my expectations.