Intel Core i7 Processor i7-920 2.66GHz 8 MB LGA1366 CPU BX80601920

Pros:It's my first build and coming from a Pentium 4 3.4 ghz in my Dell to this processor is simply amazing. I can now play Oblivion and L4D in the settings I want! Everything else it pretty much cuts through it like butter. It get a Windows 7 WEI of 7.6 3dmark Vantage CPU score P42500+ and I have it overclocked to 3.67 with blck of 184 vcore 1.225 with vdroop. Coupled with a Cooler Master V8 it's prime 95 stable (small ffts - 2 hours, large - 2 hours, blend - 9 hours) and LinX stable (max memory 10 runs) 75 degrees C max. Ambient 80 FCons:NoneOther thoughts:If you are new to overclocking like I was here are some simple steps for a modest overclock:WARNING: It is entirely possible to burn your CPU! Don't go crazy and set a high base clock from the start. Follow the steps!1) download Realtemp.exe, cpu-z, prime 95, and LinX (google em)2) go into your bios and increase the base clock by 5 (or 10 if impatient but remember my warning)3) Load Windows and breath a sigh of relief if it does. But thats only 1/5 of the battle.4) Run CPU-z to verify your overclock, close it then run realtemp.5) Run LinX max memory, 3 runs. If it blue screens, restarts or errors then you've gone too far and you need to dial it down to keep your machine stable. Your last setting is your max overclock without adding vcore (cpu voltage).6) If it passes with no errors and your max temps aren't above 85 C (some people use 80) then you're good, and you can add more base clock.7) Go back to step 2 rinse and repeat.8)Once you get to a speed you're happy with and it passes LinX, and is below 85 C, run prime 95 stress test for at least 6 hours of blend, 2 hours of small ffts, and 2 hours of large ffts. If it survives that then you're good for gaming and most everyday apps. If it survives p95 blend for 24 hours (no errors, < 85 C) then you're rock stable ready for mission critical or server work.You can run Linx for more passes or folding@home SMP for further stability testing.Finally don't expect much if you're using the heatsink that came with the processor.Good luck. If I made a mistake somewhere please correct me in the comments.BTW my motherboard is the EVGA X58 vanilla. The folks at the forums in their website are the most helpful and supportive folks you can find. Really thats the stuff that money can't buy, I strongly recommend their motherboards just for that. They have guides for more serious overclocks and guides explaining voltages, guides on optimizing Vista etc.All the info about overclocking and stability testing comes from the stickied threads on the EVGA forums

My last computer was running an AMD 5000+ 2.67ghz Dual Core Processor, 4 gigs of ram and Vista 32 bit and it didn't handle my video editing well at all. I do a lot of video in AVCHD that is really hungry to eat your processor. With this processor now I can watch the playback of the files from my Sony SR 12 smoothly with no lag in it. I can render the video in about three quarters less the time now with the power of this processor. The only thing holding it back at times is Vista even though I upgraded to 64 bit for the memory reasons of course it still takes about the same amount of time for everything to boot. Sometimes when browsing Vista locks up for some odd reason but as far as transferring files and rendering video this thing is a devouring beast of my video files. Gaming is another top thing with this processor going back to older games at full everything an saying wow thats nice. I just played Medieval 2 again and had everything maxed out with huge battles and there was no slide shows like I was used to. The top thing though overall is watching AVCHD clips and rendering video in so much less time and being able to do other things while its doing that.When I get more free time I will start overclocking since this thing is destined for it. From my understanding thats what most people do with it anyways. Its made for overclocking and now that I have put all new fans and everything in my case I am ready to go and do it now. This is probably the best bargain for the i7 if you can get it overclocked and running stable. Though I found it to be the best bargain mostly because I was on a budget with my new computer. My setup is now this Intel X58SO motherboard, i7 920, 6 gigs Corsair Dominator 1600, Cooler Master V8 EVGA 8800 GTS 640MB and Vista 64. All of this comes together to make one incredible computing experience.

I installed this CPU and its supplied cooler onto an ASUS P6T-Deluxe motherboard loaded with 6GB of DDR3 RAM and an ASUS 9600GT fanless video card.Installation was easy after I had the confidence to clamp it down as tightly as it needed to be, and the stock cooler attached easily. Even though no thermal paste was supplied, I had some from another job and applied it sparingly.The new system has been running for a couple of weeks, going through a battery of memory tests, hard drive tests, and installation of the operating system (64 bit Windows 7 beta, build 7000) and software. No hiccups anywhere in the process.The only thing that could possibly be registered as a complaint is that the stock cooling fan is a little loud. It's not noisy, but in a system without any noise from a video card, quiet hard drives, a quiet power supply, you can hear the CPU fan if you pay attention. The good news is that some fine aftermarket solutions exist, and should I become too sensitive to what sound there is coming from this system, that's the route I would follow.I don't regret not stepping up to the i7 940, as the price difference does not justify the apparently small increase in clock speed. While faster is always better, it doesn't always represent the best bang for the buck. I think the i7 920 does the job very well.