IntelCore i3-3220 Processor (3M Cache, 3.30 GHz) BX80637i33220

I have been building a gaming rig and choose this processor as a start. What is excellent about this processor is the power comsumption and the hyper threading feature.PROS:- The hyper threading feature allows you simulate two more cores at fast speeds, is being recognized for some programs as a 4 core cpu.. The 3.3 ghz on this baby make it very fast!!- The temperature is not high at all but I have it with an aftermarket NZXT respire T20 and it idles at 28-31 C and while gaming it reaches 48C as a maximun that I have recorded. (Awesome) The stock fan was at 31-33C in idle and reached 54C while gaming. So you can compare.- It does not bottleneck my AMD Radeon XFX 7850, I have played games like Hitman absolution, Dishonored, Torchlight 2, COD black OPS 1 and 2, Dirt 3, Mass effect 3, all of them at the highest settings without lag.- If you do not have a dedicated video card, the Intel Hd graphics 2500 perform very good. I was able to play movies at 1080p and to stream them to my PS3 using the PS3 media server, and all the movies played fine.- The integrated 2500 graphics are for casual gaming, but I played before DMC 4, dishonored, dirt 2 and medium to high settings but in 1280x600. You need to tweak a little bit the settings.- Excellent processor for multitasking and daily basis computer programs.- It scores 7.2 in windows experience in Windows 7 ultimate.CONS:- Not a good processor if your stuff is video editing. Although this processor is good and fast at it, you might need an i5 or i7.- It might give you lag while playing Battlefield 3 multiplayer, since that game is very processor demanding. But the single player story runs fine.I highly recommend this processor for anyone building a gaming rig and for daily basis tasks.

this processor is a very nice one. being a i3, 3.3Ghz, it will work in any new computer.i bought it for a gamers computer, and after putting is all together, i was amazed on how smoothly it ran and played the games.if your looking to build a good computer, with a small budget, this is the first step to start at.

It is very fast for a dual core, and it ran on the first post with no problems. The snap in process of the heat sink was kind of annoying. It took 10 to 15 minutes to get two of the locks to snap in. I am familiar with these Intel heat sinks, but they just did not want to cooperate. It took a great amount of force for them to finally stay in (yes they were unlocked). I was actually concerned about having physically damaged the processor but thankfully it's ok.I got used to using quadcores, the last was a q9550, and it was definitely a stronger performer than this new dual core. It depends on what someone does, for gaming or video editing I would definitely recommend more cores. Or just expect it will be slower. Some claim dual cores are better for gaming, but that's just something a person just tells themselves (and their online friends) when they buy a dual core. It will do the job for now. It is still an Intel and have a great amount of respect for their products, but plan to upgrade in a few months.

Pros:- The price- Great performance for all but the most CPU intensive tasks (video encoding, very large file compression, etc...)- Max power dissipation of 55W leaves it running cool all day and all night- Supports virtualization (VT-x), hyperthreading, and Intel SpeedstepCons:- The graphics aren't all that- No overclockingFirst, let me say that for a budget processer, the i3-3220 is, in my opinion, as good as it gets. I purchased it for a gaming and photoediting rig that I built recently and it has been performing splendidly. Hyperthreading allows two cores to act as four, increasing performance even further. The Intel Speedstep technology lets the clock rate dynamically adjust to the load being put on it and by doing so saves power and keeps your fan(s) quieter. My temperature typically idles around 30 degrees celsius, which is terrific, and will get no higher than 38 degrees celsius under load. I use the Rocketfish Universal CPU Cooler, linked to in my build info at the end. The virtualization technology can be helpful in a lot of situations, the most important to most users probably being that this allows you to run Mac OS X inside of a VM in Windows.As for the graphics, they will work fine for anyone not playing games or viewing very high quality movies. That being said, anyone who will be playing games or watching high quality movies/film should invest in a graphics card, even if it is cheap it will likely outperform integrated graphics. This chip uses Intel HD 2500.And the fact that this does not support overclocking is to be expected and absolutely no reason to deduct a star. Of course I wish it did support overclocking because I believe it would have a lot of headroom but it is in the lowest series of current desktop processors for Intel so if you are looking for overclocking get the i5-3570K, that thing can overclock!All-in-all, this processor should be the go-to for anyone looking to build a budget PC. It can run anything I throw at it and handles internet browsing, emails, gaming, Photoshop, etc... with a breeze.My build:Computer Case - Rosewill Challenger Black GamingPower Supply - Raidmax Hybrid 2 RX-530SS 530WMotherboard - Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3HRAM - Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB)CPU - Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHzCPU Cooler - Rocketfish Universal CPU CoolerThermail Paste - Arctic 5 SilverHard drive - Hitachi Desk Star 500GBGraphics - EVGA Nvidia GTX 460I would highly recommend any or all of these products for a budget PC build.Currently triple booting Windows 7, Mac OS X Mountain Lion, and Backtrack Linux.Edit:Amazon sells both the CPU cooler and thermal paste, and you can bundle them for even more savings!http://www.amazon.com/Rocketfish-RF-UPCUWR-Universal-CPU-Cooler/dp/B0030U9ET0http://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Silver-Polysynthetic-Thermal-Compound/dp/B0002VFXFE/ref=pd_sim_pc_1