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

I've been using this processor for about 1 month now, and it performs flawlessly. I would have to say, given it's higher price (compared to other processors) and high level of performance, at this time (early 2010) this unit is intended for computer enthusiasts like myself, and the average computer user would probably be happy with a less expensive processor.This unit has 4 physical cores, so it's technically a "quad core" chip, however each core has hyperthreading automatically built in. This means 8 threads of data can be computed simultaneously.Although you can run multiple programs at the same time (each program using a single thread of the processor), your programs must be specially designed to use ALL the threads at the same time. Many newer programs have been designed to use multiple threads. Photo/Video editing tasks are completed much faster with this chip.If your budget allows, and you have a need for an (excessively) faster processor, I would highly recommend the Intel 920.

The price was better than Newegg and the shipping was faster.It was a bit tricky installing a new I7 Processor. The lack of pins caused me some concern. However, the chip dropped right into the motherboard and the socket clamped on it with no problems. I used a Scythe Mugen 2 air cooler. I was careful on installation and it fired up first shot. After settling in I started playing with over clocking. I miss-typed a setting and accidently got the chip up to 4.0 Ghz - It was stable!!Being chicken and wanting long ,reliable life (on air cooling) I backed it back down to about 3.30 Ghz.It's been running just fine for two weeks . I use it with Win 7 64 bit for amateur processing of 10 MB photographsThe step up from a dual processor running Windows XP 32 bit was the biggest change I've ever experienced in upgrading my equipment . Tasks take 1/4 as long. It's been wonderful !

I upgraded a system that had an Intel Core 2 Quad (Q9550) 2.83GHz CPU to the Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz CPU. My previous Core 2 Quad processor was blazingly fast. The new Core i7 920 processor seems marginally faster than the Core 2 Quad, but it seems to handle multitasking a bit more adeptly. I'm sure that when more software becomes available that's optimized for a quad core hyperthreading CPU (like having 8 cores running simultaneously) I'll see even improved performance with this processor. A word to the wise...make sure your system provides good cooling for this CPU. In my original 'closed' ATX case I was seeing temperatures of the hottest core at around 50 degrees Celsius at idle (using Core Temp version 0.99.4.65 - 32 bit) with the stock heat sink. I changed to a Theraltake V9 "Black" ATX case and my hottest core idle temperature dropped to 39 degrees and the coolest core at 35. It's amazing what good airflow can do for your CPU. I recently put Windows 7 Home Premium (32 bit) on my self built computer (Core i7 920 CPU, 6GB OCZ Gold DDR3 PC12800 SDRAM, Asus P6T LGA 1366 Triple CrossFireX/SLI Motherboard, EVGA GeForce 9800GT 512MB DDR3 PCI-e 2.0 Graphics Card and two Western Digital 1TB Caviar "Black" 7200 RPM SATA hard drives with two controllers and 32MB Cache on each drive). Once I find a compatible TV card I will 'clean' install the 64 bit version of the OS. I should get even better performance from the Core i7 920 CPU with that version of Windows 7 since it will recognize all 6GB of my RAM rather than the 3GB recognized by the 32 bit OS. Overall the processor is AWESOME! I hardly have to wait for anything to happen after I click for it to do so. Exceptions to that are when you're performing a simultaneous virus scan or backup. I understand that this processor is very good for overclocking...a realm of performance that I've not yet explored. I don't think you can go wrong with this one!

Not bad, would have been great, but can't use it