Pros: -Easily overclockable
-Low Power
-Behaves like a 4 core CPU
-Integrated HD graphics are perfect at streaming and watching HD videos
-Built in fan/heatsink is quiet and keeps the system very cool during idle ( < 30C) and at a reasonable temperature at 100% (about 62C)

Was building a small, low powered desktop for typical home usage, converting huge amounts of lossless audio formats to high quality lossy formats (like ogg), streaming/playing HD video and editting HD video game footage.

Decided to get the core i3 for this because I had a feeling I would hardly see any improvement in performance with a much more expensive i5 & i7. I had a laptop with a core 2 duo at 2.0 ghz that handled all of the above just fine, except it choked with 1080p videos. The core i3 doesnt.

I overclocked this to 3.55 ghz and barely saw an improvement in performance. Higher clock speeds at this point is only useful for huge multitasking. It behaves like a quad core processor, so it can do four tasks

Cons: I don't think there are any cons for this. Just remember I'm judging how well this processor works for a cheap, small, low powered solution at home. If I was using this for a gaming pc or if I was using this to render HD movies with HD computer generated graphics, then I'm sure I would have some cons here.

Other Thoughts: If you're putting together a PC whose most demanding tasks are no more demanding than converting media to other formats, playing back 1080p videos, and editting videos filmed in HD, then I'm pretty sure even this processor is overkill for you. I got this processor because it was the cheapest on lga 1156 that offered the ability to do four tasks at once.

There's no reason to go for the i5 when this behaves like a quad core that you can overclock easily. I think the only other processors in the lga 1156 line where you'll get so much bang for your buck are any of the lower end core i7s - four cores with two threads each, meaning your cpu will be able to behave like an octo-core processor, doing eight tasks at once if needed.

I'll update this review in another few weeks if anything about my i3 experience changes.

Pros: Used this little bad boy to power a build for a friend. I'm running a C2D E6850 and this processor makes me a little jealous. Integrated graphics control makes basic builds alot cheaper.

Cons: None, great chip.

Other Thoughts: This is the perfect CPU for most general PC uses. It outperforms all but the highest end Core 2 processors. If I wasn't a stickler for the best of the best then I would use this in my next build.

Pros: The on-board graphics built into the i3 architecture rocks. This thing runs my on-board card for my HTPC perfectly.
It draws very little power and stays cool.

Cons: None

Pros: Amazing value for the money
My cat could over-clock this thing to 4 ghz, it's that easy - Joins the Celeron 300A, the original E6300, the e8600 and the I7-920 in the over-clockers hall of fame.
The 2 real/4 logical cores actually works pretty well, worth maybe 20-30% on average
Very low power draw at stock speeds.
Integrated graphics are competitive with other choices, and "competitive" is a huge step forward for Intel integrated graphics.

Cons: No AES SSE4.xxx extensions, so no speed up for encrypted hard drives, etc.
No turbo boost.
32 nano process is a bit sensitive to voltage so if you get really crazy over clocking you can fry this one.

Other Thoughts: In terms of "bang for the buck" this is my favorite Intel chip.

To get anything meaningfully faster you have to spend quite a bit more. AMD also has some really awesome values in the $100-$150 range but this chip carries the flag for the blue team with it's head held high. You'll never regret buying this chip.

Make sure you have a motherboard that actually supports the integrated graphics functions of this chip, not all lga 1156 boards do.

Its about $125... for that money it's a steal.

Pros: - Solid speed out of the box, and can be overclocked decently without extra cooling. Currently at 3.53ghz with stock heatsink/fan, running within normal temperatures.

- Very power efficient.

- Hyperthreading is a plus.

- Internal GPU can handle 1080p rather well (when on a motherboard that can utilize it).

Cons: Stock heatsink/fan is a little less than expected, but it's not much an issue with this processor since it runs so cool as it is. Extra cooling should only be needed for severe overclocking.

Other Thoughts: Great price for an extremely solid processor. Can be an absolute beast when overclocked and properly cooled.

Pros: Everything is working great. Haven't OC'd to 4GHz yet since I'm waiting on getting a 5770 but so far its awesome. The graphics can handle HD MKV files and I am even running The Sims 3 on maximum everything and it runs pretty smoothly.

Cons: So far none

Pros: I bought this for a HTPC build and paired it with an Intel BOXDH57DD mobo. I'm super impressed with the 27watt idle power consumption for the entire PC (Antec 400W PS, Intel 40GB SSD)!

Cons: I will say the stock CPU cooler is junk. I ran a stress test on it and temps were continuing to climb past 75C. I turned off the stress test after that point because I became uncomfortable. I ended up buying a Thermalright HR-01 3U heatsink with a socket 1156 bolt thru kit, lapped the daylights out of the heatsink and lappped the CPU as well. I made a custom fan duct from the heatsink to a 80mm case fan (plugged into the CPU fan power connector) and cannot get the CPU temp to go past 55C.

Pros: Fairly quick processor and good price in the bundle i got

Cons: Stock heatsink and fan are garbage! Realtemp is telling me its getting up to 100 degrees C and thats not even running Prime95! I tried using the stock thermal compound that comes on the heatsink, and when it got up to 95c, i tried re-doing it with aftermarket stuff. I am positive the heatsink is pushed all the way in (after much effort. These heatsink clips suck bad and are really difficult to get to stay down). I went with the arctic cooler heatsink, hopefully it does as its supposed to and keep it below 60 degrees C.

Other Thoughts: Good processor but you're going to have to buy an aftermarket heatsink if you're gaming with this thing.

Pros: oh yes this with the GIGABYTE GA-H55N-USB3 makes a fine Micro ITX HTPC. Because I needed a low profile cooler I decided to try out the stock cooler and I've been happy with the decibels and temps.

Thanks to intel video and my Vertex2 SSD my system Idles @ 45watts, decodes 1080p around 55watts, and never exceeds 70watts. I guess a Picopsu 90 or 120 would serve me well.

Cons: none

Other Thoughts: I haven't seen any benefit to decoding 1080p movies with a video card. Two cores on the CPU always take a hit. I'm sure there are ffmpeg codecs that will get the job done on an Atom, but I haven't found them so this is going to be the minimum CPU for me.

Pros: -It's an i3, which my motherboard will support up to an i7, socket 1156, meaning I can upgrade in the future as prices come down.

-Stock fan works fine without OC on this specific computer, with ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound. I removed the one that came with the CPU fan cuz it really sucks.

Cons: -Slightly slower than a Q6600 from what I've experienced when playing in games.