Intel Core i7-960 Bloomfield Quad-Core 3.2GHz LGA 1366 130W BX80601960 Desktop Processor

Pros: I had this processor for about 3 years going on 4 years. Can't really say much it's a great processor and will be upgrading it when needed.

Cons: No cons what so ever. See other thoughts. If your looking for a processor and you came across this do not get it (you can still buy it through certain websites at a price). Get something more modern.

Other Thoughts: Like the title says it did not melt after three years of use. The reason why I said that is because I did not have the OEM heat sink installed properly for three years. My temp. was about 40-48 Celsius at idle and under load about 80-85 Celsius. When streaming games I was hitting 90-98 Celsius and trust I tried to kill it but it would not die. I was very luck this did not melt or burn. But other than that I can't say enough about this little out dated processor on well it stood up to the heat. Plus it was my fault for checking my work when installing.

Pros: Got what I paid for, always a plus.
Fast

Cons: None after 3 years

Other Thoughts: Use Single pea of thermal paste in center

Pros: Very fast and consistent. I've had it for around 3 years now and it's still going strong.

Cons: I had one issue with overheating, but it turns out that I didn't use enough thermopaste to stick the heat sink onto it and it caused the fan to essentially stop working, so very quickly it got filled with dust.

Took it apart and resealed with more epoxy and it's been working like a charm ever since.

Pros: It is an Intel processor that speaks for itself. For the price, this is a fantastic processor. It blew my expectations out the water with its speed, and has lasted for over 4 years without falling behind. Even today, it is still competitive in a well setup computer capable of using its potential.

Cons: None.

Pros: Great performance (for its time, of course). Can still rival the latest Haswell i5s in heavily multithreaded programs. I've tested this.

Overclocks well.

Supported a large amount of RAM for its time (although it's really the chipset that lets this happen)

Used a high-end socket, which meant you could upgrade to a hexacore i7-970 later after a BIOS update.

Cons: Very poor performance-to-price ratio (even worse now!)

Throw away the stock cooler if you plan to do any serious overclocking.

Other Thoughts: This was the i7-4960X of its time. And I really mean it. It was the absolute highest-performing consumer CPU of late 2009. It supported a whopping 12GB RAM with 6 slots on supporting motherboards. It demolished Q9550s of yesteryear with ease. If you wanted the best, this was what you would get.

But just like the 4960X, this CPU suffers from a lack of bang for buck. The 4960X has a sibling that's half the price, and performs 90% as well as it does: the 4930K. It's similar for this CPU. It too has a little brother, the i7-920, which performs 85% as well as this one for half the price. If your 920 overclocked well, you could even beat this chip while saving $250!

So yeah, if you had even a shred of financial sense in you, you'd go for the 920.

Pros: easy to overclock to 3.8 with stock cpu fan

Cons: only 7.6 windows 7 index when not overclocked. discontinued socket.

Pros: Have never had any issues with any Intel products and this one was no different!

Cons: None!

Other Thoughts: Does everything I could ask for and makes me extremely happy!

Pros: At the time I bought this processor it was one of the best on the market. Ivy and Sandy didn't exist yet. It's performed brilliantly for over a year, and I don't expect to change it out for several more years.

Cons: None.

Other Thoughts: Some think these processors run hot -- I've experienced nothing but solid performance. With adequate cooling in your desktop you will too.

Pros: Its a high power 4x2 core possessor

With the right psu and cooler, It will do everything you may need.

It wont make you a sandwich!

Cons: It wont make me a sandwich

Other Thoughts: I should have waited.......Owell...

Pros: upgraded from a 920. there is a noticeable speed difference. I replace the cpu in my alienware

Cons: price, should have dropped by now