Intel Core i5-3470 Ivy Bridge 3.2GHz (3.6GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500 BX80637i53470

Pros: This chip, for what I can tell, performs very well. The stock Turbo speed of 3.6Ghz is already good enough for almost any game. The CPU handled Civ 5, FSX, and BF3 much better than I expected. Don't let people tell you that you need a 3570K or i7 to game, for this chip handles everything well, especially for ~$180.

I did not run into any problems. No random slow downs, boot fails, etc. Flawless operation really.

Even though it is not unlocked, you can overclock to 3.8Ghz. That is the max for 4 Core. (All you need to do is up the multiplier, nothing else from what I can tell).

Runs moderately cool. (Note I put the heatsink on, took it off, and put it back on again, thus messing up the thermal paste. Still got okay temps.)

Cons: Not really a con, but obviously the stock cooler is not the best.

Other Thoughts: MSI Z77A-G45 Motherboard.
GTX 650 Ti BOOST OC.
8Gb.

I don't think you necessarily even need to purchase a 3rd party heatsick if you OC to 3.8Ghz. I would higly suggest it though.

Pros: Very Fast
The stock cooler seems to be working well so far
The intergrated video is actually very good it scored a 6.5 on the windows index if I remember correctly
Cheap
Looks like it can be easily Overclocked

Cons: The cooler is not the best but you don't buy CPUs for there coolers. Other then that small nitpick the card has performed flawlessly and I couldn't be happier

Other Thoughts: Buy this card it is very nice and it is very fast. Easy to over cloak. Like always I would suggest a different HSF for it as the Intel ones are ugly and loud.

Pros: Works nicely, good stock fan, easy to install, pins look to be impossible to bend (because they are flat).

Cons: Pin design would make it easy to accidentally get particulates on the underside of the processor. Driver installation automatically installed stuff I didn't want.

Other Thoughts: Wasn't used to seeing flat pins on a processor when I got this. You have to absolutely make sure you hold it by the sides.

The stock heat sink came with thermal compound on the bottom in streaks (I've always been taught to apply it smoothly across the entire surface). I installed it as is and it keeps the core temp <30C idle and 79C max (~70 avg) with prime95 running full blast. I'll run folding@home once I get my graphics card and repost if the added heat affects it much.

Integrated graphics are good enough to play LoL. Windows 7 doesn't appear to have drivers for the NIC out of the box, so expect to install the drivers with the accompanying disc (which comes with a lot of other crapware).

Solid chip. Was going to get the i5-3350P, but this was on sale for the same price. I'm glad I got it since I would have missed the integrated graphics.

Pros: Fan and heatsink included.
Have yet to overheat the CPU, even under heavy load.
4 physical cores, as opposed to 2 physical and 2 logical (previous gens of i5 were 2 and 2) makes this processor handle games twice as well as it's predecessors.

Cons: None.

Other Thoughts: The only real difference between this (well, any 3rd gen i5) and a 3rd gen i7 is the i7 has 4 logical cores in addition to the 4 physical cores. For gaming, the logical cores just sit there and smile at you, they do squat to boost performance. If you're looking for gaming, save yourself the ~$100 difference of an i7 and get an i5. If you're into rendering or animation though, the logical cores would probably be more useful to you.

Pros: Got it on sale for less than 185.00! Fast!

Cons: notta

Other Thoughts: Don't really need a HSF for this since your not going to OC. Temps are normally in 38-40c. However, I think I am still going to get a new HSF anyways cause I have a window on my case and would look cooler :)

Pros: I have had this CPU for 6 months. I have had no issues at all. I can achieve an overclock of 4.0 on a sabertoothZ77 mobo with a hyper 212 doing the cooling. Temps at idol are around 20-25 degrees. When I run Prime95 the temps only climb to 55 degrees after 4 hours of running. with the stock cooler I was getting temps of well over 80 while running Prime95at stock clock, so there is a huge difference.

Cons: The only con is the included stock cooler, but that goes with out saying.

Other Thoughts: I would easily buy this CPU again. i5 is the way to go for any gaming PC. The only advantage of an i7 is hyper-threading, which gaming rigs don't really need. A great CPU for around $200

Pros: Arrived in one piece. No pin issues. Running a bunch of stuff on VMware Workstation 9 on it and haven't seen any slowdown yet.

Looks easy enough to bump up to 3.6, but I'll likely wait until I install a better cooling system.

Cons: The heatsink/fan it comes with looks less than impressive, but that's not really Intel's problem, so no reason to drop an egg.

Pros: Pretty quick compared to my i3-2120, great price too! runs cool.

Cons: None

Pros: Cool and quiet. Runs great on a GIGABYTE GA-H77-DS3H motherboard.

Cons: none

Pros: it's working well for what I need : games and development on windows 8. I've got a graphic card so no use for i7.

Cons: None