AMD Athlon II X3 455 Rana Triple-Core 3.3 GHz Socket AM3 95W ADX455WFGMBOX Desktop Processor

Pros: Installed Windows with stock core count. Once Windows was installed, three clicks and two restarts later, my Athlon became a Phenom II X4 B55. $80 for 7.3 on Windows Experience Index? How can Intel compare with that?

Cons: Stock fan...leaves much to be desired. WARNING: The owners manual clearly states you void your warranty if you use an aftermarket fan, so be extremely careful when opting out of the stock fan.

Overall Review: I was once an Intel fan...and I mean hard core, no AMD for me - back in the day when AMD was synonymous with "sure to crash". The past four computers I've built have not allowed me headroom to invest in an Intel proc...and AMD has pulled through every time. Two Semprons and two Athlons, all challenge my i5-750. AMD may be the way to go for me from now on. Specs: MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1 G.SKILL 4.00 GB Single-Channel DDR3 1333 BIOSTAR Group A880G+ Western Digital 250 GB HDD ASUS DRW-24B1ST Optical Drive ASUS ATI Radeon HD 5450

Pros: I built a system for a customer six years ago using an Athlon x2 2GGHZ CPU. It has been the one reliable system for his entire family. Since then the HDD, OS, RAM, and now the CPU has been upgraded. Things ran much faster using this CPU using the original Vista Basic I installed (Don't yell at me, the customer insisted on having the latest OS). After Installing Windows 7 64bit the system ran great.

Cons: It's not a modern CPU, and the tiple cores were quad cores that had one defective core. But the other three are working great.

Overall Review: Great upgrade option.

Pros: Not much to say, it's a cpu, it processes. However, it does so well & for a great price point. Works w/ auto unlocking boards easily, all you do is install it & boot & you've got 4 cores instead of the 3 you paid for. It's stable, customers report no issues.

Cons: none

Pros: Part of a replacement build for an old athlon 64 X2 machine. Speedy little thing! Cooler is about a quarter of the size of the one on the old CPU.

Cons: None

Pros: Unlocked to Phenom II X4 B55 (I guess it's a 955 without an L3 Cache) Overclocked to 4.4 GHZ stable on $30 cooler, and $10 fan I use it at 4.125 GHZ every day (see other thoughts) 7.5 Windows Experience Index Fast and cheap proccessor Even without the unlock, you get serious bang for the buck I bought it at a brick and mortar which had a MIR offer

Cons: It can't cook, or clean my house

Overall Review: I never trust stock coolers by any of the CPU manufacturers out there, so I got a Cooler Master Hyper 212+, and a second sub-$10 Cooler Master Fan. I put this on a M4A8TD-V EVO, and I unlocked the 4th core by using the on-board switch, and it overclocked to 4.4GHZ stable. The motherboard can either run the RAM far bellow or far beyond it's rated speed with the bus so high, so I overclock it at 4.125 for everyday use, so I can OC the RAM a little as well. To overclock it, I raised the core voltage to 1.575 volts, and I raised the bus to 250 MHz. I can raise the bus higher to OC higher. You shouldn't try it this high though, because you really risk serious damage.

Pros: The 4th core unlocked right away and things seem stable with 4 active cores when the thing is OC'd as high as ~5%. Any more than that and I lose the 4th core after about an hour or two of performing non-intensive tasks. But honestly, that's fine by me. I'm happy with this chip's performance on 4 active cores without any OC'ing. It's already pretty fast this way and idles at a manageable 34C with the stock fan. Even with only 3 cores active, it will suit most of your gaming and graphics needs. Oh, and mine is being recognized as a Phenom X4, so I'm guessing that the 4th core in this particular chip is that of a Phenom instead of an Athlon. If that's the case, then that is a pretty sweet little bonus.

Cons: There's no L3 cache and it's a bit of a gamble as to whether or not you'll get 4 working cores with your chip, though like I said before, it's fairly powerful on 3. It can do pretty much anything that a quad-core can. The idle temperature skyrockets by around 20 degrees just by overclocking it to 5% while running on only 3 of the cores, so if you plan on really testing the limits of this thing, you absolutely need to get a better cpu fan. The one included is the same one that came with my Athlon X2... and it doesn't really cut it when you're OC'ing, though it will perform JUST adequately if all that you want to do is unlock the 4th core.

Overall Review: If you're thinking about buying a quad-core, but don't want to shell out for at least a Phenom and don't mind having no L3 cache, then you might want to check this out as an alternative to an entry-level, Athlon quad. Chances are good that your 4th core will unlock and be stable, thus leaving you with comparable quad-core functionality for just a little less cash.

Pros: Many. It's fast as is at 3.3ghz. With the right motherboard, you can (sometimes) make it into a Phenom II x4 B55. It's sub $100. It comes with stock cooling that has worked fine for me so far. I haven't found something that reasonably needs much more power than this can give out.

Cons: Could be a gamble if you're counting on getting a stable fourth core. Briefly opens a portal to the underworld when you first turn it on, but I assume that's just to get its magical voodoo powers. One restart and the screaming stops. The blood was a bit difficult to scrub out of the carpet, but drywall washes easy enough.

Overall Review: AMD Athlon II X4 645 Propus 3.1GHz is presently listed as over $105. This cpu is cheaper, 0.2ghz faster, and can (sometimes) unlock to quad core as well. May need additional cooling or underclocking to be stable, and DO NOT COUNT ON UNLOCKING THE 4TH CORE, but it is potentially the cheapest quad core cpu I have found this year with these speeds by a long shot. From what I have read, sometimes amd's failed quad cores are relabeled as tri-core, but sometimes when tri-core demand is high they just repackage a perfectly fine quad core with one disabled by default. That could just be hearsay, so grain of salt. This cpu got nards.

Pros: Runs cool and smooth even after unlocking the 4th core and overclocking, though I am using a large Zalman aftermarket cooler. 7.4 WEI on Windows 7 64 bit. Crysis 2 runs like buttah.

Cons: None that I'm aware of, though I found out later that many people think low-end Intel CPUs are the way to go these days. I'm still thrilled with the performance of this CPU and my system overall.

Overall Review: I chose this for my first build because I have always had good luck with AMD for the money, and I have not been disappointed with this purchase in any way.