Pros: 1. Low power consumption, acceptable temperatures with an aftermarket cooler, even under load. 2. Incredible value, performance of a higher end i7 at i5 prices (4 Cores plus Hyperthreading) 3. Omission of integrated graphics lowers the cost. 4. Compatible with consumer grade motherboards, does not require ECC ram modules. 5. Socket design allows a WIDE variety of aftermarket coolers to be installed. (I installed an ancient socket 1156 cooler from 2009, it fit like a glove). 6. Very stable, at least in my configuration.

Cons: 1. Stock cooler is pretty worthless. 2. CPU is not meant to be overclocked.

Overall Review: This CPU is a budget powerhouse! I am very happy with the performance and the price! Here's my current setup for compatibility reference. CPU - Intel Xeon E3-1231v3 Motherboard - Gigabyte G.1 Sniper H6 RAM - 12GB (2x2GB 2x4GB) G.Skill PC3 - 19200 Video Card - NVidia eVGAGeForce 660 Ti SSD - Intel 320 Series SSD - 160GB PSU - SeaSonic SSR-650RM Running Windows 8.1 Pro - 64bit. PC is being used for moderate gaming, video editing and encoding. It performs flawlessly and is very stable.

Overall Review: Zero issues with this board. Not sure what the rest of the "experts" who gave it low marks are talking about. Running it with: Seasonic 850W PSU Intel i7-12700F Crucial Ballistix 3200 MHz CL16 RAM Noctua NH-U12S redux RTX 3090 Silent, power efficient rig.

Overall Review: Got it on sale for under a hundred bucks. Perfect ram.

Pros: Worked reliably for 4 years. No power related issues during the lifetime.

Cons: -Died after 4 years of moderate use (see other thoughts for system specs). -Main capacitor bulged and caused unit to fail. -Last year of owning this PSU, I noticed coil whine when system was under load. -Short warranty period.

Overall Review: My PSU was powering: (OC'ed i5 - 750 @ 3.2 GHz, 1 x GeForce GTX 660 Ti Superclocked, 3 x 140MM low flow fans, no water pumps, 2 x SSDs, 2 x HDDs). Will not be buying another one, due to short warranty (only 3 years).