Intel Core i3-2120T Sandy Bridge Dual-Core 2.6 GHz LGA 1155 35W BX80623I32120T Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000

Pros: Works for HTPC usage in terms of wattage, heat, noise, & muscle. Low profile heatsink/fan. In an enclosed home theater thing with 2 120mm fans installed in back to pull hot air out. Running Win7 & using PowerDVD to open my personally purchased DVDs (AnyDVD folder rips) & Blu-Ray (AnyDVD M2TS rips). Outputs audio & video via HDMI to my Denon with full 7.1 DTS-HD MA. No stutters, no issues. 100% satisfied. I strongly recommend HTPCs for people who have kids who destroy DVDs & Blu-Rays within minutes of opening the packages.

Cons: Stock thermal paste had some bubbles in it which I didn't bother to fix after running some tests. People complain about the 23.976 issues, but I don't notice anything. Runs hotter than expected (about 10 degrees hotter than my i7-2600 for some reason), but still within my personal acceptable range.

Overall Review: Intel Core i3-2120T Sandy Bridge 2.6GHz LGA 1155 35W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I32120T Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model KVR1333D3N9K2/8G Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD6400BPVT 640GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive -Bare Drive Antec ISK 300-150 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel Mini-ITX Desktop Computer Case 150W Power Supply CPU Temp Idle - 90f (32c) / 85f (29c) CPU Temp Watching M2TS Blu-Ray - 110f (43c) / 105f (40c) Kill-A-Watt idle power usage - 40w (inefficient PSU might contribute to this) Kill-A-Watt watching m2ts blu-ray usage - 50w DENON AVR-2112CI Receiver Panasonic VIERA TC-P55ST30

Pros: -cheep -has HT -more than powerful enough!

Cons: -No AES acceleration (only on i5 & i7) -integrated GPU isn't powerful enough to play SC2. -VLC H.264 GPU acceleration seems to make no difference

Overall Review: I'm running Ubuntu on this for both a media server and squid server at home. I've got it running 24/7 so i thought a 35w processor would be ideal. I was a little worried that it wouldn't be powerful enough but i was wrong. listening to music and surfing the web overall processor usage is around 4% average. I've done video encoding, picture editing, I'm blown away by this. playing a 1080P movie (~17Mbps H.264) cpu averages 17% with VLCs GPU acceleration turned off. Playing the same movie with GPU acceleration turned on there is no difference. I've had amazing results with other processors using this.

Pros: I didn't spec this to be a HTPC, so I was shocked when I saw it decode a BD50 ISO RIP of Transormers3 @1080, registering a peek load of 8% in task manager using Arcsoft Totalmedia Theatre Platinum v5.0. Since 2 of the cores is hyperthreading, I think 8% is artificially low. One of the cores was 25%, the other 15%, so you can say it was at 20%. That's twice better then my 95watt i5 750!!! VLC was much higher as expected (between 65% and 80% on 2 cores), and the frame rate was not constant -- Arcsoft is key. It's so sad that this will only be used for light browsing.

Cons: (just more comments) I think back about how creative Shuttle had to be with heat pipes in order to put a PC in a little box. Today the same size computer performs way faster w/o any of that wizardry.

Overall Review: I would ALWAYS replace the stock cooler with aftermarket. This time I only replaced the thermal compound with arctic silver and gave it a try. The all aluminum cooler is identical to what you get with the 65watt i3's with the exception of a new *low profile* fan. When seated, your memory will be the tallest component on the motherboard! The CPU draws so little power that this inadequate looking cooler remains @ silent RPMs. The only time I hear it is during POST. My case and psu are also very quiet so it won't be heard during the silent passages of a movie. ASUS Mini-ITX (P8H61-I) G.SKILL 4GB cas7 1.35V Kingston SSDNow V+100 KR-S1296 LIAN LI PC-Q11A SeaSonic SS-300ET Bronze 300W

Pros: -low electricity usage, 35W -more than enough cpu/gpu power to watch 1080p blu-ray movies, netflix streaming, huluplus, etc... -my cpu I was able to undervolt by -0.140V offset, which is impressive! -low profile heatsink and fan, perfect for a HTPC case with virtually no extra space to spare -my whole htpc only uses 29W at idle and 35-40W while watching HD content

Cons: -sandy bridge, I'm sure there will be ivy bridge 35W options out soon -pricey, but you get what you pay for, I paid for future proofing

Overall Review: i3 2120T ASRock H77M 4GB DDR3 ram LG blu-ray drive 160GB hdd (soon to be replaced by a ssd) Corsair CX430M PSU Lian Li PC-C50B case

Pros: Low voltage and low profile cooler. Typically great intel performance. Better than Atom / ION processors and will be sufficient to stream Netflix HD or play 3D Blu ray content.

Cons: Cooler fan is unshielded so pay attention to wiring. At max RPM it is audible, probably around 20 db or so.

Overall Review: The T versions of Intel processors should be considered if you have: 1 Power constraints and need low voltage, as in a HTPC or embedded setup. 2 Size constraints and need a low profile. If you're planning to do ripping and encoding you might want to get more power but this guy is more than you will need for media consumption tasks and will play Netflix HD flawlessly as opposed to Atom / ION / some celeron builds. Temps max out at about 55o in a very tight HTPC enclosure. Low profile fan and heatsink are outstanding. Only 1.75 inches high!

Pros: 1. Very low power consumption 2. Runs very cool 3. More powerful than you would think or would give it credit for

Cons: 1. Price may be a alittle high, but its new so you will always pay the premium

Overall Review: I have this CPU in the following setup: Shuttle SH67H3 XPC SFF G.Skill Ripjaws 2x4GB DDR3-1333 (CL9-9-9-24 1.5V) Seagate MomentusXT 500GB Hybrid HD Intel HD2000 IGP Samsung DVD-RW This setup is awesome for the basics and can even run Draftsight CAD software at full blast without a problem. The system rates at a 5.2 (graphics limited, go figure), but the processor is a 6.9 and the RAM a 7.4. It runs silent. I have owned 3 Shuttles before and this one is the quietest by far. If the BIOS had the ability to, it would shut off the ICE fan, but it can't. This processor is not an i5 or i7, but it holds its own, especially considering it is only 35W. I am very happy with the system and of course Newegg with the excellent shipping and support.

Pros: A nice low power i3 for my HTPC. It sips power now. I only have one 80mm fan running at an inaudible speed. The processor rar passively with a Mini Ninja Rev.B cooler. Didn't top 50c while encoding media.

Cons: None.

Overall Review: I have since put this processor in our kitchen HTPC. It is an Mini ITX system. Average operating temperature is between 30c & 40c. It's average power use for the whole system is 35 watts.

Pros: - Power consumption and performance. 14W at idle running Win7, peaking out at 43W at full load, on an Asus P8H61-I with an SSD. - It consumes less power than an Atom D525 at idle, but has more than enough processing power to be snappy and usable. - Aside from price, this makes a desktop Atom look like a bit of a joke. - Has a cute little, more than sufficient, short version of the stock Intel HSF.

Cons: - Still consumes power while idle, but I'm sure they're working on that.

Overall Review: For the same price you could get more powerful processors with a higher-end iGPU, but they consume more power. You choose this processor for energy efficiency, not raw performance.