Intel Core i5-2310 - Core i5 2nd Gen Sandy Bridge Quad-Core 2.9GHz (3.2GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Intel HD Graphics 2000 Desktop Processor - BX80623I52310

Pros: Takes what is thrown at it like it is supposed to on a budget

Cons: CPU fan that came with it was DOA. Was not going to wait for RMA so I had to grab a compatible fan and use it instead

Overall Review: Other than the fan issue (don't they test those things before they leave the factory?) it's a decent CPU for the price, and it did take the heat from a non working OEM fan for the 10 minutes it took me to notice it wasn't spinning. Have this on an Intel BOXDH67BLB3 mobo with 6gb RAM

Pros: I just switch from an AMD Phenom II quad core 3.2ghz to this little beast and wow what a difference! I obviously changed my mobo as well. I've never really cared much to overclock anything so it's running factory but that's all I need. With my set up I've run Bioshock 2, Crysis 2, COD Black Ops, and Batman Arkham City all at max or near max settings with no problems. Zero lag! If you're looking for a great budget processor this is the one!

Cons: None!

Overall Review: AZRock Z68 Extreme4 Mobo Intel Core i5-2310 Sandy Bridge 2.9GHz COOLER MASTER Hyper N 520 EVGA GTX 460 (1) CORSAIR XMS3 (4 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 Kingwin Lazer 1000w PSU Windows 7 Ultimate x64

Pros: Great speed and stability. Newegg threw in a free copy of norton antivirus 2012 (which i will never use) but hey, gotta love the egg.

Cons: Heatsink of course. Funny the heatsink that came with my E6600 C2D back in the day was over 2 times the size of this sorry 1 inch tall heatsink, And had a copper contact surface, While the i5's contact surface is just aluminum. With fresh Artic silver 5, great case airflow and no overclock, I see temps around 170*F in Prime 95. I put my E6600 heatsink on the i5 and never saw over 120*F Come on intel..

Overall Review: Other than the heat issue, This i5 is an all around beast. Scores a 7.5 out of 7.9 in WEI. It's running with 2x GTX 570's in SLI and isn't breaking a sweat at 2560x1600 resolution. Cpu usage is never over 60% while playing metro 2033, skyrim, BF3 ect all at 2560x1600 res maxed settings. As always, an excellent chip from intel. I Don't see the need to upgrade this for some time considering i've maxed out all the leading titles, and its always the GPU(s) bottlenecking in the end.

Pros: it's an i5, this specific one is ranged on cpumark under High End CPU's chart list fairly close to some of the fastest cpu's on the market today. with an average of around 5500 CPU mark at the stock 2.9Ghz "TURBO @ 3.2Ghz" im sure under unlocked conditions running at turbo speed 3.2Ghz you'd be able to get even better cpu mark scores and better frame rates under certain situations. upgrading out of the old Pentium dual core most recently,and even compared to a nice old Intel Q6600 at 2.9Ghz this i5 blows anything else i have owned right out of the water! with a windows rating score at stock 2.9Ghz brings a nice 7.4 score rating on this CPU. any game i have ran with it never even comes close to 100% usage, typically under 80% GTA IV benchmark draws 67% usage on this i5. and its quite fast enough to record gameplay without bottle necking and loosing too many fps,even when recording at full quality and resolution.

Cons: its not a 3930k LOL. -no cons other then its not overclockable past the turbo speed 3.2Ghz. no big deal for me personally. at 2.9ghz stock its plenty fast enough

Overall Review: it seemlessly runs any and all applications and games i throw at it. BF3 GTA NFS and mroe to be tested soon. BF3 runs flawless at a steady 56-60FPS even in 64 player servers. with medium or high settings. anything beyond that, i will blame my GPU for as im only running an older HD 5770. the price may seem intimidating, but it is WELL worth it for how well it performs, i will never go back to anything slower then my Q6600, that chip in specific as well isnt very bad either. the new sandy bridge architecture and the super fast high amounts of L cache really make a massive difference in even normal every day usage in response time in stuff such as program opening, and windows features like startup shutdown and hibernation of your system 5/5 a must have for any high end builds. even being an i5 it's still one of the best in the i5 series.

Pros: Great CPU for a budget build, used in a home mini server, no issues at all.

Cons: None

Pros: Fast Intel HD support

Cons: Stock cooler feels flimsy

Overall Review: This processor is fast. Don't feel like I would need an i7 chip compared to this one. Able to save money on initial build by using Intel HD until able to get a dedicated graphics card.

Pros: I only use it for gaming, and it does so very well. Playes nice with my 5970

Cons: Idles around 50C on air, and gets to higher 80's on full load. I would water cool it, but my case has no room, (Mini ITX). I personalyl do not like to see such high temps, but it is normal for Intel to be that hot

Pros: This is my first I have built and does what I need it to do. Excels at everything I throw at this processor.

Cons: I have experience no negative things so far. If I do, I will update it.

Overall Review: I use my desktop mainly for gaming: League of Legends, World of Warcraft, Battlefield 3, Sim City, Guild Wars 2, Sleeping Dogs, The Witcher 2, Planet Side 2, and more. So far, I am more than satisfied from my gaming experience. My desktop built includes the following list: 1. Intel Core i5-2310 Sandy Bridge 2.9GHz (3.2GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I52310 2. MSI B75MA-E33 LGA 1155 Intel B75 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS 3. G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL 4. XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler 5. SanDisk Ultra Plus SDSSDHP-128G-G25 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) for Notebook 6. RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-530SS 530W ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Power Supply, New Version with Build-in LED Fan On/Off Switch 7. WD WD Blue WDBAAX5000ENC-NRSN 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Retail kit 8. SAMSUNG DVD Burner SATA Model SH-224BB - OEM 9. AZZA Toledo 301 (CSAZ-301) Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 10. Hanns-G HE247DPB Black 23.6" 5ms Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor 11. I-ROCKS KR-6820E-BK Black 104 Key USB Wired illuminated Backlit Gaming Keyboard (Orange LED)