Pros:
-Powerful enough for a budget gaming CPU.
-Awesomely responsive when paired with an SSD and DDR3 1600 RAM. Boots in 15 seconds in Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit.
-Better integrated graphics than the previous generation CPUs.
-Faster memory controller than the 3220 which only supports DDR1333. This supports DDR3 1600. Yes, it makes a noticeable difference.
Cons:
No "legitimate" cons considering the price point.
Doesn't really overclock
Higher wattage/ heat than with the previous generation Ivy Bridge due to the voltage regulators being added to the CPU (previously on the motherboards) but this is only a slight increase in voltage and temps over my Ivy bridge Pentium.
Other thoughts:
I tried this out in 2 different systems, trying to figure what I wanted to do with it.
System 1) Budget gaming PC: I originally paired this with my old Nvidia GTX460 and 8GB of dual channel DDR3 1600 RAM with 8-8-8-21 latencies for a second gaming computer. This processor was able to keep up with my GTX 460 graphics card, which is still quite a respectable gaming card, without any problems or bottlenecking. This was able to play Crysis2, Call of Duty Modern Warfare, Skyrim, and other titles on high/ ultra graphics settings without any noticeable lags or stutters. I believe the key is that my budget build utilized the full potential of this chip's fast memory controller. Consoles like the Xbox One and PS4 utilize MUCH weaker CPU's than this one and get away with it because of the fast memory controllers and large memory bandwidths inherent to their architectures. This little CPU has a fast memory controller and when paired with low-latency DDR3 modules, essentially this little CPU performs as though it was given an overclock. I am really not a hardcore gamer (more of an enthusiast) and if I didn't already have an i7-2600K based gaming rig, I'd be happy with this as my only gaming rig in a heartbeat.
System2) I paired this with just 2 x2GB of DDR3 1600 and my old 40GB Intel SSD (first generation) and tried out my new MicroATX HTPC build, I was shocked at how responsive this was. The Integrated graphics and the ridiculous speed/ responsiveness of this thing in everyday tasks made me realize that for a non-gaming HTPC this processor was amazing by itself. I watch 1080p video, and even do some light gaming (old EA sports titles and strategy games) and this thing never disappoints. The integrated graphics sort of fall into that "good enough" category where if you just want to watch movies, this is overkill, but if you want to play some strategy games from your online Steam Library, you can do it without a dedicated GPU. I even played League of Legends without a Video card. It worked just fine.
| Processor | 3.2 GHz pentium_dual_core |
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