Two years ago, Intel's Core i7-920 was the best value available to overclockers. Since then, the company has launched scalable 32 nm desktop CPUs for the mainstream and ultra high-end, leaving out budget-oriented enthusiasts.

This is a great CPU, have a very good performance and the price is affordable. Use two cpu on the workstation is recommended for better performance.

i bought the active/passive combo heat sink with arctic silver thermal paste. i only buy intel processors.

virtualization the best thing about the westmere line is the built in support for aes encryption; my server uses aes for all ssl connections; low power consumption keeps costs down

no heat sink included but thats ok because the heat sink that intel usually supplies with its processors isn't very good

The Good: Good little processors, very low operating temperatures. I have two of these in my EVGA SR-2, overclocked to 3.5GHz and still at 16 threads 100% load, they run around 110 fahrenheit. Beat any Ivy Bridge or Sandy Bridge in temperatures hands down, overclocked. Very stable overall.

This arrived in a plastic chip holder and semi closed via a crappy tape job. The chip has smudge and compression marks, meaning it was used. I bought a new version!!

Its a good reliable processor. So far it doesn't mind hard work, being a server processor it had no problem with the 5hr shift I gave it, it stayed at roughly the same temerature (my last CPU would steadily get hotter).

I'm running two of these in an SR-2 mobo at factory clock. It seems the actual clockrate when loaded is 2.9x ghz? Using Noctua 120mm aircoolers, it is running at 50 deg C on both CPU's under Folding at Home, so there should be plenty of room for overclocking.

No problem with this. Having lived in my server for over 3 years (running 24/7). Inga problem med denna. Har bott i min server i över 3 år (igång 24/7).

This is a very good CPU. 6 cores with 12 threads enabled look awesome in task manager or multi-threaded rendering software. Should use this to replace your classic 1st generation i7s. Cool and wow factor is so high.