Intel Core i3-2120 Dual-Core Processor 3.3 GHz 3 MB Cache LGA 1155 - BX80623I32120

The i3-2120 is among the best processors one can find for a budget build, and coupled with a decent graphics card it will run anything at high or even maxed out settings. First of all, this CPU is almost identical to the i3-2100 which is only $3 less at the time of this writing, the only major difference is that this model has a higher clock speed, so I would certainly recommend this over the 2100, and I personally own both and both are great for everyday use, but if you are looking for budget gaming I would pick this over and AMD APU and just about any processor in this price range. I am currently writing this review on a budget build I completed about a month ago, and it is running perfectly along with 4 GB of RAM and a GTX 560, this combination is good enough to max out any game I throw at it so far (Blacklight, BF3, Minecraft, Skyrim, anything really). If you are considering this CPU for gaming on a budget, you want to spend much more on the graphics card than anything else. If you are looking for a strong rig under $700 pair this CPU with a GPU in the $175-250 price range. Installation is incredibly easy and the stock fan keeps it nice and cool. I strongly recommend this CPU for anything from daily use to gaming builds under $800.

This CPU is a work horse, and at the small price of $115 it's one of the best CPUs on the market. With 4 threads (to physical cores w/ hyper-threading) and a clock speed of 3.3Ghz this CPU will give you solid performance for most everyday tasks. The Intel HD 2000 graphics are the only weak spot, but will be fine for everyday computing and/or light graphics rendering like watching streaming videos in 720p via Netflix/Amazon Prime/YouTube/etc... I am running a small machine with this CPU, 8Ghz of cheap RAM, and a bargain Mobo. The machine performs exceptionally well and is very quiet. The included CPU fan can get loud at full speed, but I've found temperatures to be in the low 30's Celsius with the fan running at 65%, which makes it almost silent. I am using a 450W power supply because I had one sitting around, but you could easily get by with a smaller (200W should power this CPU just fine) one if you're so inclined.Very happy with this chip and would highly recommend it to anyone looking to put together a low cost machine. Was thinking about taking away 1 star for the weak imbedded graphics, decided against it because you get 4 threads at 3.3Ghz which is very impressive.

Pros:- Extremely fast dual core CPU- Includes hyper-threading- 7.1 out of 7.9 on WEI- Stock Intel cooler is fairly quietCons:- No turbo-boost- Stock Intel cooler has somewhat troublesome plastic push-pin mechanisms that hold the cooler to the motherboard. When installing these I carefully tried to apply the same amount of pressure to each pin, but one pin went in too far and seemed to break pretty easily. I thought I damaged my CPU and motherboard. Luckily I did not, but now that push-pin will not come out. It seems I will probably have to carefully cut the plastic pin off if I ever want to remove the cooler and/or the CPU.I still believe the stock cooler works fairly well as it is quiet and every time I check the BIOS it seems to be keeping the CPU temperature consistently low. The installation issue with the pins could be attributed to me not being careful enough, but I feel the pins are not designed very well and that one of them could have been defective. Regardless of the cooler, the CPU itself deserves at least 4 stars for it's performance even without turbo-boost or overclocking capability.Some of my reasoning for buying this product:Diablo III is finally being released and I was long overdue for a new computer anyways (was running a Pentium 4 with Windows XP Pro...very sad I know). Obviously an i3 (1st or 2nd gen) is a gargantuan leap over the Pentium 4...but some people may not realize that the i3 completely blows the Diablo III minimum CPU specifications out of the water and turns the water into vapor. But still...After purchasing my i3-2120 I started worrying it was already obsolete and maybe I should have sprung for a i5-2500K because of all the overclocking hype. After all, Intel themselves say the i3 is only smart, while the i7 is a genius.How much more performance do you really get from a i5 or i7 quad core processor? Well according to the Windows Experience Index, it might not be as much as you think. After Windows Experience Index scored my i3-2120 at 7.1 (on a scale of 1 - 7.9) I started to really doubt that the i5 or i7 were really worth the cost to performance increase ($100+ extra for .1 - .8 more on the WEI scale). For the time being, the extra cost most likely isn't worth it for most computer users and gamers.Like many other reviews state, most current software, even popular new games like Diablo III (#1 selling game on Amazon, 737 days in Top 100) are really only going to utilize single and/or dual core threading; and if in fact there is more threads needed, the i3 has hyper-threading capability which is described as having two virtual cores running with the two physical cores to enable quad core type threading.When the cost of 2nd generation quad core Intel CPUs goes down and the majority of software being produced actually utilizes quad core CPUs then I will believe they are worth my extra hard earned cash. By then Diablo IV will be out and I will have had AT LEAST a few years of exceptional performance and quality use from a $127 Intel CPU.

I've read excellent reviews about this processor from multiple websites and I can attest that these reviews are true! The i3-2120 is indeed an excellent processor for its price, and considering it is only $5 more than the 2100, the 200mhz higher clock speed is well worth the upgrade.I bought this to build a budget gaming rig for my kids and I'm about to order another for a HTPC. This little chip can run Modern Warfare 3 with no problems, and I also run Photoshop CS4 and Autocad 2011 from time to time with no issues. My only gripe is, it should have been equipped with HD3000, but I still rate it 5 stars.2 cores, 4 threads, good built-in video graphics, and faster than my old i5 laptop! This chip is probably the most underrated of all processors right now.

Overall performance is OK.However, it doesn't support 1600 memories and price is still high.I would pay $5 more and get 3rd gen i3, although performance it self is not bad.

I purchased this Intel i3 CPU to use in a server running Mac OS X 10.7, and I have to say, like the other reviews for this product, I am very impressed. When in use, the CPU temperature is about 90° Fahrenheit, which is quite cool. The performance is fast, nothing to brag about like an i5 or i7, but it's great for my purposes. It runs well, and paired with the Gigabyte GA-H61M-DS2 motherboard and 8GB of gaming RAM, makes a great Mac server for under $250.

It is fraud, I waste a lot of time and worries and haven't got my money back.