I built a SandyBridge gaming rig last month. I chose the Core i3-2100 as a cheap option to see if it would be great for games such as (StarCraft 2, Crysis, Crysis 2, Burnout Paradise, Left 4 Dead 2.) I am very impressed at the performance level this processor offers. First the Benchmark. I used Passmark Performance Test 7. The score was 4,472. Compare that to my Core i5 based MacBook Pro which was 2,367. So far I have yet to push the limits of this processor. I would Highly Recommend this processor over any AMD for low budget gaming.
The Specs of my gaming rig
Intel Core i3-2100
8GB of DDR3-1600Mhz RAM
Asus P8P67 Deluxe
Geforce GTX 460 SE (which is an underrated card)
2TB WD HDD
Samsung Blu-Ray Drive (Reads BD, Burns DVD/CD's)
jakthebomb Intel Core i3 Processor i3-2100 3.1GHz 3MB LGA1155 CPU BX80623I32100
This is a dual core processor clocked at 3.1GHz, Bought this for a HTPC build, was combined with 4GB of DDR3, a Biostar H61MH motherboard, 1TB HDD and an IOGear wireless keyboard. The computer is really fast and works great as a HTPC, its plugged into our 42" LCD using the HDMI port at 1080p. The video looks great even though the motherboard doesn't have a dedicated video card/chip. I've even played movies on XBMC while ripping a video at the same time, without any problems. All our videos (mkv and avi) look great, so does Hulu desktop. I haven't run any benchmarks but I do know that it rips videos about 50% faster than my Core2Duo Macbook pro.
The processor was well packaged and easy to install. With only a 65W power consumption, it seems to run cool all of the time, only heard the fan speed up while installing the OS. The fan that came with the processor seems more than enough and quiet, though I did use Artic Silver 5 thermal compound with my build. The other thing I really like is how you don't need an additional graphics card, keeps the cost lower and also reduces power consumption indirectly. Note: this can't be over-clocked.
All in all, a great CPU, highly recommended. Will probably install Ubuntu 11.04 soon, will update the review then, especially if there are any problems.
I'm very pleased with this CPU. Application for the PC is HTPC. The CPU has far more processing power than needed but what I really like is the low (electrical) power consumption and low heat. Only 65W Max TDP.
I've put the CPU in an ASUS P8H67-M PRO/CSM MB and it's working great.
My setup uses built-in graphics with no issues. I'm using VGA output rather than HDMI so far. GPU HW graphics acceleration from directx and Adobe Flash Driver seem fine.
Had no troubles finding appropriate Intel drivers from their website. Note that I'm using Windows 7 64-bit. I haven't tried to run in a Linux system.
Main reason for purchase of this CPU was its energy efficiency. I wanted something fast and still have a low power consumption and so the Atom processors did not fit my needs.
When the computer is sitting at desktop it currently pulls 28W and Under full load it never goes past 37W. The whole computer consist of a 400W 80 PLUS Bronze PSU, an F3 Samsung hard drive, using its built in graphics chipset for video, single module 1333mhz 4gb DDR3 ram, a single 80mm fan, an asrock h67 motherboard, and DVD burner.
Fits all my needs
-Transcoding speeds are reasonable (although I did not buy this CPU for that) trough quicksync feature
-Windows 7 runs quick and snappy
-HD 1080p YouTube and Netflix play fine without any struggling. Played both at the same time without cpu utilization going beyond 55%
Nice CPU for "general" computing. Would recommend if your needs are similar. - Core - Intel - Powerful - Value'
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