Intel Core i3-3220T Dual-Core Processor 2.8 Ghz 3MB Cache LGA 1155 - BX80637i33220T

I replaced the i7-2600 CPU in my home theater PC with this i3. I did it to reduce power consumption, and hopefully switch to passive cooling in my Silverstone case.I expected performance to take a hit, but honestly, I can't tell any difference. I know this CPU doesn't have nearly to processing power of my old i7, but it's not noticeable during normal use.I did try encoding blu rays with it and it's working at about 8 frames per second using RipBot264 (down from about 18 with my i7-2600, and 24 with my i7-3930k). Honestly, that's better than expected. I've been encoding blu rays with my ultrabook, and it doesn't quite make it to 3 frames per second (with an i5-3317u CPU).I'm very happy to report that it seems to be stable with entirely passive cooling. I'm using a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo without the fan, and no case fans. The GPU is an Asus GT 210 (fanless), and the only fan running in the case is the power supply. CPU temps run in the mid to high 30's at idle, and up to 70 with a full load (RipBot264). That's not exactly ice cold, but it's enough to keep me from plugging the fans back in. Currently the CPU is reporting 65 degrees Celcius, while I'm typing this, encoding a blu ray, and watching Jurassic Park in 1080p. The loudest noise coming from my case is now my hard drives.This CPU earns a 7.1 Windows Experience Index score, which is more than I thought it would get, honestly. If anyone else is interested in using this for a similar application, I'll list my specs. Keep in mind, this is not a case with good cooling. I had a lot of problems trying to keep a Sandy Bridge-E build cool in the same case, even with water cooling and no overclocking.Silverstone PS07 caseAntec EA-380D Earthwatts 380 watt Power Supplyi3-3220t CPU(2) Intel 320 series 80GB SSDs (in RAID 0, boot volume)(2) 2TB Western Digital Green Hard Drives (JBOD, media storage)16GB Kingston 1600mhz DDR3 Hyper X 1.65vAsus GT 210 2GB GPUGigabyte Z77MX-D3H MotherboardSamsung Blu Ray DriveAsus PCI-N15 PCI Express Wifi CardNow I'm just thinking about switching out to a Platium certified fanless PSU, and possibly some 1.35v DDR3, and my build will be complete, and almost completely silent.

I purchased this cpu for my HTPC. I wanted a system that can playback 3d 1080p mkv files without having to put a huge fan on my system. This cpu runs cool with its OEM fan, no problems at all. The noise is minimal and the power consumption is less than 10W when the system is up & running (of course, the optimized bias of the Asus P8Z77 helps). Perfect for HTPC. This is the systme I configured for about $500:Pioneer BDR-207MBK Black 12X SATA BDRW DVDRW BDXLFSP 80 Plus Bronze Certification Micro ATX 400 Power Supply FSP40 (very quiet)ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe LGA 1155 Intel Z77 (awesome MB)SilverStone Aluminum/Steel Micro ATX Media Center/HTPC Case (nice case, looks great)This HTPC rocks, I also use it as media server. The MB also provides dual antenna WLAN and LAN bridge so you can connect most of your devices to your home network. I used to playback Hulu and Youtube from my TV apps but now with this system, everything is on HTPC!

The primary use for this cpu is for an htpc built. Handles HD video streams and multiple application flawlessly. I dont play games on this so not sure how it performs in that area.My only complaint is the stock fan noise. Its pretty loud for an HTPC, but the cool thing is that you can turn it down to 20% and the noise is almost gone. I use ASROCK motherboard utilities to check the cpu temperature and lowering the fan speed by 80% increased the temperatures by only 2 degrees celsius which I can live with!So overall its a great CPU for any HTPC build.

Support ECC RAM. VT-x but not VT-d. 35 W TDP. Similar in performance to the the Xeon E3-1220L V2 processor, which adds VT-d and has a jaw droppingly low TDP of 17 W. However, the E3-1220L V2 is very hard to acquire, and about 2x as much money. For quiet, low power server builds, even with low end virtualization workloads, this CPU is hard to beat.The stock CPU cooler in the retail package is actually pretty quiet, at least when using the Arctic Silver 5 kit to clean off and replace the lower quality thermal paste pre-installed on the cooler. It's not hard to cool a 35 W processor, so there is less reason to spend more $$ on an after-market cooler.

I originally built my first Thin Mini ITX computer using this processor. This is a low power processor (35watt) that worked well within the Akasa Euler Thin Mini ITX Case. The case is passively cooled with a case heatsink.When you couple this processor with a fast SSD, you'll have a computer that can satisfy a power user. I sold the computer to a coworker that uses it for logo design (photoshop, GIMP, ETC)Very impressive low power processors from Intel.

Got this last summer for a (relatively) low power HTPC build and have found it handles everything we've thrown at it. The on board graphics is more than adequate for viewing HD movies and is able to do transcoding in the background without skipping a beat. Recently migrated all the parts into a low profile case to keep the wires out of a new puppy's reach. Even with this reduction in ventilation the CPU stays plenty cool with only the stock cooler and power supply fans going (all the other circulating fans are disconnected to keep ambient noise to a minimum). Highly recommend this for a moderately powerful but low wattage HTPC or desktop machine for work (rather than gaming).

This is a great option if you're looking for efficient processing. Reliable and held up for years

Grabbed this for a htpc build, pairing it with a ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe. Processor runs with passive cooling (no fans) in an atech fab. case. The thing barely gets warm and flys compared to the T7600 it is replacing. Highly recommended for HTPC builds.