Intel Core i5-7500, 4 Cores & 4 Threads Desktop Processor with Intel UHD Graphics 630

Just built a new system and I wanted to make sure I had the latest generation CPU available. Coming from a 7 yr old AMD Athlon II system, this CPU is a substantial upgrade. I have detailed the complete listing of parts used below. I use my desktop for Audio Production (multitrack recording/mixing/mastering) so quad cores are important. I researched all the latest CPUs (AMD and Intel) and for the money, the Intel kept coming out ahead in terms of benchmarking. I was holding out for AMD's Ryzen CPUs but ultimately I decided it was time to move to the standard in processors. I read there are still a few bugs to work out on the new AMDs and I will keep an eye out in the next couple of years as to how they compare to Intel's offerings. I don't have allegiance either way but I just want performance without having to overclock and install pricey water cooling systems. I also do a bit of video editing/conversion and I can tell you this CPU is very fast. With the MSI board and Samsung M.2 SSD, this system boots up in 20 secs. I would be faster if I turned on the Fast Boot feature on the mobo but it's not that big of a deal. When converting a MKV to MP4 (480i) in Handbrake ("23" setting using the "Slow" encoding speed), I went from an average of 30 fps to over 130 fps. I know it's not fair to compare a 7 yr old AMD quad to this new one but just illustrating how much of a boost in performance you can get. I would recommend using the Cooler Master T4 instead of the stock cooler. I'm not a fan of the cheap coolers as they tend to get noisy the harder you drive the CPU. With the T4 installed and running Prime95, the CPU never got over 54 degrees C. The cooler fan never went over 900 rpm so it was very quiet. You need to make sure you have a big enough case to handle the T4 but your ears and CPU will thank you.As others have mentioned out there, you MUST have Windows 10 and a compatible motherboard with the Kaby Lake CPUs! The MSI board immediately recognized this processor right from the start. Also, the Kaby Lake processors recognize the DDR4 2400 memory natively so make sure to purchase the right speed. Get every little bit of performance you can!Cheers!Windows 10 Home 64 bitMSI Gaming Intel B250 MORTAR LGA 1151 mATX MotherboardIntel i5-7500 CPU 3.4GHzSamsung 850 EVO 250GB M.2 SATA III Internal SSDSeagate 2TB BarraCuda SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch(2) Ballistix Sport 8GB Single DDR4 2400ASUS Blu-Ray Writer BW-16D1HTANEWKODI USB WiFi Adapter AC600MbpsThermaltake Versa H21 Mid-tower CaseEVGA 500 W1, 80+ WHITE 500W Power SupplyCooler Master Hyper T4 CPU CoolerArctic Silver Ceramique Thermal Compound***Update 2/4/2018*** - After almost a year later, this system still rocks! Very pleased with the performance and have no regrets. For those who mess around with DAWs, I can tell you this CPU can handle a TON of plugins! I use Reaper 5 (64-bit) and using a mix of Waves, Steven Slate and other free plugins, this CPU doesn't flinch when you have over 40 plugins running at the same time. My poor AMD Athlon II X4 would start to struggle once I hit the 40+ mark on plugins. Some of the Waves and Slate plugins do need more processing power but so far, this CPU has handled everything I've thrown at it. The only limitation I could see is if you run some high end samplers. I do run Superior Drummer 3 connected to my V-drums and I would say the sampler is more of a drain on my memory but it does steal some cycles on the CPU. I still wholeheartedly recommend this CPU for everyday use along with video/audio production work. Again make sure to pair it with a large heatsink like the T4. In the right case, you don't even hear the fan running once you start hitting the CPU harder.

THIS CPU IS FREAKING AMAZING!!!!It is the fastest thing in the world. It's price is so worth the performance. I was installing like 12 steam games, installing 2 games on battle.net, installing spotify, and I was browsing the internet at the same time. While I was doing so the maximum CPU usage was 17 PERCENT. SEVENTEEN FREAKING PERCENT. I am extremely satisfied with this processor and I highly recommend it to anyone that is looking into upgrading their processor for their computer.However there is a very important requirement for this CPU: It only supports windows 10 because it is a 7th Gen Intel Processor.That won't be a big problem if you have windows 7 or windows 8 because you can just upgrade your OS to windows 10 with ease.If you wanna find out how to upgrade your system from windows 7 or 8 to 10 then just search up in google "how to upgrade windows 7 to windows 10 how to geek"Howtogeek.com is super helpful on this and they have a pretty simple step-by-step guide.

I used this processor to upgrade from a 5 year-old Pentium. It took less than 10 minutes to make the swap. Works great.

So like the title say I got mine used. It works extremely well I can play so many games so much smoothly. (still cant play battlefield 2042 though sadge) The only real downside is the fact that the stand came cracked. the fan one of the plastic prongs that go in the board was broken. I just cleaned off my old one and used it though. Ive had it about 1-2 weeks so far and id say its a 4.5/5.