Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 - Core 2 Extreme Yorkfield Quad-Core 3.2 GHz LGA 775 136W Processor - BX80569QX9770

Pros: How's about 4.27 GHz on air 24/7. 1.4125 Vcore. SuperPi in 10 seconds. Sandra scores in orbit. 1200 jump in 3DMark 06. If your not an Intel fanboy, this thing WILL convert you.

Resistance is futile.

Cons: Do You have extra 1500 bucks lying around? Do you want the fastest CPU on the planet? Cough it up, the best of anything ain't cheap.

Overall Review: Don't even think about buying this thing without a motherboard that can't handle 1600 FSB native! ASUS P5E3 (X48)Prem. will take you to 1800 to 2000, no sweat. DDR3-1800 is a MUST! SuperTalent X Project 1800, 55ns latency @ 7-7-7-21, If your keeping score, that's IMC territory (Mem bandwidth 9576 m/sec)

Pros: Fast as stated. Runs on 1600 FSB MB without overclocking.

Cons: No fan included. Runs very hot. Needs water cooling as per Intel spec sheet. 50% more expensive for what?? (see below).

Overall Review: Downgraded since last post. Actually swapped between 9770 and 9650 twice to make sure of my observations (and to make sure I applied the Artic Silver perfectly). It's no illusion. This proc runs 55c at idle on same big fan as 9650. I would never attempt to run 9770 at full tilt without major water cooling or phase change or peltier.

The 9650 OC'd to 3.2 gigs and 1600 FSB on Asus P5E3 Premium without even trying. Measured 28c at idle and barely hit 54c running 4 instances of Prime 95 at max heat settings and stock fan on high. Could easily go for more.

So IMHO think carefully before investing in this chip. Get the 9650 with a good MB and quality memory (sorry OCZ, I'm not a fan after 3 problematic installations). It will easily blow your socks off.

Setup: CPU: Intel QX9650 mildly OC'd to 3.2 gigs. MB: ASUS P5E3 Premium Wi-Fi. MEM: Corsair Dominator 1800 set to 1600 (400 FSB). Video: Evga GTX 260.