CPU Does this CPU suck?

I've been offered a cheap CPU, but i know absolutely ZERO about hardware, since i haven't updated my knowledge in several years.

I might build a new budget-gamer PC and was wondering if this badboy is worth anything?

Intel Core i7-860S (http://ark.intel.com/products/41316/Intel-Core-i7-860-Processor-(8M-Cache-2_80-GHz))

I have to pay around 80-90$ for it. Is it worth it, or is it totally outdated?

 

I guess it depends on your budget. Lynnfield & Bloomfield era CPUs are/were very good, and still not far off SB/IB, so $80 sounds like a steal to me. ~£50 for a quad core hyperthreaded CPU sounds great. Remember that it runs on 1156, which means some fairly cheap motherboards can be found second hand too.

 

It's still a good CPU even though it's getting on a bit. I have no intention to upgrade my 920 (and I've already had three hexcore CPUs...) so I don't see any reason not to get it if it's so cheap!

 

Its a great cpu.

Easily holds its own with modern cpus.

 

Sounds good!

It's brand new and hasn't been opened. Hoping to use it in a second-hand gamer-pc. What kind of motherboard should i be looking for? What determines which motherboard can be used for CPUs? Is it the socket-type or?

 

You need a socket 1156 motherboard.

If cost is a issue the Gigabyte GA-H55 UD2H is a cracking motherboard and overclocks well.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/motherboards/2010/01/28/gigabyte-ga-h55m-ud2h-review/1

Uses the H55 motherboard which has onboard graphics.

If you want something a bit more fancey a P55 chipset board like a Asus P7P55D series would be great.

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1156/P7P55D/

Only thing that can be tricky is getting the motherboard you want as the socket is EOL and most retailers don't stock them, try marketplace or ebay.

 

Thanks for the reply!

It's a jungle out there. Specially when you haven't been into the whole hardware-stuff for quite some years.

 

Like people have said it is a great CPU and will pretty much fly through anything you throw at it, but 1156 motherboards have been phased out so motherboard options and upgrade paths will be limited,

Basically it's about the most powerful CPU you can get for a 1156 chipset, and overclocks pretty well too. With a decent enough board and cooling you could easily get an extra GHz out of it on all 4 cores (8 threads) if you know how.