Strengths: fast, 4 cores, can't even imagine using all 4 cores at 100%

Weaknesses: a little overkill for most people

Summary: Unless you are doing very compute intensive work, this processor isn't for you. This processor is great, however, for people doing video encoding, or people trying to break the highest benchmark. It runs a little warmer than most, but that is to be expected. You shouldn't get this if you just want your games to run smoother, as it won't even be taken advantage of with the 4 cores, maybe the games will utilize 2, but most only use 1 core even in dual core processors.

Strengths: The second-fastest Intel processor available; readily overclockable; handles multiple processing threads with ease

Weaknesses: A bit pricey, but considering that you're getting four CPUs on a single chip, it's worth it!

Summary: I bought this CPU as part of a custom machine I built back in April (EVGA nVidia 680i motherboard with 8800 GTX GPU, 2 GB RAM, 500 GB hard drive, Dell 24" flat panel LCD, 3D Aurora 570 case, PCPC 750w power supply, Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro fan) and haven't had any problems with it whatsoever. There aren't many applications built yet which natively use four CPUs, but this monster will handle anything you throw at it anyway. The QX6800 came out in April, but at $400 more than this processor, I find that price a bit steep, especially considering the reputed overclocking capabilities of this chip.

Strengths: More future-proof than mere speed increases

Weaknesses: Disappointing overclock heat

Summary: I can't recommend purchasing this CPU for gaming - in fact, from an overclocking standpoint, the X6800 dual core is far better. I have both CPUs, and have cooled them with an nVentiv Mach II GT phase change cooler, which I think is simply the most powerful cooling solution available (that is still easily purchased and set up by non-university-scientist users). Liquid nitrogen and dry ice are just too labor-intensive to be practical outside of research settings (at least for now). With this setup, I was able to reach a stable speed of 4.5GHz with the X6800; but - get ready now - ONLY 3.2GHz WITH THE QX6700. I find that extremely disappointing! It's possible for the system to start up with the QX6700 set at 4GHz, but then it immediately becomes unstable if Prime95 is run (and raising Vcore doesn't help at all; in fact, even with this phase change cooler, temps go up so quickly that the Mach executes an emergency system shutdown as the temp races up from -40C to +10C). At only 3.2GHz, and even with dual 8800GTXs in SLI, games such as Crysis and Medal of Honor: Airborne are still frustratingly slow (like slide shows). So again, this CPU won't help in gaming - get the X6800 for that; consider this CPU only for non-gaming multitasking. Honestly, for extreme gaming, triple SLI (or the coming GeForce 9800 series) is probably going to make more of a difference.

Strengths: Quad CoreFast

Weaknesses: Price, but that's what you pay for the best

Summary: Just a great experience. I upgraded from an old P4 2.6 and this is very fast. I'd highly recommend it to anyone even with the price. I have not overclocked it yet, but with a revision to the motherboard I use, it will be a screamer.

Strengths: Quad-core goodness, seemingly good OC capability, POWER.

Weaknesses: New-release, top-of-the-line price, you might need a BIOS update to use it.

Summary: I normally don't spend quite so much on a processor, but with my LAN growning to about 6 computers, I wanted a machine that could be used as a central server (both for gaming and distributed apps) as well as a gateway for certain electronics (read: my PS3, which I don't want to give direct access to a wireless connection). Quad-core seemed to fit the bill perfectly, and I took a deep breath and bought it... ... And if you can stomach the price, you'll love it. It installed seamlessly with the BIOS my EVGA 680i mobo shipped with, and although I haven't pushed it to its limits, it seems to have a LOT of overhead to work with. I'm running it with 2GB of ram, and it;s the first setup I've felt that another 2GB might be necessary with what this processor can do. I almost wanted to add that a negative is having to run 4 copies of Prime95 to really check OC stability, but I think the Orthos utility might make that easier when I get comfortable enough to push this chip to its limits. (Cooling with a Corsair Nautilus 500, BTW). Yeah, you might be able to get a $279 processor to OC as fast as this one ends up for me -- but the 4 cores and dual-split caches makes this perfect for the applications the rig it's in will be used for, and I highly recommend it for such multitasking, multi-gatewaying rigs.If overclocking, however, be prepared to go external h2o -- this bad boy runs HOT and if you want to get over 3.2 GHz or so, oyu'll be hitting core temps in the 80's or even 90's on air cooling.

Strengths: Multi-tasking, runs moderately cool for the processing power, overclockable.

Weaknesses: Price, in all circumstances requires premium cooling and a well-ventilated case.

Summary: QX6700 is a heavy multitasking dream come true: multiple background virus and spyware scans, multiple software builds, a virtual PC running a second Vista instance, encrypted USB backup all at the same time, and the system is still very responsive for interactive tasks, as if it were idle. Many reviewers' assumption that only specialized multi-threaded applications can truly utilize this CPU does not seem to be correct. I never see one or two cores loaded, but the rest completely idle: all four cores look constantly utilized by Vista for various tasks. You finally do not have to care whether .NET assembly compiler service or hard drive indexing service suddenly kicks in, what your on-board software RAID needs are to get the maximum performance out of your Raptors, or what CPU load is caused by USB/FireWire transfers to external devices. Notably, Visual Studio 2005 will already go multi-core when building separate projects in parallel for a solution, substantially speeding up very large software builds. *** Works great with an Intel Bad Axe 2 motherboard and an Antec Nine Hundred ATX case. However, after extended use under various load scenarios and varying ambient temperatures (a hot, humid New York City summer comes to mind), I recommend purchasing a premium heat-sink/fan kit. With anything lighter than a ~750g ThermalRight Ultra 120 or a ~750g Zalman CNPS9700, QX6700 will get too close - for my taste - to the thermal envelope specification of 65C (the fact that QX6700 seems to "cook-up" only all the way up at ~90C is another story). If you plan even a mild overclock of ~3Ghz, forget air cooling and build a dedicated loop of basic water. *** Highly recommended over X6800: if you can afford it, you will not regret it.