Yeah, I meant that it's much better then that, but I might be bias as I went from one of the hottest CPUs (In fact, I think it was the hottest ever) to one of the coolest CPUs. Crazy what 7 years does.

I just updated my monitor, to an ASUS 25inch Screen, and I'm playing LFS now at 1920x1080, and again with the IGP within this Sandy Bridge, I'm getting playable framerates even at the start of the race when I'm mid pack. It's stunning what this little low powered chip can do. I also play Star Trek Online, and I'm also playing that at 1920x1080, but at all of the lowest settings and it's pretty fluid most of the time. There are times where it struggles, but mostly, it stays in VSync's max Framerate. If anyone get's the option of gaming with settings high, or at higher resolutions, you should always pick resolution, it's just so much easier on the eyes.

the problem with lfs is it only allows for 4x aa with the sandy bridge internal graphics while lfs needs 8x or 16x to look bearable (for my eyes at least)

also ill never understand why they didnt put the 3000 graphics cores in the desktop parts
the only desktop cputs that have the twice as powerful 3000 graphics core (apart from one exception) are the unlocked k series cpus that youll only find in enthusiast pcs with a high end ati or nvidia card anyway (stupid stupid choice intel)

anyway even the hd2000 graphics core performs quite well... sc2 is perfectly playable on low settings at fullhd and tf2 is on the edge of being playable at fullhd and perfectly smooth at 720

Shotglass, you are wrong, i3-2105 (65W, dual-core) and i5-2405S (65W, quad-core) have HD 3000 graphics - that's 2 exceptions :P. They aren't very widely available tho.
But yeah, 4xAA is sometimes not enough. Not only for LFS, in fact.

Can anyone explain to me why I can get a laptop with Intel Core i7 SandyBridge 2630QM for 900 euros in Finland (Asus N73SV for example) but every desk computer with intel's i7 processor somehow costs way over 1000 euros? I always thought that desk computers were superior to laptops in every way in the same price range.

Supply and demand. Most people want the whole system, not just the chip, so OEMs are making people pay more.

There's one more, main, reason: pre-built desktops are built by moronic companies who only care about earning money, not building proper systems. I once saw a pre-built box with i7 950, 12GB RAM, and GeForce GT 220, my eyes exploded instantly when I saw that.

Quote from Shotglass :

well duh cpus from that sort of era are known for their ability to fry eggs
http://www.phys.ncku.edu.tw/~htsu/humor/fry_egg.html

at least a prescott knows to downclock itself when it's overheating. an athlon (t-bred or barton) will keep going until the core cracks.

Quote from bunder9999 :

at least a prescott knows to downclock itself when it's overheating. an athlon (t-bred or barton) will keep going until the core cracks.

which is relevant how 10 years later?

Quote from bunder9999 :

at least a prescott knows to downclock itself when it's overheating. an athlon (t-bred or barton) will keep going until the core cracks.

I've seen on blow a hole clear into the motherboard, but that was a Intel Chip.

Quote from Dygear :

I've seen on blow a hole clear into the motherboard, but that was a Intel Chip.

i've seen a video of that on youtube, but i'm almost certain they snuck a firecracker in the gap between the core and the motherboard.

edit: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2002543555041596448

they have one of a duron doing the same thing. i don't buy it.

If you want the processor that would suit you best, I suggest that you get at least an i5. An i5 with the k multiplier if you intend to over clock and reach the speeds offered in a raw i7.

The i3 would get the job done but you would want some kick when you need it most. And I just hope they develop something similar from the AMD processors where a physical button could be pressed to add in more power to the processor. Just like how NOS works.