Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Best Ways To Reuse an Old Ipod Charger Dock
5:18 AM
I have a first gen. iPod nano dock that was just lying around the house. It is now useless because I lost my nano a few years ago. So, I was iPod-less for a sort time. After the ipod-blues... I got the iPod Touch. Having no dock for it, I had the brilliant idea of reviving my old lonely nano dock. Instead of buying another one, which is like $$.
Here's how I did it.
Step 1. Things you'll need.
Here are your materials.
- Ruler
- pencil
- sand paper
- swiss knife / leatherman
- iPod nano dock
Step 2. First
Pry off the nano dock with the swiss knife/leatherman. (put some muscle in to it now)
Step 3. Next
Put the part with the circuit and connections aside for a while.
Working on the other panel, measure out the dimensions of the iPod touch and place those measurements to the nano dock, marking it with a pencil.
Step 4. Then..
Use the dremel / rotary tool to cut along the lines you measured and marked.
Sand the edges until it's smooth, so you won't get any scratches on your iPod when you put it in.
Step 5. Finish!
Snap the dock back together. make sure the outlets match the holes.
And presto!! An old new dock for your iPod.
[via instructables]
Monday, March 7, 2011
Top Best Ways to Trade in Your iPod
6:16 AM
With Apple constantly refreshing their iPod lineup, it can be a pretty frustrating experience for any early adopter trying to keep up with the latest and greatest MP3 players. Here are 5 ways that can ease the burden on your pocket by trading in your trusty old iPod.
Our acid test – Which was the most affordable way (excluding shipping costs) of getting a used 2GB 2nd generation Ipod Nano, still in good condition - upgraded to a 30GB 5th generation Ipod?
Recycle iPods the official way
As part of their environmental policy, Apple is offering environmentally friendly disposal and a 10% discount on the purchase of a new iPod through it’s US retail outlets. With this program as well as others, Apple’s recycling programs worldwide have processed more than 34 million pounds of electronic equipment since 1994.
Acid test results: New Ipod at the Apple store at USD$249 with a 10% discount = USD$224
Get a Cash Return with ‘Beyond The Pod’
Operated by trade in specialists ’Drop Spot’, this service trades on the lowest common denominator … money. You don’t have to buy another iPod from them – just sell your old one to them and pick up another iPod somewhere else.
Acid test results: New iPod from the Apple store USD$249 – Old Nano selling value USD$53 = USD$196
Auction off your old iPod on eBay
If you’re willing to go through the trouble of properly listing a product, and dealing with an auction process on eBay, you may find that the returns on your old iPod to be substantially more than other methods. A quick check on eBay express showed quite a good ‘buy it now’ market value.
Acid test results: New iPod from the Apple store USD$249 – Old Nano potential sale on eBay USD$99 = USD$150
Upgrade, Trade in or Sell your iPod on PodSwap
While sellers could sell their iPods via online auctions, Podswap eliminates all the hassles of listing, collecting payment, shipping, and dealing with post-sale issues. Offering both cash, and trade-ins as options, this service is a very complete solution.
Acid test results: New iPod from the Apple store USD$249 – Old Nano selling value USD$53 = USD$196
Get more money off your old iPod with BuyMyBrokeniPod.com
Started off in USA by Jeremy Cohen and Brett Mosley in 2006, this site has recently gone international. Offering to pick up iPods in any condition whatsoever.
There are a few other competitors out there but we feel our site offers the best prices, simplest use and friendliest customer service. said Mosley and after looking at the numbers – they do seem to be on track with that promise.
Acid test results: New iPod from the Apple store USD$249 – Old Nano selling value USD$67 = USD$182
Conclusion:
If you are a risk taker, eBay looks like the top option for you. If you want something with less hassle – BuyMyBrokeniPod seems to be the best bet.
Otherwise, your best bet is to sell it. Yes, if you purchased your 3rd generation iPod Touch earlier than 2 weeks ago. Is there other ways to make that 10% go higher because I want to trade iPod Trade In Programs - Sell Your iPod - Trade Old iPod for New This is especially good if your iPod is too old to trade or broken. iPods recycled through this program net you a 10% discount on a new iPod purchase. 4 Ways to Use Multiple iPods on One Computer Put all your music in the palm of your hand with an iPod or MP3 player from iPod® Trade-In. Exchange your gently used iPod for a Best Buy gift card.
Most Wanted Ways To Recycle Your Old iPod
5:59 AM
A new iPod is on the way, and everybody loves the latest and greatest. Or maybe that first-generation click-wheeler you bought finally gave up the ghost, and you want to upgrade to a tiny little MP3 player.
If you're like me, you might have a drawer full of old iPods at home (honest, some were gifts!). What can you do with them? If the device is still functional, try giving it away. If friends and family are all set with MP3 players, offer it to your local Freecycle group and someone will surely pick it up.
What about fixing it? Contrary to popular opinion, you can have the battery replaced on an iPod. You'll have to send the device back to Apple. The new battery will cost from $49 to $79 depending on the iPod model, plus shipping and tax.
If the iPod is truly dead, don't just throw it in the trash. The plastics and metals that make up the device can be recycled, if you take it to the right place. The most obvious recycler is Apple itself. You can simply take the old iPod back to any Apple store, and you'll get a 10 percent discount off of a new iPod.
Give your computer a rest
Idle PCs still use electricity. Unplug your computer every night for one month, and you will reduce your CO2 emissions by 51 lbs this month.
Or go to Apple's iPod recycling site, fill out a form, and request a prepaid mailing label. Then send in your old iPod. Apple also recycles cell phones of any make and model (not just iPhones).
Another way to recycle that dead 'pod is the site BuyMyTronics.com. This company buys used gadgets -- even non-working ones! -- and resells them. Broken electronics are scrapped for parts, so they're not wasted.
You get an immediate estimate for your device. I found that a totally dead first-generation iPod could earn about $4, while a working iPod Touch would garner nearly $100. BuyMyTronics also takes cell phones, PDAs, laptop computers, and game consoles.
So don't leave that old, sad iPod sitting in a drawer anymore. And definitely don't chuck it in the garbage. Give it back to Apple or recycle it for cash, and you can move on to the next song with a clear conscience.
Here are ways to recycle 10 of the most common electronic BuyMyTronics may pay as much as a few hundred dollars for your old iPod Recycle Old iPods And Earn Cash First we had mobile phone recycling, now selling your old iPods is becoming all the range. Digital camera has brought revolutionized the way of capturing the We know that the most important thing we can do to reduce our impact on the environment Recycle your computer, phone, or iPod. And you may get something in return. Apple reduces energy use in our facilities in a number of ways.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Top Best Ways to Reuse Your Old iPod
6:34 PM
You just got a new iPod or other music player over the holidays, and your older iPod looks like Craigslist fodder. Here are at least 10 reasons to re-consider its worthiness.
In general, we're asking anyone thinking about ditching their older iPod to consider what it truly is—a super-slim, substantial storage device, from which you can do, well, just about anything you'd do with a USB or external drive, with a convenient tiny screen and headphone jack attached. So we've compiled ten of our best tools for making the most of an older iPod below. Read on, plug in your tried-and-true iPod, and get creative. Photo by ZabriskiePoint.
1. Make it a flash card player
Whether you're prepping for a presentation or cramming for a test, your iPod can be a much more convenient way to carry your memory-boosting flash cards around than trying to cram a whole deck of 3x5s in your pocket. Mac OSX Hints has a through guide to transforming Keynote slides into iPod-ready picture slides, but any slide presentation maker that can export slides to picture files can create a folder that you simply sync up to your iPod. Your mileage will vary with your screen size and clarity, but for straight-up words, it's a handy hack. Steve Rubel's Micro Persuasion blog details a similar spin on using your iPod as a presentation tool.
2. Instant stereo, just add speakers
3. Your portable drinks/recipe/Wikipedia reference
4. Make it your backup drive
5. Free it from iTunes' grasp
Low-risk uses — like ReadyBoost — might be the best way to keep your Either way, there's simply no better use for an old iPod than to create Best Ways Reuse and Get Creative with Your Old iPhone requires a Moleskine notebook, an iPod Touch (or your extra iPhone), an X-Acto knife, and some PVA glue.
6. Make a stand-alone, bootable XP computer from it
7. Load it up with games
8. Give it a new look with iPodWizard
9. Turn it into an ultimate go-anywhere tool
Shelling out cash for larger jump drives when you've already got an iPod with a minimum of 4GB available isn't necessary. Gina put together a list of apps, files, and tools for putting your life on a portable drive, and these days, the average iPod can hold all that, your music, and probably a sizable batch of video files and photos with it. If, for example, you're never quite sure if you'll have access to a working copy of Microsoft Office when you need it, a full copy of OpenOffice.org 3.0 is available in a no-install, portable version that fits snugly into your little take-everywhere drive, as are plenty of other PortableApps.
10. Make a serious upgrade with RockBox
Recycle Your Old iPod for Cash Payments
One of the newest and most popular music devices of the last 5 years is the Apple iPod. The iPod provides you with thousands of songs or videos on a device that is small enough to fit comfortably in your pocket.
The Waste Problem with iPods
To date Apple have sold just over 206 million iPods worldwide which has created a massive e-waste problem. Apple have designed their iPods to be only be replaceable with another iPod, which is great for Apple but not for the environment. Also the lithium batteries in an iPod can lose more than half their capacity after just a year of use, rather than buying a new battery many users simply purchase the latest iPod, the old iPod then gets thrown in the bin where it ends up on a landfill site where it will not break down and may pollute surrounding soil and waterways, damaging plant and wildlife.
This tiny electronic device that can provide you with thousands of songs and videos at the touch of a button will literally spend thousands of years on a rubbish tip.
Recycle Your Old iPod, Help Save the Environment and Earn Extra Cash
How Does it Work?
1. There are now many sites where you can trade in your old, unwanted or broken iPod for cash payments. To find out the various prices for each iPod model visit one of the following mobile recycling sites:
2. Select the iPod you want to sell from either the drop down box on each site or from the picture and add it to your basket. If you would like to add another simply repeat the process.
3. Register your details, accept any terms and conditions and follow through the checkout to submit your order. On the confirmation screen you will be provided with a freepost address which will also be confirmed via email.
4. Once your old iPod has been received it will be quickly checked over then you will be sent payment via whatever method you chose during registration. Payment options on each recycling site range from either cheque, bank transfer, cash at the post office (Mopay only) or for a slightly higher value various shopping vouchers.
Can i Sell Non-Working / Damaged iPods?
Yes, to sell damaged or non working iPods simply follow the standard procedure. Once your old iPod has been received you will be contacted to be offered a revised price.
What do you plan to do with your older iPod, or what have you done in the past when you got an upgrade? Tell us your reuse and renovation stories in the comments.
One of the best ways you can keep toxic electronic waste such as TVs, computers, cell phones, iPods etc out of landfills is by reusing or repurposing your old electronics. You can repurpose an old desk top as a backup server for If none of the above options of reusing your old electronics 10 Great Ways to Get More From Your iPad But when you've run out of ways to reuse or repurpose your old Mac, what's the best way to recycle it? Here are a variety of Top 10 Concerns of Buying a VoIP Business Phone System
Creative Ways To Reuse Your Old Computer
10:43 AM
One of the hassles of buying a new computer is dispensing with the old one. Many trash companies can't take them, so the parts need to be hauled to the dump or local recycling center. More often than not, they take up valuable storage space until they're dealt with. Some people choose to reuse the parts in creative ways, however, turning clunky computer towers into a variety of useful items.
Computer Mailbox
One option is to turn that old tower into a mailbox. Of course, the inside needs to be gutted and all the holes should be sealed so it's weatherproof. The drive bank -- where disks and CD-ROMs once went -- should be cut larger, so it's big enough to accommodate most mail and small packages. Install a hinged front door, you can make your own or purchase one at a hardware store, and paint the house number and family name on the side in the font of your choice. Once the mailbox is installed on the curb, anyone delivering the mail is sure to remember the house.
Barbecue Grill
Old metal towers can make perfect small area barbecue pits. After removing the guts, shore up the larger holes with some strips of metal. The removable side panel can be used as a cooking tray or cut apart to make a tight-fitting grill. Make sure to sand down any paint and remove any plastic accessories that are attached to the case. Once the case is in a safe place it can be filled with coals and used to make picnic burgers and skewers.
Start an Herb Garden
Towers that have a removable side wall can be turned into easily transportable herb gardens. Once again, the insides need to be removed, but all plastic and decoration can be left on. Seal the large holes with caulk or other waterproof material and line the inside with thick plastic. Multiple layers of thick garbage bag plastic will work. Turn the tower on its side and fill it with potting soil and your favorite herb seeds.
Trade it in for credit toward another computer
HP has a trade-in program and they will give you a free quote for your old computer online. After sending in your old computer, you have 30 days to buy a new HP or Compaq unit. After you fax in your proof of purchase, you get a check from HP. IBM has a similar trade-in program.
Donate it to a local or national charity
Places like the National Cristina Foundation are well-known for their acceptance of old computers that no one else wants. You can also find computer donation centers in your area.
Use it as a file or print server
This is the option we chose. Simply tuck it away in a small hutch with doors to hide it away and run the proper cables to network this computer with one or more other computers in the room. You can even get a special adapter to view the contents of your "old" computer from -- if you don't want to use the old computer's monitor (to save space). This option enables you to create your own home network, linking one or more computers with a printer and Internet service so you can easily share files, play games, and print documents between machines.
Listen to tunes from it
Your old computer can be used to download and store mp3's and other music files that usually take up a lot of hard drive space on your personal computer. Keep the speakers attached, and you have a "computer jukebox" that can be accessed in your home office that becomes part of your home entertainment system. You can also use it to burn CDs for saving your favorite tunes, or tune into online radio stations to listen to sports programs or your favorite music channels.
Watch TV from it
Simply install a TV tuner card and you can record TV shows onto your old hard drive. If you have (or buy) a newer monitor with TV viewing capabilities, then you have a brand new Digital Video TV/PC. Or purchase a scan converter which changes your computer's VGA monitor signal to a regular TV signal so you can watch TV from your old monitor.
Create a "live" weather station
If you're in need of a new hobby, you could become a weather geek. Simply purchase some software weather programs and sensors, then keep the computer on at all times to track and monitor the current weather conditions. Offer your data to local TV stations or as a complimentary service available to visitors of your web site.
Store digital photos on it
Dedicate your old system to storing, retouching, and printing pictures from your digital camera.
Create a work station in the kitchen or dining room
Place your old computer in a room near the kitchen, and install cooking and recipe programs on it. This makes it easy to to access recipes while you're cooking, as well as a cinch to create and print shopping lists. You could also hook this computer up to the Internet, making it easy for family members to a access their e-mail and browse the Web from this convenient location. To conserve space, purchase a flat screen monitor and hide the computer box in a cabinet.
Designate the living room as the family workstation
Purchase a wireless keyboard and mouse, and use your large TV screen as a computer monitor. Store the hard drive in a bookshelf or behind a piece of furniture.
Turn it into a work station for visitors
Travelers like to check their e-mail and browse the Internet to find interesting things in your area. If you set up your old computer in the guest bedroom, your guests will be able to do a little work, have a little fun, and kill some time should they ever be left in the house alone for awhile (when you're working, for example).
Set it up solely as a data center
Consider setting up your old computer in the garage, basement, or bedroom and using it solely as a place to jot notes, write letters, or update lists. Every computer doesn't need to have Internet and print capabilities. Instead, save your work to a floppy disk to transfer it to your main PC later.
Use it as a "live" web cam or security camera
Buy a web camera and use your old computer to beam live pictures out on the Internet. You could also use it as a security camera (to see inside your house while you're at work, for example).
Turn it into a firewall or router
Your old computer can serve as a firewall or router. All you need is a working motherboard, two network cards, and a floppy drive. No CD-ROM or hard drive are required.
Create a mobile computer
If you're out and about more than you're at home, then you might consider using a 12-to-120 volt inverter to power your old computer in your RV, van, or boat.
Use it as an experimental PC
For the wannabe computer geek, use your old computer as a learning tool to try new things on. You can practice doing things to your old computer that you'd be too scared to try on your new computer -- like reformatting a hard drive, reinstalling an operating system, installing memory or a new hard drive. You might even want to experiment by installing a whole new operating system, like Linux.
Have you recently upgraded to a newer model computer? Wondering what to do with your "old" computer? When we bought a super-powered new Dell computer, the question was what to do with our old HP Pavilion. It still worked fine, and still had quite a bit of space to store programs and run basic tasks, it was just too slow and bogged down for his day-to-day work.
Extensive research revealed the following great ideas for anyone who's wondering what to do with an "older" computer. After all, if it's 3 years old (or older), then you'll barely get more than $50.00 if you choose to sell it at a yard sale or on eBay. So selling it is not an exciting option. There are some other interesting options, however.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
How To Track Your iPad/iPhone/iPod’s Location?
11:50 AM
The GadgetTrak iOS application has been updated and released in to the iTunes Store and allows you to track the location of your iOS devices. GadgetTrak silently reports its location and senses when your iPhone or iPad has significantly changed its location and the GadgetTrak server keeps track of where your phone has been.
With all of the photos, contacts, apps and music on your iPhone, losing it would be a massive pain. Unfortunately, that pain is felt by thousands of smartphone users every day. Ask them—they wish they'd had GadgetTrak installed.
When your device is missing, log into your account using any web browser and enable tracking immediately. GadgetTrak will spring to life and generate location reports, including map points, longitude & latitude and IP address to help you pinpoint your lost device. It can even snap photos of the thief!
For extra security, enable the "Deleting Apps" restriction in Settings App->General->Restrictions. This will keep the thief from deleting GadgetTrak (and any other apps).
But dont forget the application has to be activated before it can start tracking your iPhone or iPad and when it is activated your battery will use more juice than normal.
Features
Location Tracking
If your device has GPS capability it will be used by GadgetTrak to get the most accurate location possible. Even without GPS, GadgetTrak can use cell towers and/or advanced Wi-Fi positioning technology to pinpoint the location of your device usually within a few meters.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Continued use of GPS can dramatically decrease battery life. For better battery performance, deactivate tracking until the device is lost. The GadgetTrak app does not use GPS and will not impact battery life when tracking is disabled (even if the Navigation icon appears).
Push Notifications
GadgetTrak automatically sends a discrete message to your device, enticing the thief to initiate a tracking report.
Camera Reports
Snap a photo with the built in camera(s) to collect crucial evidence to help Police catch the thief. (available for iOS devices with at least one built-in camera, additional in-app purchase required)
GadgetTrak for iOS is part of a suite of products available for a variety of platforms including Mac OS X and iOS. The software enables you to track and recover devices that hve been lost or stolen. New to the 2.5 release of GadgetTrak for iOS is support for cameras. If your iOS device has a built-in camera – such as an iPhone or iPod touch – GadgetTrak will snap photos to help you ad the police identify the thief and location where the device is. The photo can now be attached to an e-mail; the e-mail also includes location information.
Additional Features
• Locate your device using GPS, cell tower triangulation, and/or WiFi positioning
• Location reports posted to the web control panel at http://trak.me
• Location history to know where your phone has been
• Automatic push notifications
• Camera support for the front and rear-facing camera (in-app purchase required)
• Secure SSL connection for transmitting location data & photos
• Cross Platform: GadgetTrak has apps to protect your laptop (Mac & Windows) as well as Android and BlackBerry phones and tablets.
Need Help?
Download the GadgetTrak iOS Installation & Usage Manual here: http://www.gadgettrak.com/support/downloads
http://www.gadgettrak.com/products/iphone/
We take pride in providing great support for all of our products. If you have questions, concerns, or feedback let us know and we'll get back to you as quickly as possible: http://www.gadgettrak.com/support
What's new
• Remotely capture a photo with all built-in cameras, then email it to yourself to help catch the thief! (via a one-time In-App Purchase)
• Push notifications – Send a discrete message to your device enticing the the person who has it to initiate a tracking event.
• Various Bug Fixes.
GadgetTrak now being offered with select warranty plans ActiveTrak has announced that its GadgetTrak Laptop 3 software is now being bundled We contacted GadgetTrak and they sent us all the information we needed to recover the iPod. Luckily it was not necessary to go to the police.
System Requirement
- Requires iOS 4 or higher
- Background processing only supported on iPad, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPod touch 3rd generation or newer
Monday, February 28, 2011
Top Best Most Wanted Processor For Your Budget
8:07 AM
If you don't have the time to research the benchmarks, fear not. Tom's Hardware has come to your aid with a simple list of the best gaming CPUs offered at each and every pricepoint. This list is for gamers who want to get the most for their money. If you don't play games, then the CPUs on this list may not be suitable for your particular needs.
The criteria to get on this list are strictly price/performance. We acknowledge that there are other factors that come into play, such as platform price or CPU overclockability, but we're not going to complicate things by factoring in motherboard costs. We may add honorable mentions for outstanding products in the future, though. For now, our recommendations are based on stock clock speeds and performance at that price.
Cost and availability change on a daily basis. We can't offer up-to-the-minute accurate pricing information in the text, but we can list some good chips that you probably won't regret buying at the price ranges we suggest (and our PriceGrabber-based engine will help track down some of the best prices for you).
The list is based on some of the best US prices from online retailers. In other countries or at retail stores, your mileage will most certainly vary. Of course, these are retail CPU prices. We do not list used or OEM CPUs available at retail.
Best Gaming CPU: Under $110
Best Gaming CPU for ~$80:
Athlon II X3 450
The Athlon II X3 450 is the second-fastest triple-core Athlon II available, and it sports an ideal combination of three execution cores, a high clock rate, a low price, and respectable overclocking headroom. Despite the deceptively low buy-in, this processor delivers some serious gaming capability.
AMD's own Athlon II X4 635 will outperform the X3 in modern CPU-heavy game titles. But at a price point $20 cheaper, the Athlon II X3 450 remains a good low-budget option.
Best Gaming CPU for $100:
Athlon II X4 635
The Athlon II X4 lineup continues to evolve gracefully as its clock speed steadily increases over time. We've also seen the chip lineup's price drop. And, games are starting to take better advantage of multiple CPU cores. Moreover, as a general-purpose CPU (during the hours you don't spend gaming), the quad-core solution is going to be superior to dual- and triple-core competitors.
Now found as low as $100, this particular model is well within the grasp of budget-oriented gamers, and it represents a solid starting point for any value-based system, gaming or otherwise.
Honorable Mention:
Pentium Dual-Core E6800
The 3.33 GHz Pentium E6800 replaced the 3.2 GHz Pentium E6700 as the fastest budget dual-core available for the LGA 775 interface.
While the E6800 doesn't have any dormant cores that could be unlocked (like the Phenom II X2 555), it has a solid reputation for overclocking well, and it makes a good upgrade option for tweakers with older LGA 775-based systems who are not yet ready to put money into a new motherboard and CPU.
For folks considering a full upgrade, the Socket AM3 and LGA 1155 platforms are probably better choices. Of course, in order to get onboard with LGA 1155 at this price point, you'll have to go with the least expensive Core i3 available. That part isn't available yet, and when it is, it'll likely cost somewhere around $130. For folks looking to spend $100 or less on their processor, Socket AM3 is the only low-cost option we'd recommend for now.
Best Gaming CPU: $110-$200
Best Gaming CPU for $110-$130: None
Our upcoming roundup of twelve sub-$200 processors shows that there is currently little reason to go beyond an Athlon II X4 in this price range. But it also lets us know that Intel's Sandy Bridge-based Core i3-2300 and -2320 have the potential to bring impressive gaming performance down to the $130 price point. Previously, we had to pay $200 or more for equivalent speed.
For now the Phenom II X4 955 keeps its recommendation at $140. However, the Core i3-2300 will probably steal that nod away in the next month, so long as it becomes available for purchase.
Best Gaming CPU for $140:
Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
A former flagship of AMD's Phenom II X4 family, the Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition was relegated to fourth-place status by the new Phenom II X4 975 BE model.
Despite its position in the pecking order, Phenom II X4 955 offers the best gaming value. It is a true quad-core processor with a sizable 6 MB L3 cache. But even more impressive at this price is its unlocked multiplier. From our experience, the great majority of Phenom II X4 955 processors can run just as fast as the Phenom II X4 975 with a simple BIOS multiplier change from 16x to 18x. That's an easy way to put this $140 processor on par with a stock ~$210 Core i5-760 when it comes to gaming.
The real competition for the Phenom II X4 955 BE is Intel's Sandy Bridge-based Core i3 lineup, arriving at retail as early as March. For now, we'll allow the 955 to keep its recommendation. But we're going to revisit this when the Core i3-2300 becomes available.
Best Gaming CPU for $195:
Core i5-2400
Sandy Bridge is here, and Intel's new microarchitechture is fast. Initial test data suggests that the new Core i5-2400 can stand toe to toe with Core i7-900-series processors when it comes to game performance. We're not talking about the entry-level models, either. This affordable processor has the chops to compete with Intel's thousand-dollar Extreme Edition chips when it comes to enabling the highest frames per second.
As great as the Core i5-700-series chips are, the new Core i5-2000 processors hit the afterburners and fly right by. Plus, the LGA 1156 interface is essentially dead, so it'd seem silly to sink any money into it at this point.
Best Gaming CPU: $200 And Up
Best Gaming CPU for $210: None
Honorable Mention:
Core i5-760
The Core i5-760 is displaced by Intel's new Core-i5-2500K (and its accompanying interface). But for folks who already own a Core i3 on an LGA 1156 platform, the Core i5-760 continues to offer tremendous value. Just like the Core i5-750, Intel's -760 delivers serious gaming performance at its default frequency. What's more, these CPUs are monsters when overclocked, and even challenge more expensive Core i7 models.
Best Gaming CPU for $225:
Core i5-2500K.
From a raw processing standpoint the Core i5-2500K offers very little over the cheaper Core i5-2400. It does hold three distinctions, however: it's clocked a few hundred MHz higher, it comes with Intel HD 3000 graphics, and it has an unlocked CPU multiplier.
The 200 MHz (300 MHz with Turbo Boost) advantage is almost insignificant, and gamers with discrete graphics cards will care little about the integrated graphics engine. But the unlocked CPU multiplier is a must for overclockers using any Sandy Bridge-based CPU. The Core i5-2500K is the obvious choice for gamers looking for the best combination of brute gaming force and tweakability.
Past the Point of Reason:
CPUs priced over $225 offer rapidly diminishing returns when it comes to game performance. As such, we have a hard time recommending anything more expensive than the Core i5-2500K, especially since this multiplier-unlocked processor can be overclocked to great effect if more performance is desired. Even at stock clocks, it meets or beats the $1000 Core i7-990X Extreme Edition when it comes to gaming.
Is there any reason for a gamer to go with a Core i7-900-series CPU/X58 motherboard combo, now that Sandy bridge has arrived? While the new Core i7-2000 series is faster than the Core i7-900-series from a processing standpoint, the platform can be a factor. The new LGA 1155 processors have an inherent limit of 16 PCIe lanes for graphics use (the same limit that LGA 1156 processors suffered), so if a gamer plans to use three or more graphics cards in CrossFire or SLI, we have to ask if Bloomfield/Gulftown and X58 offer the potential for more performance?
No! In theory, the current ultimate gaming platform (until Intel releases the LGA 2011 interface in the second half of this year) would be a P67 chipset paired with the NF200 bridge. Our experience with the LGA 1156 chipset paired with the NF200 bridge indicates that a P67/NF200 combo would allow us to use the fastest Sandy Bridge CPUs available in conjunction with three or four graphics cards without noticable graphics bandwidth trade-offs. In fact, we already have a story in the works that should prove this definitively.
To summarize, while we recommend against purchasing any gaming CPU that retails for more than $225 from a value point of view (sink that money into graphics and the motherboard instead), there are those of you who have no trouble throwing down serious money on the best of the best, and who require the fastest possible performance available. If this describes your processing goals, the following CPU is for you:
Best Gaming CPU for $330: (or for any price)
Core i7-2600K
Take the Core i5-2500, add 2 MB of L3 cache, Hyper-Threading, and a 100 MHz bump across the board. What do you have? The Core i7-2600K.
It doesn't sound like much of an improvement, and frankly it will make remarkably little difference when it comes to gaming. The $100 spread between the Core i5-2500K and Core i7-2600K is only recommended if you want to brag, because you're probably not going to notice any appreciable frame rate difference. The Core i7's strength is only really exploited in heavily-threaded workstation applications, rather than games.
But no list is complete without the best-of-the-best, and that's the Core i7-2600K. For $330 you can have a CPU that probably games faster than the $1050 hexa-core Core i7-990X Extreme.
Gaming CPU Hierarchy Chart
What about this other CPU that's not on the list? How do I know if it's a good deal or not?
Here is a resource to help you judge if a CPU is a reasonable value or not: the gaming CPU hierarchy chart, which groups CPUs with similar overall gaming performance levels into tiers. The top tier contains the highest-performing gaming CPUs available and gaming performance decreases as you go down the tiers from there.
However, a word of caution: this hierarchy is based on the average performance each CPU achieved in our charts test suite using only four game titles: Crysis, Unreal Tournament 3, World in Conflict, and Supreme Commander. While we feel this represents an acceptable cross-section of typical gaming scenarios, a specific game title will likely perform differently. Some games, for example, will be severely graphics subsystem-limited, while others may react positively to more CPU cores, larger amounts of CPU cache, or even a specific architecture. We also did not have access to every CPU on the market, so some of the CPU performance estimates are based on the numbers similar architectures deliver. Indeed, this hierarchy chart is useful as a general guideline, but certainly not as a gospel one-size-fits-all perfect CPU comparison resource.
You can use this hierarchy to compare the pricing between two processors, to see which one is a better deal, and also to determine if an upgrade is worthwhile. I don't recommend upgrading your CPU unless the potential replacement is at least three tiers higher. Otherwise, the upgrade is somewhat parallel and you may not notice a worthwhile difference in game performance.
Summary
There you have it folks: the best gaming CPUs for the money this month. Now all that's left to do is to find and purchase them. Also remember that the stores don't follow this list. Things will change over the course of the month and you'll probably have to adapt your buying strategy to deal with fluctuating prices. Good luck!
