the Infancy of Dual Core 2005 marks an important milestone in the history of computer processors. That was the year Intel released the first Dual-Core cpu, code-named Smithfield. Prior to that, all Intel processors were single core. In 2007, I was running a Pentium D 925, a 3.0GHz Dual Core with an Intel D945GTP motherboard. After a few years, the computer suddenly stopped working. I wasn’t sure whether it was the Pentium D or the motherboard that gave up the ghost. They were stored away, never to be seen for many years. I moved on to the Core2Duo processors. Reviving the Pentium D 925 Now that I’m in my computer mode, I decided to investigate what went bad. My guess is the motherboard must be broken. I found a suitable one on eBay, an Intel 945GNT motherboard complete with a Pentium D 2.80 GHz, an original Intel cooler and 2.5 GB of ram. I put in a bid and won it for a grand sum of $9.95 + Shipping. The D945GNT is a socket 775 motherboard with a 945G chipset, designed specially to support Pentium D. Upon receiving the motherboard, I replaced the Pentium D 2.80 GHz with my 3.0 GHz and powered it up. After a few anxious seconds, it POSTED and there it was, my beloved Pentium D 3.0 GHz displayed on the screen. After more than ten years, I am finally reunited with her. Mua, mua, kiss, kiss. is the Pentium D 3.0 GHz still usable That is the purpose of this exercise. I want to see how well a processor that was released in 2006, fares in today’s world. I will not be running Windows 10 as I see no future with this OS. In the next decade, Linux will probably replace Windows in a lot of computers worldwide. I tested this Pentium D 925 system with a selection of 32-bit Linux OS and found it to be highly stable, fast and user friendly. I am currently using Bodhi Linux to write this post. With the hard drive that I’m using, I have the option of booting up to antiX-17 or MX-19 because I installed three versions of Linux in it. I have also tested this system with another hard drive that contains Linux-Lite, Lubuntu and Ubuntu. They are all a joy to use. Any one of them beats Windows 10. No constant, irritating updates and best of all, Linux is FREE.
I ran the system with websites that are horrendously demanding on resources. Hotmail is one of them. It will just crash slow computers. BBC is another one and lastly, eBay. Throughout, the Pentium D 925 performed flawlessly. There’s absolutely no lag when I scroll the eBay pages. Honestly, I can’t tell the difference between the Pentium D 925 and my main computer using a Core2Duo E8400 3.0GHz. They are both equally fast. In the resources shown below, I have eBay opened in Chromium, together with BBC, Hotmail, Webmail and Wikipedia. The Pentium D 925 is not even working up a sweat. If the processor is not powerful enough, the cpu will flat-line at 100% in Hotmail alone.
Old but still relevant This begs the question “Why are we constantly upgrading our computers when a computer that was introduced in 2006 performs equally well in today’s environment”. If you are just using your computer for normal work like Windows Office and Internet surfing, there’s really no need to upgrade. The solution is to drop Windows 10. Use any of the mainstream Linux with LibreOffice instead. It not only does a better job but saves your hard earned money. |
December 28, 2019Computers
