If you ever have the need to compare a couple of old CPU’s to see which one is “faster”, a good resource is PassMark’s CPU Benchmarks chart.

This chart lists almost any older CPU you can think of and is compiled based on actual scores submitted by users. While certainly not definitive, this gives you a quick comparison of the relative processing power between the CPU’s in question.

Note: I put faster in quotes above because these scores are based on a particular program’s benchmark score.

Longevity is a factor when buying or building a new computer, no question. You don’t want to put your money down on something that will break in less than two years. Even though computers are dirt cheap these days, it always just plain sucks when something busts on your computer box because it just wrecks your day.

Computers that last a long time are not particular to any specific brand. Any time you say, "Well, x brand sucks!", there will always be somebody who will fire right back with, "Bullsh*t! I’ve had an x brand for 10 years with all original equipment and it still runs great!" So you can’t peg quality on brand. Heck, there are still some people with eMachines PCs that still run just fine.

Even the best-of-breed computer and component manufacturers have had a few stinkers. Apple has released some crappy Macs. Asus has released some not-so great motherboards. Not every model from Lenovo is a winner. You get the idea.

What makes a computer last a good long time can be boiled down to a few very simple considerations.

Heat

Heat kills computers. PCs that run hot by nature will have a shorter life span.

Overclocking

With an overclocked CPU you are running the processor very close to or outside of its designed tolerance limits. And even if your box is properly cooled to compensate, the CPU will have a shorter life span.

With the multi-core CPUs we have available today there really isn’t any reason to overclock anymore. Hobbyists do still overclock, but only because of the "because I can" factor and not much else.

Moving parts

The rule of thumb with computers is that anything that moves will usually break first. Things that move are optical drives, hard drives (internally) and fans.

Fans are found on the PSU, the CPU, sometimes the video card and in other parts of the case that allow additional fans to be installed.

Fast-RPM hard drive(s)

Internal HDDs start at 5400-rpm and end at 15,000-rpm. Most of us use 7200.

Slower RPM hard drives generate less heat which can enhance the life span of your computer box, especially is space is tight. For example, the Mac Mini specifically uses a 5400-rpm hard disk drive to keep heat down because of its super-small size.

I’m not instructing you to buy 5400-rpm drives. The 7200s work fine. But if longevity is what you want, stick with 7200 over the 15,000.

Video cards with fans on them

If the video card has a heat sink with a fan on it, you know it gets hot. And the fan is yet another moving part that can break later.

What computer would last the longest then?

A non-overclocked computer box with standard (meaning not "high-powered") RAM, a low-wattage CPU, a low-powered video card and a low-RPM hard drive.

A computer box of this type usually has no more than three fans in it. One for the PSU, one for the CPU and the last being a single case fan in the rear. In some instances the box runs cool enough to where the case fan isn’t even required.

If you are looking to buy a pre-built that has specs like this, specifically look for "nettop" computers.

If you’re looking to build a box like this, you want to do the following:

First, stick to the mini-tower case format. You don’t need a big case but you do need something big enough for proper cooling.

Second is to shop for your CPU by watt rather than by speed.

Low-watt CPUs are made by both Intel and AMD and are both seriously cheap. Intel’s Celeron 430 Conroe-L is 35 watts and runs for just $40 at present. AMD’s Sempron LE-1300 Sparta is a 45-watt and is the same price.

For a few bucks more you can step up to the 65-watt Intel which is a dual-core and quite speedy considering its power consumption.

As a comparison, an Intel Core i7 920 uses 130 watts. Yes, it’s much faster, but a whole lot hotter.

Third is to stick to 7200-rpm hard drives. Go no higher. Being this is the most popular rpm speed for HDDs, you won’t have a problem finding one.

Fourth, use RAM that does not require heat spreaders or add-on cooling of any kind. If you’re confused as to what to get, just use Crucial.

Fifth, use a video card that doesn’t require a fan just to operate. Your best bet is to use on-board motherboard video. If you want something better, my personal suggestion is to use a dual-head (just in case you want dual-monitor) card with a bare minimum of 512MB video memory on-board. These cards are cheap and readily available.

Sixth, for any fans present in your build, make sure they are easily replaceable. I specifically recommend buying an extra fan for each in your system. If your box has 3 fans, buy 3 extra. How do you know when to change them out? Either when one or more stops working or one or more starts making noise that wasn’t there before.

Alternative build using mobile components in a desktop box?

Technically this is what a nettop is. You specifically use mobile components in a desktop to cut down on heat. For example, instead of using the standard 3.5-inch HDD, you could use a mobile-sized 2.5-inch. However the parts do typically cost more, so it’s best to stick with standard-sized desktop components.

Are low-powered PCs slow?

Not really. Granted, they can’t game, but since the advent of multi-core low-watt CPUs you’d be hard pressed to call it slow. Heck, the low-watters even have 64-bit support. You could build one of these outfitted with 4GB RAM and believe me, she’ll be more than speedy enough – and last a long time to boot since it will be nice and cool.

Are low-powered PCs hard to build?

Quite the contrary. A low-powered box is one of the easiest builds. There are less fans to connect, less wires and smaller (but still easy) parts that give you lots of room to work even in a mini-tower.

Would you entertain the idea of using a low-watt PC for longevity’s sake?

Let us know in the comments. And if you already use one, let us know your experience with it (good or bad).

In a few short months it’s going to be 2009, and a ton of stuff has changed in the world of computing over the past almost-ten years. Some of the modern advancements have proven to be a notable improvement while others still produce the same crapola they did nearly ten years ago.

In this installment we’ll be looking at something everyone has in their computer, a Central Processing Unit, better known by its abbreviation as the CPU.

In the last article written about this on PCMech (which was a really long time ago), microprocessors were discussed up to the 386, so we’ll start from the 486 to present.

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Here is a story most people wouldn’t want to touch with a thirty
meter pole. AMD has been
stealing (not legally, just morally) Intel’s CPU design ever since
the 286 days. I even have
an AMD 286 on my key-chain. Back
in the day, it didn’t matter which company made your big bad
286-12MHz CPU, because both had the same design. Then, Intel goes and changed the name of it’s fifth
generation CPU, which it called the Pentium. Because of that, AMD could no longer copy Intel’s design,
because it was copyrighted. Please
keep in mind that companies cannot copyright numbers, which Intel used
to name processors prior to the Pentium.

So, that is where
the story really begins. Back
in 1994, AMD had to find it’s own processor core. At first, all they really did was take the 486, shrink it down
from .6u to .35u; speed it up, from 80Mhz to 133Mhz; and added twice
the L1 Cache than a 486. They called it the 5×86. It didn’t last for very long, being the Pentium clocked at
75MHz did better than the 5×86 clocked at 160Mhz in some cases. So, AMD bought NexGen, a RISC processor maker. A RISC processor is the type of Processor ALPHA makes, it can
do only a few things, but very quickly, unlike the Pentium, which is a
CISC, which can do a lot of things slowly. AMD
then came out with the K5, which was a Pentium alternative. All it basically was was a 5×86 with some Pentium like
features. That, and it could fit into Socket 7, which is the same CPU
socket Pentiums fit in. After
the horrible failure of the K5, they came out with the K6, which was
suppose to revolutionize the industry…but didn’t. Then it was the K6-2, which had a set of special 3D
instructions. It did a
little better, especially in the low-cost computer market. Intel didn’t like AMD making money one bit, so it released
the Celeron, which was a cache-less Pentium II. That didn’t do very well, so they added 128KB of L2 cache at
full CPU core speed. This
was proven to be just as good, if not better, than the Pentium II at
some activities. To top it off, The Celeron ran at a much lower cost than the
Pentium II.

What next you may
ask. Well, AMD releases
the K6-III, which was basically the K6-2, but with 256KB of full core
speed L2 cache. But, with
that release, we all know what happened. The K7 rumors started coming out. Now, the K7 is called the Athlon. It’s also called the Intel Killer. At the same clock speed, AMD finally made a CPU that will beat
the Intel flagship CPU. This
has NEVER happened before. So
now, Intel is struggling. It’s
now threatened motherboard makers that make Athlon compatible
motherboards with a shortage in its 440BX and i820 chipsets.

Being that
can’t be proven, there is nothing we can do to punish Intel for what
they are doing besides stop buying their products. We all know it’s wrong to use their position in the industry
to stay on top. That’s
why Microsoft is in the mess they are in now, and that is why I
mentioned them in the previous episode. Intel has obviously done something wrong. Not only are they dying slowly, they must strip themselves of
all their pride by trying to stay alive in coward like ways. Now, what Intel must do is actually produce a new CPU that is
revolutionary. They
haven’t done anything like that for almost three years, when they
introduced the Pentium Pro, which is still the basis of all Intel CPUs
to this day. With the
Merced CPU so far off, and having so many delays, it’s doubtful
they’ll have anything new soon. Meanwhile, AMD is already planning the K8, which will be even
better than the K7.

I would like to
conclude with 2 things:

LONG LIVE AMD!

Stock Tip: For
long-term investments, buy stock in AMD.