Can Your PC Really Handle Vista?

System Setups

Let’s have a quick look at the test systems to refresh our memories :

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System Hardware
Processor IAMD Sempron 3400+(Manila core, 90 nm, 1.8 GHz, 256 kB L2 Cache)
Processor IIIntel Celeron D 352 (FSB533)(Cedar Mill core, 65 nm, 3.2 GHz, 512 kB L2 Cache)
Motherboard ISocket 775 - IntelAsus P5LD2-VMChipset : Intel 945G, BIOS : 1102
Motherboard IISocket AM2 - AMDFoxconn Winfast K8M890M2MA-RS2HChipset : VIA K8M890, BIOS : 641W1P24
Common Hardware
RAM2x 512 MB DDR2-667Corsair ValueSelect VS1 GBKIT667D2
Graphics Card IIntel GMA950
Graphics Card IIVIA Chrome9 IGP
Hard Drive I (read)1x 160 GB 7,200 RPM, 8 MB Cache, SATA/300Western Digital WD1600AAJS
Hard Drive II (write)1x 150 GB 10,000 RPM, 8 MB Cache, SATA/300Western Digital WD1500ADFDUsed for video benchmarks
DVD-ROMGigabyte GO-D1600C (16x)
Software
Intel GraphicsVersion : 14.25.50
Intel ChipsetSoftware Installation Utility 8.1.1.1010
VIA GraphicsVersion : 15.13.15.05
VIA ChipsetHyperion Pro 5.11A
DirectXVersion : 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
OSWindows XP Professional, Build 2600 SP2

AMD’s Sempron 3400+ battles the Intel Celeron 352. The latter, though being a low-cost product, is based on the modern 65-nm manufacturing process and delivers better performance than the Sempron.

The system setups aren’t exciting at all, especially when compared to Athlon 64 X2 or Core 2 Duo machines with powerful graphics solutions. But they do represent what the vast majority of users actually have. The Sempron 3400+, for example, is somewhat equivalent to a first-generation Athlon 64 2800+ (socket 754) or an Athlon XP processor (socket 462). Intel’s Celeron D 352 is as powerful as a socket 478 Pentium 4 at average clock speeds.