A real computer - Summer 2002

I wrote the original version of A real computer in autumn 2001, about a computer originally purchased in summer 1999. What about a more up-to-date machine?

The headings list the major components of the machines we bought to re-equip the 3rd year lab in summer 2002. The text consists of quotes taken from the web-sites listed.

As you might expect, the most obvious change is that most components are bigger and/or faster. However, I still find the magnitude of the changes surprising - the CPU is roughly 4 times faster, the RAM 4 times as big and 2 times as fast, the hard disc 10 times bigger and 2 or 3 times faster, etc.

AMD Athlon XP2000+ Processor

http://athlonxp.amd.com/faq/

What do the 2200+, 2100+, 2000+, 1900+, 1800+ and 1700+ numbers mean?

These are model numbers. AMD identifies the AMD Athlon XP processor using model numbers, as opposed to megahertz, such as the 2200+, 2100+, 2000+, 1900+, 1800+ and 1700+ versions. Model numbers are designed to communicate the relative application performance among the various AMD Athlon XP processors. The AMD Athlon XP processor 2200+ can outperform an Intel Pentium AE 4 processor operating at 2.2GHz on a broad array of end-user applications.

AMD Athlon XP processor 2000+ operates at a frequency of 1.67GHz.

Gigabyte GA-7VRXP motherboard

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/products/7vrxp.htm http://www.via.com.tw/en/apollo/KT333.jsp http://www.ite.com.tw/pc/brief_it8705f.htm http://www.winbond.com/e-winbondhtm/partner/b_2_d_2.htm

GA-7VRXP PROCESSOR

   Socket A for AMD Athlon [tm]XP / Athlon [tm]/ Duron [tm]processor
CHIPSET
   VIA KT333 / 8233A(CE) chipset
     Northbridge : VIA VT8367
     Southbridge : VIA VT8233A(CE)
     VIA V-Link architecture (266MB/s)
   VIA VT6202 USB 2.0 controller
   Super I/O : ITE IT8705F
   Smart I/O : Winbond Smart@IO (Smart Card, Memory Stick)
   Promise PDC20276 ATA 133 RAID controller
   Raeltek 8100BL Ethernet 10/100Mb LAN controller
   Creative CT5880 PCI sound controller
   Dual BIOS
MEMORY
   Type : DDR333 (PC2700) / DDR266 (PC2100) / DDR200 (PC1600) - 184pin
   Max capacity : Up to 3GB by 3 DIMM slots(DDR266/200)
SLOT
   1 x AGP universal slot (4X/2X-AGP 2.0 compliant)
   5 x PCI slots (PCI 2.2 compliant)
   1 x FDD port
   4 x UDMA ATA133/100/66 Bus Master IDE ports
   1 x 2ports USB 1.1 connector (by cable with rear USB bracket)
   2 x 2ports USB 2.0 connector (by cable with rear USB bracket)
   Memory Stick / Security Digital (MMC) / Smart Card Reader connectors
   2 x cooling fan pin header
I/O
   PS/2 Keyboard / Mouse
   2 x USB 1.1 ports
   2 x COM ports
   1 x RJ45 LAN port
   Audio (1 x Line-in / 1 x Line-out / 1 x Mic) connector
   1 x joystick
POWER
   ATX power connector
   Power-off by Windows 95/98/Me/2000/NT/XP shut down and Switch
FORM FACTOR
   ATX
   Dimension : ( 23.5 x 30.4 cm )
H/W MONITORING
   System health status auto-detect and report by BIOS
   H/W detect & report power-in voltage, CPU voltage, and Fan Speed
BIOS
   Dual AMI BIOS, 2 x 2M bit flash ROM
   AMI BIOS with enhanced ACPI feature for PC98/Win98/Win2000/WinMe/XP
     compliance, Green, PnP, DMI, INT13 (>8.4GB) and Anti-Virus functions
   IDE#1~#4, SCSI, LS120, ZIP and CD-ROM bootable
   AC recovery ON/OFF control
OTHER FEATURES
   Suspend-To-RAM (STR)
   Supports USB KB/MS Wake up from S3
   Poly fuse for keyboard over-current protection=
DRIVER
   VIA 4 in 1 service pack utility
   Promise RAID controller driver ( includes pure ATA133 driver )
   Realtek LAN driver
   Creative sound driver
   VIA USB 2.0 driver
   Winbond Smart IO driver
   Free software

512 MB memory

ATX midi tower case + 350W dual fan power supply

Seagate 80GB hard drive

http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/index
 ST380020A    U Series 80020          80 GB Ultra ATA/100 5400 RPM   8.9 ms avg
 ST380021A    Barracuda ATA IV        80 GB Ultra ATA     7200 RPM   9.5 ms avg
 ST380023A    Barracuda ATA V         80 GB Ultra ATA/100 7200 RPM   9 ms avg
[ST380023AS   Barracuda Serial ATA V  80 GB Serial ATA    7200 RPM   9 ms avg]

1.44 MB floppy disk drive

Abit nVidia Geforce2 MX 400 graphics card

http://www.amd3d.com/review/mx400/abit_p1.htm
Abit
x4 AGP 64Mb
Nvidia Geforce2 MX 400 2D and 3D Accelerator Graphics

Chipset: Geforce2 MX400 
Nvidia 256-bit Hi Performance 2D and 3D accelerator engine equipped 
AGP 2X/4X Support, AGP texturing, Fast Writes Support. 
Integrated 350MHz RAMDAC, resolution up to 2048 x 1536 @75Hz
Equipped 64MB SDRAM 128 bit bus Interface running at 166MHz.
200 MHz core clock, 400 million pixels /sec, 800 million texel /sec fill rate
2.7GB/sec memory bandwidth
Second generation transform and lighting (T&L) engines
DirectX, OpenGL Optimizations Support and S3 texture compression 
32-bit Z/stencil buffer 
Complete support for DirectX 7.0and DirectX 6.0, Direct 5.0

TV out (Siluro T200 only)
Digital video output by integrated NTSC/PAL encoders 
Complete S-VHS & Composite Video-Output Ports support

High quality DVD Playback
High-Definition Video Professor (HDTV) for Full-screen Video playback of 720p and DVD resolution.
Advanced support for DirectDraw
Hardware color space conversion (YUV 4:2:2 and 4:2:0)
5-tap horizontal by 3-tap vertical filtering
8:1 up scaling and downscaling
Per-pixel color keying
Multiple video windows with hardware color space conversion and filtering
DVD sub-picture alpha blended composition
Video acceleration for DirectShow, MPEG-1, MPEG-2

52 speed CD-ROM

Microsoft optical wheelmouse

Keytronics 800 keyboard

Iiyama Vision Master 1402 17" monitor