AMD FX processors often get laughed at as AMD’s “Netburst moment” based on their inferior performance and efficiency compared to the competition from Intel. But unlike Intel’s Netburst abomination, Continue reading
Author Archives: pixelworkbench
Intel Sandy Bridge vs Modern Games
When it comes to Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors, there are two kinds of people. Those who are happily running one since the year 2011, laughing at how little incentive they have to upgrade to something newer. And those who did not buy one in 2011, Continue reading
Pentium 4 Performance with SDR vs DDR memory
In the autumn of 2001, my parents finally decided to buy a new family computer, to replace the ancient Pentium 120 laptop my family was using up to that point. Unfortunately, Fall of 2001 was a crappy time to be buying a PC. Continue reading
Can you game on Ati 3300 integrated graphics?
In 2008, AMD released the 790GX chipset that included the most powerful integrated GPU at the time – the Ati 3300. Which had nothing to do with my plans. I already had a gaming rig with a socket 939 AMD Opteron 165 cpu, the hugely popular Geforce 8800gt video card, and life was good. But as more demanding games appeared Continue reading
Modern Games on AMD Phenom II X6 1100T
What is it like to play latest games in 2018 on a Phenom II x6 CPU from 2010? Continue reading
Memtest86 Freezes: Test #7, Block Move
While testing my new Xeon build for Socket 775, a bug in Memtest86 5.01 sent me on a wild goose chase. Continue reading
Alternate Reality PC Build
What would a 2002 high end gaming PC look like? Continue reading
Baking Video Cards
Using the tried and true collective Internet wisdom that has never been wrong, I set off to resurrect two graphics cards using an oven. What can possibly go wrong?
Battle of the Coolers: Socket 478
Intel cooler vs Thermaltake TR2 M12. Which is a better CPU cooler for socket 478? Continue reading
My First PC Build
It was late summer 2002 when I finally decided to build my own gaming PC. Up to that point, I had to suffer with a Dell Inspiron 3800 laptop, where I learned the hard way that laptops make crappy gaming machines. Armed with my new-found knowledge, I poured over hardware reviews until I finally settled on components that would give me the most bang for my limited buck. Continue reading