Hard?ware - it's a trick!
Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 4:19 pmI was running memtest today on my work computer, to see if there were any issues. The memory test passed, but the program reported some very interesting statistics that disturbed me quite a bit.
First, the processor: a Pentium 4, running at 2386 MHz. I expected that. But the FSB is only 132 MHz. I don't know all that much about hardware, but this looks like crippleware to me. Put in these fast processors, and keep the costs down and expectations low by putting in ridiculously slow buses. My PPC G3 at home has a 900 MHz processor, with a 300 MHz FSB. That's a much more sensible ratio.
Next, check out the following memory info:
L1
8(bytes?)
19560 MB/S
L2
512K
16687 MB/S
Memory
1535M
1480 MB/S
Reserved
772K
Again, I don't know hardware all that well. But it looks like they allocated most of the memory space to the slowest part of the memory. If they can make memory that runs at 16687 MB/S, why do they give me 1.5GB of the slow stuff? Again, a scam to keep costs down.
I've always believed that Intel was scamming us pretty bad. They've probably got TerraHz chips on their shelves right now, just waiting for the P4 market to die down. But this info looks like proof that they are selling us junk hardware at competitive prices. Where is the real technology? And why do consumers put up with this?
Comments welcome.
First, the processor: a Pentium 4, running at 2386 MHz. I expected that. But the FSB is only 132 MHz. I don't know all that much about hardware, but this looks like crippleware to me. Put in these fast processors, and keep the costs down and expectations low by putting in ridiculously slow buses. My PPC G3 at home has a 900 MHz processor, with a 300 MHz FSB. That's a much more sensible ratio.
Next, check out the following memory info:
L1
8(bytes?)
19560 MB/S
L2
512K
16687 MB/S
Memory
1535M
1480 MB/S
Reserved
772K
Again, I don't know hardware all that well. But it looks like they allocated most of the memory space to the slowest part of the memory. If they can make memory that runs at 16687 MB/S, why do they give me 1.5GB of the slow stuff? Again, a scam to keep costs down.
I've always believed that Intel was scamming us pretty bad. They've probably got TerraHz chips on their shelves right now, just waiting for the P4 market to die down. But this info looks like proof that they are selling us junk hardware at competitive prices. Where is the real technology? And why do consumers put up with this?
Comments welcome.
