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| This pictured machine isn't mine specifically, but it's cosmetically identical. |
Backdrop
A little while back, I obtained an HP Compaq dc7600 for $20 through classified ads. It's a cute little machine, and makes as a great secondary machine (or primary if you keep your expectations low) as it's relatively quick and snappy when running Windows XP. It's also quite capable of running Windows Vista and Windows 7 (You will need to use Windows Vista drivers if you're using Windows 7) as long as the RAM has been upgraded to at least 2GB. It may also be possible to run Windows 8 on this machine.If you're feeling adventurous, you can install a 64-bit operating system, such as Windows XP 64-bit edition or 64-bit versions of Windows Vista, 7 or 8, as the stock Pentium 4 630 is a 64-bit capable processor.
These small form factor computers are designed for the workplace or schools (mine likely came out of an organization, as a part number label is on the side of the case). They're small, quiet, power efficient and snappy. They're also designed for optimum cooling capacity so they can be left running all day long without issue. Another trademark of this is that it's a completely toolless design, meaning that it can be completely dismantled without any tools. All of these are requirements for installations in the office or classroom.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my machine is at least halfway recent - it's based around DDR2 memory and SATA hard disks. The machine is unfortunately limited to the single core Pentium 4 or the dual core Pentium D processors, as a manufacturer implemented restriction prevents installation of any Core Duo, Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad processors. The most recent processor which can be installed in this machine is the Pentium D 950 - a 3.4GHz dual core processor with a TDP of 130 watts. I decided to upgrade the processor in my machine to squeeze a little more performance out of it, and I found a Pentium D 950 for $11.50 on eBay with free shipping. Unfortunately the CPU I received was defective; I assumed it to have faulty thermal logic as the computer would issue a thermal shutdown as soon as the power button is pressed.
So, it's stuck with the Pentium 4 630, a 3.0GHz, hyperthreaded, single core processor. It's still snappy, and YouTube remains quite usable on this computer, but all it was good for was Internet usage and office applications. Nothing more.
This changed; however, when my brother got his new computer. The graphics processor in that machine, an AMD Radeon R5 230 (or AMD Radeon HD 6450), was found to be quite mismatched to the system. The GPU in that machine was upgraded to an NVIDIA GTX 750 Ti, and now it works much better. So, the old AMD Radeon R5 230 was left to my pile of computer electronics. I thought about installing it into my HP Compaq dc7600, you know, just for fun. I mean, that little computer does have a PCI-e x16 slot. Unfortunately, the bracket on the GPU was too large, it was full sized. So, I figured I'd remove it. And I did.
Installation of the card was a little troublesome, since the VGA port was attached to the card through a ribbon cable, which I needed to stick out of the back of the machine. But, it didn't take long, and it works. Finding drivers for it were tough as there were no Radeon R5 230 drivers that supported Windows XP, but the latest version of the AMD Catalyst Control Center which supports Windows XP did provide support for the Radeon R5 230. So, the card works! It works like a charm!
What I found very surprising was the fact that games such as Mass Effect 2 and Skyrim were now playable.
Benchmarks
CPU: Pentium 4 630 Prescott @3.0GHz, single core, hyperthreaded processor
RAM: 4GB DDR2-667 memory
Graphics: AMD Radeon R5 230 (AMD Radeon HD 6450) 1GB GPU
Operating System: Windows XP Professional, 32-bit
Attached Display: HP vs17e 16.8 LCD display; 1280x1024
Skyrim
Minimum Requirements:
Intel Celeron E1200 1.6GHz dual core processor or AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ 1.9GHz dual core processor
NVIDIA Quadro 380 LP 512MB GPU or AMD Radeon HD 3600 series 128MB GPU
1GB of RAM
Windows XP 32-bit
Recommended Requirements:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 2.6GHz quad core processor or AMD Phenom II X4 920 2.8GHz quad core processor
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 896MB GPU or AMD Radeon HD 4890 1GB GPU
4GB of RAM
Windows 7 64-bit
Resolution: 1280x1024
Antialiasing: Off
Anisotropic Filtering: Off
Texture Quality: Medium
Radial Blur Quality: Low
Shadow Detail: Low
Decal Quality: None
FXAA: No
Water: Reflect Land: No, Reflect Trees: No, Reflect Objects: Yes, Reflect Sky: No
View Distance Settings: All low
Framerates
Dips: 12 frames per second
Average: 20 frames per second
Highest: 27 frames per second
Decal Quality: None
FXAA: No
Water: Reflect Land: No, Reflect Trees: No, Reflect Objects: Yes, Reflect Sky: No
View Distance Settings: All low
Framerates
Dips: 12 frames per second
Average: 20 frames per second
Highest: 27 frames per second
Mass Effect 2
Minimum Requirements:
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 1.8GHz dual core processor or AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ 1.9GHz dual core processor
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 256MB GPU or AMD Radeon X1600 512MB GPU
1GB of RAM
Windows XP 32-bit
Recommended Requirements:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 2.6GHz dual core processor or AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ 3.2GHz dual core processor
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB GPU or AMD Radeon HD 2900 XT 512MB GPU
2GB of RAM
Windows XP 32-bit
Resolution: 1280x1024
High Quality Bloom: On
Film Grain: On
Motion Blur: On
Dynamic Shadows: Off
Light Environment Shadows: Off
Number of Cinematic Lights: 3
Use Spherical Harmonic Lighting: On
Anisotropic Filtering: Default
Framerates
Dips: 14 frames per second
Average: 26 frames per second
Highest: 31 frames per second
I'm honestly surprised by these gaming benchmarks. Really not as bad as I initially thought they would be. Yes, there are dips, and they're rather unpleasant, but they're kind of expected. This isn't powerful hardware, and the processor does not meet the minimum requirements of either game. They're still playable, as long as you keep your expectations low.
Now, let's get some other benchmarks in.
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 1.8GHz dual core processor or AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ 1.9GHz dual core processor
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 256MB GPU or AMD Radeon X1600 512MB GPU
1GB of RAM
Windows XP 32-bit
Recommended Requirements:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 2.6GHz dual core processor or AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ 3.2GHz dual core processor
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB GPU or AMD Radeon HD 2900 XT 512MB GPU
2GB of RAM
Windows XP 32-bit
Resolution: 1280x1024
High Quality Bloom: On
Film Grain: On
Motion Blur: On
Dynamic Shadows: Off
Light Environment Shadows: Off
Number of Cinematic Lights: 3
Use Spherical Harmonic Lighting: On
Anisotropic Filtering: Default
Framerates
Dips: 14 frames per second
Average: 26 frames per second
Highest: 31 frames per second
I'm honestly surprised by these gaming benchmarks. Really not as bad as I initially thought they would be. Yes, there are dips, and they're rather unpleasant, but they're kind of expected. This isn't powerful hardware, and the processor does not meet the minimum requirements of either game. They're still playable, as long as you keep your expectations low.
Now, let's get some other benchmarks in.
Geekbench 2 - Tryout (32-bit tests)
HP Compaq dc7600:
Total Score: 1807
Integer Performance: 1821
Floating Point Performance: 1731
Memory Performance: 1815
Stream Performance: 2008
Cinebench R11.5 (32-bit)
OpenGL: 14.06 average frames per second
CPU: 0.48 (It took a really long time)
So of course this computer isn't going to be doing any high-end gaming anytime soon, and there are plenty of games it won't run at all, even at lowest settings. But, it's still good for playing some smaller and older games and web browsing. Games like Need for Speed Underground 1 and 2, Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City and San Andreas all run well on this computer.
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