He just has Windows tuned nicely.
An absolute top-of-the-line NetBurst processor, the Pentium Extreme Edition 965 (dual core with HyperThreading, 3.73 GHz, Presler XE core,) overclocked to 4 GHz, gets *SMOKED* by even the early Core 2 Duo chips. I replaced that very processor with a Pentium Dual-Core E2180 (dual-core, 2.0 GHz, Conroe core.) That was the only item I replaced in the computer.
The computer was faster with the Pentium Dual-Core E2180. Not by a lot, mind you, but by a measurable amount. I then took out the high-end video card, as I was converting my high-end desktop into a server. Power usage measured at the wall dropped from 150 Watts at idle to 120 Watts at full load. Idle dropped to 30 W.
Ah, here's a comparison: http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/676/Intel_Pentium_Dual-Core_E2180_vs_Intel_Pentium_Extreme_Edition_965_(HH80553PH1094M).html
It's pretty much a tossup. Between a CPU that was $84 at launch, and a CPU only one year old that was still on sale for $1000.
An absolute top-of-the-line NetBurst processor, the Pentium Extreme Edition 965 (dual core with HyperThreading, 3.73 GHz, Presler XE core,) overclocked to 4 GHz, gets *SMOKED* by even the early Core 2 Duo chips. I replaced that very processor with a Pentium Dual-Core E2180 (dual-core, 2.0 GHz, Conroe core.) That was the only item I replaced in the computer.
The computer was faster with the Pentium Dual-Core E2180. Not by a lot, mind you, but by a measurable amount. I then took out the high-end video card, as I was converting my high-end desktop into a server. Power usage measured at the wall dropped from 150 Watts at idle to 120 Watts at full load. Idle dropped to 30 W.
Ah, here's a comparison: http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/676/Intel_Pentium_Dual-Core_E2180_vs_Intel_Pentium_Extreme_Edition_965_(HH80553PH1094M).html
It's pretty much a tossup. Between a CPU that was $84 at launch, and a CPU only one year old that was still on sale for $1000.