The Spare
Hardware: Custom-built desktop PC
1.8 GHz single-core AMD Sempron processor (socket 754)
Nvidia GeForce 6100 integrated graphics
1GB RAM
40GB hard drive
Primary use: Spare desktop PC used primarily when something else isn’t working. Very lightly used.
Notes: This PC was probably the easiest upgrade, since it’s really not used for much of anything – some light word processing, Web browsing and iTunes streaming is the most action it sees. That’s probably for the best, since this hardware was low-end three or four years ago and hasn’t aged very well.
The Good: This computer actually runs Windows 7. It’s not quite as responsive as under XP, but programs launch reasonably quickly and it still handles its primary tasks just as well as it did with the older operating system.
Even though all of its hardware predates Vista, Windows Update had no trouble finding functioning drivers for everything – it had to download drivers for the chipset and the sound card, and everything worked fine afterward. Nvidia still supports the GeForce 6100 with regular driver updates, as well, so there were no hiccups on the driver front.
The Bad: I wouldn’t want to use this computer every day. The GeForce 6100 handles Aero, but not well (Flip 3D is particularly chuggy at 1280×1024), and the single-core processor joins forces with the low, shared RAM and old hard drive to make for a pretty sub-par experience.
