• Tag Archives Core 2 Duo

  • Digital Archaeology: Fujitsu FMV-BIBLO NF/D70

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    I picked up this laptop because of its relative uniqueness. First, it’s a Fujitsu which I haven’t had much experience with (except for one Lifebook I own). Second, it’s a bright red color which I really like. Finally, this appears to be a laptop that was released in Japan…whether exclusively or localized for I’m not sure. The keyboard has a slightly different layout and there are Japanese characters on each of the keys in addition to English letters.

    The model as printed on the laptop itself in the lower left corner of the keyboard is FMV-BIBLO NF/D70. The hardware consists of the following:

    • CPU: Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.53GHz
    • Memory: 6 GB DDR3-1066 (PC3-8500)
    • Video: Intel Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller
    • Screen: 1366×768

    For more complete specs, check out the output of HardInfo.

    I have mixed feelings about this laptop. On one hand, the screen looks beautiful and is one of the nicest looking screens I have see on a laptop. On the other hand it may look nice but the resolution is pretty much the lowest available at the time. On one hand, it has a fast CPU for the era with one of the fastest Core 2 Duo CPUs ever made. On the other hand, it uses Intel’s integrated graphics solution which is as low end as they come.

    The 1366×768 was a pretty common resolution but it was also pretty much the lowest wide screen resolution available. Being a later Core 2 Duo model this laptop does look like it supports up to 8 GB of fast (for the time) DDR3 memory (with 6 GB currently installed). A lot of older Core 2 Duo laptops only supported 4 GB or in some cases only 2 GB which helps ensure they are obsolete a lot faster. Older Core 2 Duos also only support DDR2 memory. This laptop should actually run Windows 10 fairly well, especially if you were to put an SSD in it and max out the RAM. However, I am currently running Linux Mint on it. When new it shipped with Windows Vista.

    The 1366×768 was a pretty common resolution but it was also pretty much the lowest wide screen resolution available. Being a later Core 2 Duo model this laptop does look like it supports up to 8 GB of fast (for the time) DDR3 memory (with 6 GB currently installed). A lot of older Core 2 Duo laptops only supported 4 GB or in some cases only 2 GB which helps ensure they are obsolete a lot faster. Older Core 2 Duos also only support DDR2 memory. This laptop should actually run Windows 10 fairly well, especially if you were to put an SSD in it and max out the RAM. However, I am currently running Linux Mint on it. When new it shipped with Windows Vista.

    Like all hardware I own, I run various BOINC projects on this laptop when it is up and running. Currently, it has completed work for Asteroids@home, Einstein@home, Milkyway@home, Rosetta@home, Universe@home and World Community Grid which are all the projects I currently participate in on a regular basis. You can also check out how it is doing over all on FreeDC.


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  • Digital Archaeology: Dell Inspiron 1720

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    I’ve always thought Dell has maintained better consistency in the quality of their laptops than most. There are, of course, exceptions. These days there aren’t even that many brands to choose from. Not nearly as many as there used to be anyway.

    The Inspiron 1720 is a 17-inch laptop featuring the Core 2 Duo line of processors. The hardware if this particular laptop includes:

    • CPU: Core 2 Duo T7250 @ 2 GHz
    • RAM: 3 GB DDR2
    • Video: Mobile Intel GMA X3100
    • Screen: 17-inch @ 1440×900

    See the output of HardInfo for more detailed specs.

    There are a couple of disappointing things about this laptop. The first is the screen resolution. In my opinion, a screen this big should have at least a 1080p resolution. There was in fact an available 1920×1200 display for this model but sadly not on the one that I have. The next disappointing item is the lack of a discrete GPU. Unfortunately, this laptop relies on Intel’s integrated motherboard solution at the time.

    Having said that, the big screen is still nice. And for purposes other than gaming, the lack of a discrete GPU doesn’t really matter. In fact, if I recall correctly, the discrete nVidia laptop GPUs of the time had a nasty habit of failing in part because of the switch away from lead based solder. So for purposes of longevity, which is important when it comes to laptops like this that are more than 10 years old, it’s probably better not to have a discrete GPU. I still would have liked the higher resolution screen though.

    The Core 2 Duo was plenty fast enough for the time this laptop was released and among the fastest CPUs available. The 3GB of RAM was a common amount for 32-bit operating systems since they typically couldn’t see a full 4GB. This laptop originally shipped with Windows Vista.

    For whatever reason, it seems that laptops based on the Core 2 Duo, except for the latest generation, were limited to 4 GB of RAM, this one included. This was an unfortunate limitation given that 64-bit CPUs had been around a while by this point and 64-bit operating systems had also been available for a while (Linux, XP-64, Vista). This limitation really made such laptops prematurely obsolete. 4 GB may still be enough for some operating systems, it really isn’t enough for modern web browsers and tabbed browsing. I have seen claims that some people have gotten 6 GB to work with the latest BIOS by installing 4 GB in the memory socket under the keyboard and 2 GB in the socket on the bottom (not sure about the other way around).

    The all silver keyboard/bezel/palmrest area looks nice though past experience suggests that it can be easily scratched and worn. It doesn’t look so good then. However, this one appears to be in close to mint condition. It seems as though it was barely used. The outside is black which while perhaps the most common, also looks the best. The lighting is blue which seems to be common for the time. This includes power, wifi, hard drive, bluetooth and battery indicators as well as a row of multimedia control buttons (play, stop, etc.) on the front that light up when you press one. Blue leds seems to wear faster than other colors. The blue power light which is always on when the laptop is on is noticeably dimmer than the others which are intermittent.

    This laptop is currently running the latest version of Ubuntu Linux. The 3GB seems sufficient for the OS and light browsing, however, performance suffers if you try to use more than a couple of tabs, particularly if there’s a lot of Javascript. I’m sure it would do better with HTML only pages but there aren’t many of those these days. In theory, it should run XP and Windows 7 well, it is probably capable of running Windows 8 and at least earlier builds of Windows 10 (not sure about the latest) as well. If trying to run Windows 10, I would definitely upgrade to an SSD though otherwise the performance will be pretty terrible.

    Speaking of upgrades, the CPU is upgradeable to at least the Core 2 Duo T9500 which is 2.6 GHz which would be a reasonable bump in speed. As mentioned above, the official maximum amount of RAM is 4 GB but 6 GB seems to work at least in some cases. However, the biggest performance increase you can get from any older laptop is by replacing the hard drive with an SSD. I probably won’t be upgrading this one though if it had the higher resolution screen I might.

    Like all the machines I have, I installed BOINC and attached to my usual projects. I think memory limitations may prevent it from getting any work for Rosetta@home but it has gotten (or should get) work for Einstein@home, Asteroids@home, MilkyWay@home, Universe@home and World Community Grid. You can also check out how it is doing overall at FreeDC.

    Photo at the top and screen shot are mine, all other images are from the manual.


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  • Digital Archaeology: Gateway M-6316

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    When looking at another Gateway laptop I pondered when exactly when Gateway’s quality started to decline. I think it may have been with Core 2 Duo era laptops. While previous Pentium M and Turion 64 laptops (nearly identical in construction) may have lost some of the excitement of earlier models, they at least seemed pretty solid and of decent quality. The Core 2 Duo era laptop I’m looking at here, while it has an attractive silver and red design, it also has a flimsier feeling keyboard and buttons. Still, I would say it holds up better than Dell Inspiron models of similar age.

    The Gateway M-6316 I am looking at here has the following features:

    • CPU: Pentium T2330 @ 1.60GHz
    • Memory: 2 GB DDR2-666/PC2-5300
    • Video: Intel GMA X3100
    • Screen: 1280×800
    • Hard Drive: Toshiba MQ01ABF0 (500 GB)
    • Optical Drive: HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-T20N

    Check out the output of HardInfo for a more complete look at the hardware.

    This is definitely a lower-end laptop. The CPU, while labeled a “Pentium”, is essentially a Core 2 Duo. They gave lower end versions of Core 2 Duo processors either a Pentium or Celeron designation though the naming conventions don’t appear to have been terribly consistent. In addition to typically lower clock speeds, Pentium and Celeron variants had less cache. The Pentium Dual-Core had 2MB of cache while the Celeron had 512KB to 2GB depending on the specific model. Core 2 Duo processors had 2-4MB. At least among the Merom variants.

    The video hardware is also low end. About as low end as you could get in fact. This laptop contains an Intel GMA X3100 which was an Intel chipset integrated solution. This chip has the dubious distinction of being Intel’s first chip with hardware transform and lighting making it Vista ready. However, for gaming purposes, it was pretty useless.

    Vista was in fact the version of Windows that shipped with this laptop. I’m not sure if it was the 32-bit or 64-bit version. It seems like the 32-bit version was typically included at the default install. Some users likely would have downgraded to Windows XP as well. Windows 7 and/or Windows 8 are probably the best choices for a Microsoft OS for this laptop. Any of those are fine for retro use but if you really plan to use it in a modern context then Linux would be the best choice.

    With perhaps the slowest dual core Merom processor and pretty much the lowest end video solution, this was definitely a laptop for bargain hunters. Still, having two cores and a 64-bit processor it is really still good enough to run a modern OS. The cap of 4GB of RAM is actually the biggest limitation. Windows 10 really does better with 8 GB, especially when the rest of your hardware is already low end. However, I’m running a modern version of Xubuntu and it does fine. Web browsing is problematic because modern web browsers are such memory hogs. However, if you stick to 1 or 2 tabs then it is usable, if not exactly snappy.

    It’s also still good enough to run BOINC and most projects, at least the ones I am most interested in. You can see how it is doing in Einstein@home, MilkyWay@home, Rosetta@home, Asteroids@home, Universe@home and World Community Grid or see how it is doing overall at FreeDC.


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