Celeron 600

[David]

Is a Celeron 600 just too slow a chip to operate efficiently in
today's Internet environment?

I mean, if I see my chip occasionally maxing out at 100% usage trying
to download a page from the Internet from time to time, or that I have
enough RAM but the chip is again at 100% trying to run IE 6 and
Outlook Express 6 at the same time with other (small) maintenance and
security progs running in the system tray, is it the chip's fault?

John

 

[GSV Three Minds in a Can]

Is a Celeron 600 just too slow a chip to operate efficiently in
today's Internet environment?

I mean, if I see my chip occasionally maxing out at 100% usage trying
to download a page from the Internet from time to time, or that I have
enough RAM but the chip is again at 100% trying to run IE 6 and
Outlook Express 6 at the same time with other (small) maintenance and
security progs running in the system tray, is it the chip's fault?

Yes. If the CPU hits 100% loaded, then the CPU is a bottleneck.

However it shouldn't happen unless you have broadband, or a 'software'
PCI modem .. you didn't ought be able to suck stuff down through a
hardware modem, or an ISDN line, fast enough to soak up 600Mhz of
computing power (although the Celeron isn't a shining example of 600Mhz,
it must be said).

What OS are you trying to run?

 

[Tony Hill]

Is a Celeron 600 just too slow a chip to operate efficiently in
today's Internet environment?

That depends largely on what you are doing with the system. Generally
speaking though, no.

I mean, if I see my chip occasionally maxing out at 100% usage trying
to download a page from the Internet from time to time, or that I have
enough RAM but the chip is again at 100% trying to run IE 6 and
Outlook Express 6 at the same time with other (small) maintenance and
security progs running in the system tray, is it the chip's fault?

I would tend to say no, neither Outlook Express 6 or IE 6 should cause
the chip to run 100% full-out for any length of time under normal
operating conditions (though why anyone in their right mind would use
either OE or IE is totally beyond me! Doing so is just *ASKING* for
some malicious user to take over your system).

My first suggestion would be to download and run Ad-Aware if you
haven't already done so. Chances are that Outlook Express and IE have
allowed some spyware/adware to sneak it's way onto your PC, and it
could well be that one of those programs is what is causing your
system to run slow.

Next step is to figure out just what it is that is causing the system
to run slowly. Try keeping Task Manager open and keeping an eye on
what process it is that is consuming so much CPU time. Every once in
a while you will encounter a particular web page that will cause IE to
really chug along. 99 times out of 100 this is caused by a Flash ad
rather than anything useful (big hint here: download Mozilla Firefox
browser and the "Flash Click to Play" extension! Makes web browsing
SO much nicer!). If it's Outlook that is causing the slowness then
something is really wrong, you've probably either got a worm
mass-mailing crap through OE or simply a corrupt install. Either way
it's not normal behavior.

 

[George Macdonald]

Is a Celeron 600 just too slow a chip to operate efficiently in
today's Internet environment?

I mean, if I see my chip occasionally maxing out at 100% usage trying
to download a page from the Internet from time to time, or that I have
enough RAM but the chip is again at 100% trying to run IE 6 and
Outlook Express 6 at the same time with other (small) maintenance and
security progs running in the system tray, is it the chip's fault?

If there's code to be executed your CPU will show as running at 100%. The
simple answer here is how long does it spend at that 100% and is it too
long - IOW is it slowing you down? As for Internet use, IE, it depends
what you're doing -- what kind of sites you like to visit, how complex they
are and how much "abuse" there is of fancy graphics presentation -- and
whether you really need/want to revisit those sites.

I've noticed a fairly recent trend towards sites that are definitely so
complex that it drags my system performance down... to the point that even
cursor movement and page scrolling gets jerky and even has long pauses. At
Yahoo's news site, e.g., the Flash pollution is on the increase - in
particular I've noticed an HP Flash ad which just pegs my CPU and I have
trouble scrolling line by line. It got so bad I went searching and found a
"Prefbar" for the Mozilla browser I use which allows me to "Kill Flash".

I have a PIII/450 - 384MB at home; I get experience with more recent
hardware at the office, so don't need to upgrade my home computer for the
satisfaction of trying new technology. OTOH I'm on the verge of replacing
this home system - I could live with it a while longer but I don't want
to.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

[Brook]

Is a Celeron 600 just too slow a chip to operate efficiently in
today's Internet environment?

Not really, even a Pentium 200MMX is good enough for internet and general
usage. My computer isn't much faster than yours and it works fine.

I mean, if I see my chip occasionally maxing out at 100% usage trying
to download a page from the Internet from time to time,

A web browser can max out a CPU on big webpages on much faster CPUs than
yours

or that I have
enough RAM but the chip is again at 100% trying to run IE 6 and
Outlook Express 6 at the same time with other (small) maintenance and
security progs running in the system tray, is it the chip's fault?

Probably not. Make sure you don't have any spyware or trojans installed.
They can do this.

Your CPU may be a bit slow for running WinXP though. WinXP is very
demanding.

You may like to try a lighter web browser. Internet Explorer is sluggish.

http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net

 

[David]

Yes. If the CPU hits 100% loaded, then the CPU is a bottleneck.

However it shouldn't happen unless you have broadband, or a 'software'
PCI modem .. you didn't ought be able to suck stuff down through a
hardware modem, or an ISDN line, fast enough to soak up 600Mhz of
computing power (although the Celeron isn't a shining example of 600Mhz,
it must be said).

What OS are you trying to run?

windows 98se

I do have broadband.

 

[GSV Three Minds in a Can]

windows 98se

I do have broadband.

That'll do it - with b'band you can actually suck wen sites, and
messages, down fast enough to get your browser and newsreader working
reasonably hard.

If you don't have any trojans, spyware, etc, and if task manager (in
your case 'taskinfo', a free download, since Win98 doesn't have task
manager iirc) shows your CPU pegged at 100%, then time for a faster PC
(or just learn to be patient).

 

[RusH]

is it the chip's fault?

its IE and OE fault, uninstall
Opera/mozilla/konqueror + Kmail/Pine is fine


Pozdrawiam.

 

[Mike Tomlinson]

if task manager (in
your case 'taskinfo', a free download, since Win98 doesn't have task
manager iirc) shows your CPU pegged at 100%, then time for a faster PC
(or just learn to be patient).

Or just bump the FSB to 100MHz for a free upgrade to 900MHz. It's a
Coppermine cpu. I ran my C600 like this from new until I went AMD.

 

[GSV Three Minds in a Can]

Or just bump the FSB to 100MHz for a free upgrade to 900MHz. It's a
Coppermine cpu. I ran my C600 like this from new until I went AMD.

That might work, if the memory is PC100 or better and can keep up.

 

[Dick Trace]

Is a Celeron 600 just too slow a chip to operate efficiently in
today's Internet environment?

I mean, if I see my chip occasionally maxing out at 100% usage trying
to download a page from the Internet from time to time, or that I have
enough RAM but the chip is again at 100% trying to run IE 6 and
Outlook Express 6 at the same time with other (small) maintenance and
security progs running in the system tray, is it the chip's fault?

John

My 2nd computer is a 600@675 Celeron with 320 MB of RAM on a BX
motherboard. It has fast internet connection (~1Mbit late at night)
and runs windows XP professional with 3 or 4 programs loaded in the
system tray. I also use a recent version of Slackware linux on this
system (dual boot). The systems is not super fast but is perfectly
usable.

If your system is well balanced you shall not have any problems. But
you may need to tune it a little.