Old Hero (Intel Pentium D 945 / 3.4 GHz)

Member Name: smart_sheep

Product:	Intel Pentium D 945 / 3.4 GHz
Date:	07/08/07 (262 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Speed, Price

Disadvantages: Net-Burst Technology, Power Consumption

Introduction:
As Intel continues to offer new technology processors at very affordable price, the older technology processor's price has fallen dramatically to a very low level. The prices for processors are at record low level. This has helped the end user to build some inexpensive systems using the high end processors of the last generations. Although one generation behind in core architecture, the Intel D945 processor is able to perform excellently.

Architecture:
The processor is based on 65 nm fabrication process, which is common to Core 2 Duo's as well but has a different core architecture compared to that of Intel Core 2 Duo processors. It is based on, not so popular Net Burst architecture.It is dual core, for sure and fits in any motherboard having LGA775 socket.

General Information:
This processor runs at a whopping speed of 3.4 GHz. It's FSB is 800 MHz. It completely support 64-bit computing. It has 2 MB L2 cache per core, which makes up to 4 MB total L2 cache. It is rated at Thermal Design Power (TDP) of 95 watts. This is quiet higher as compared to core 2 duo's.

Features:
It support the following features:
Enhanced SpeedStep technology, streaming SIMD extensions 2, streaming SIMD extensions 3, Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology, Execute Disable Bit capability.

Downsides:
Intel D945 is rated at a TDP of 95 watts, which is reasonably high.
It produces a lot of heat.
The stock heat sink and fan are of low quality.

Warranty
This processor also has a warranty of 3 Years, so, if something goes wrong within warranty , you can have a new processor.

Final Words:
I personally liked this processor, although it has some downsides as well. But at the present moment some very nice processors are available from Intel which are more efficient and based on latest technology. So, I will recommend to go for a processor in Intel Core 2 Duo family instead of buying a generation old processor.

Summary: Good but not too good to beat the new kings of processors.

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