Building One Budget Test PC with 4 OS

I've decided to build a budget test PC running 4 operating systems - Linux, Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 RC and Windows XP Professional SP3. If you buy the right Asus motherboard, you can get Linux from Splashtop (instant-on computing). If you install Windows 7 RC, you can get Windows XP Professional SP3 from Windows XP Mode Beta. The main components are as follows:

1. Asus M2N68-VM HDMI ($105) with support for Asus Express Gate (Splashtop) and hardware virtualization in BIOS
   
2. AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5200+ Processor 2.7GHz with support for virtualization ($93)
   

You can get any 1GB memory, hard disk and internal DVD writer. The cost will be much higher if you choose Intel instead of AMD processor.

Budget Intel 64-bit CPU Desktop PC

Compaq Presario CQ2019AP ($599)

1. Intel Atom 230 CPU (1.6GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, 533MHz Hyper Threading)
2. Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic
3. 1GB SDRAM DDR2
4. 160GB Hard Drive
5. 6-in-1 Digital Media Reader
6. SuperMulti DVD+/-RW SATA Drive with LightScribe Technology and Double Layer Support
7. 18.5" LCD widescreen monitor

Drivers

1. Windows Vista (32-bit)
2. Windows Vista (64-bit)
   

Intel CPUs

CPU	Atom N270	Atom Z530	Atom 230	DuoCore E5200
Speed (GHz)	1.6	1.6	1.6	2.5
L2 Cache (KB)	512KB	512KB	512KB	2MB
FSB (MHz)	533	533	533	800
Intel 64	No	No	Yes	Yes
Intel Virtualization	No	Yes	No	No
Demand Based Switching	No	Yes	No	No

Comparing Celeron M with Pentium Dual-Core Processor

Model/Processor Number	353	T2330
Processor	Celeron M ULV	Pentium Dual-Core
L2 Cache	512KB	1MB
Clock Speed	900MHz	1.6GHz
Front Side Bus (FSB)	400MHz	533MHz
Intel 64	No	Yes
Architecture	90nm	65nm
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology	No	Yes
Execute Disable Bit	No	Yes

Intel Atom Processor - Silverthorne vs Diamondville

Codename	Silverthorne	Diamondville
Usage	MID/UMPC	Classmate PC/Netbook
Core	Single (45nm) Optimized first for low-power then low-cost Intel Virtualization Demand based switching	Single (45nm) Optimized first for low-cost then low-power
Models	Z500 - 800MHz Z510 - 1.1GHz Z520 - 1.333GHz* Z530 - 1.6GHz* Z540 - 1.866GHz*	N270*
Products	Sharp Willcom D4 BenQ	Next Eee PC MSI Wind ECS G10IL
* Supports Hyper-Threading

Intel Atom or Via C7-M ULV

According to Extreme Tech, "a 2-GHz Atom will be roughly equivalent to the original 1-GHz Dothan (Pentium M) CPU".
Laptoping also reported that "Atom at 1.6GHz is a little bit faster than the old Intel Pentium III-M “Tualatin” at 1.13GHz, but slower than the laptop-use Intel Celeron M “Dothan-512″ at 900MHz, utilized in the Asus Eee PC".
Also, Uberpulse mentioned from a video interview that Silverthorne/Atom is half the performance of the Celeron.
Benchmarks from Notebookreview indicate in terms of CPU performance, Celeron M ULV at 900MHz > Via C7-M ULV at 1.2GHz > Celeron M ULV at 630MHz.
Is Via C7-M ULV at 1.2GHz faster than Intel Atom at 1.6GHz?

Intel Pentium Dual-Core vs Celeron Processor

If you look at Intel website comparing the leading processors, Pentium Dual-Core and Celeron found on budget laptops are sadly missing. Laptops with either Pentium Dual-Core or Celeron are suitable as desktop replacement running Windows Vista. You don't need the Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology which the other processors offer since the laptops will be used as desktops. So, what are the differences between the budget processors?
Pentium Dual-Core has two processors which in actual fact may not be utilized by most software applications. They may have different clock speed, L2 cache and Front Side Bus speed but both support Intel 64 and Execute Disable Bit. You can choose one with at least 1GHz and mobile Intel 945PM/945GM/945GMS and 943/940GML Express Chipset using 512MB of system memory or greater to support Vista.

Intel Processors in UMPCs

Previously, I have compared Via C7-M ULV with Intel Atom processor on March 14, 2008. Now, let's compare all the Intel processors used in UMPCs.

Product	Eee PC 4G preloaded with Xandros Linux	Kohjinsha SH811WS preloaded with Windows Vista Home Premium	Sharp Willcom D4 preloaded with Windows Vista Home Premium SP1
Model	353	A110	Z520
Processor	Celeron M ULV	Pentium M ULV	Atom
Graphics Chipset	915GMS	945GU	Intel Poulsbo
L2 Cache	512KB	512KB	512KB
Clock Speed	900MHz	800MHz	1.333GHz
Front Side Bus (FSB)	400MHz	400MHz	533MHz
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	5W	3W	2W
Architecture	90nm	90nm	45nm
Core Speed	630MHz	?	?
Windows Experience Index with Vista	1.0	2.1	?

Via C7-M ULV vs Intel Atom Processor

Processor	Via C7-M ULV	Intel Atom
Model	772	230
L2 Cache	128KB	512KB
Clock Speed	1.2GHz	1.6GHz
Front Side Bus (FSB)	400MHz	533MHz
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	5W	4W
Architecture	90nm	45nm

Via C7-M ULV 1.2GHz is used in Everex CloudBook, Pioneer DreamBook Ultra Mobile PC 650, Pioneer DreamBook Light CE26 & Maxdata Belinea s.book 1 etc. Intel Atom will be used by MSI Wind etc.

Checking CPU Information Without Installing Windows

If your BIOS does not provide all the information, you can use the System Information tools in UBCD 4.1.1 that consist of

1. AIDA 16 v2.14 (CPU clock speed & Processor type) Note : L2 cache is incorrect.
2. NSSI 0.59.14 (CPU L2 cache & Processor type)
3. PC-Config 9.33 (CPU clock speed & L2 cache) Note : Processor type is incorrect.
4. ASTRA 5.31 Demo Version (CPU clock speed, L2 cache & processor type)

ASTRA provides the most information without installing Windows. The above tools work with Asus Eee PC but not Acer Extensa 4620Z.

CPU-Z on Eee PC

I ran cpu-z on my Eee PC. The results are as shown.