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For a processor of its age (late 1995 to early 1996) there is nothing quite like it. Debuting 1 and a half year before the Pentium II and about a year before the MMX-branded Pentiums, the Pentium Pro was able to flex its muscles unhindered by anything else on the x86 market in its heyday. It was fast, hot and with a high price to match it, largely purposed for heavy-duty server and scientific workloads. Even as a game machine it managed to make anything you tossed at it go much faster than anything before it. Was it a cost-effective processor for games? Perhaps not, but if it was top-of-the-line speed you needed it was speed that you received. After having used it to run Windows 95 OSR 2.5 for a while now, the 200Mhz Pentium Pro with its integrated 256KB L2 cache makes the system fly even with some extra bells and whistles running on top of the operating system's layer. Navigation is a breeze, especially with ample amounts of random access memory and with a somewhat more up-to-date hard drive it becomes even more evident. Tomb Raider (1996) runs without any hiccups at standard resolution and in hi-res mode is almost good enough to enjoy properly, but keep in mind that no machine from the 1994 to 1996 range could feasibly run a game at hi-res and have its frame rate live to tell about it. A 3D accelerator card (like an ATI Rage or a 3DFX Voodoo) is a necessity to get the most out of any Pentium Pro system. Even Interstate '76 (1997) manages to perform at a respectable rate, but its usage of the highly demanding Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries (1996) technology with its high emphasis on large outdoor environments with full texture-mapping demonstrates just how badly a game like this needed a 3D card to fly with a good pixel count. All in all, if you want the greatest killer machine for playing Quake (1996) in the day when it was brand new, the Pentium Pro will get you pretty far, and with a good 3D card installed will satisfy most of your demanding game needs for the remainder of the 20th century (and potentially a wee bit bit past that with a bit of luck).Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Exactly as pictured, no missing pins
Verified purchase: Yes
Gold cap, pins and bond wires ;-)
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Was exactly as described
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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