Well, they were running Linux Mint 17.2. Around 40-50% CPU usage at idle. Scrolling (using the open-source drivers) was far less smooth and less "snappy" than Win10 or Win7.
"mate-panel" uses 25% CPU all the time.
Lxde is a good fit
I'm not sure what the point is in this thread. Basically if the OP had done his homework to begin with; the fact alone that it's a 1GHz CPU should have provided a sufficient clue that performance wasn't going to be this processor's strong point. After that, a quick google shows that processor is a netbook grade processor, again they're not generally known for their decent performance.
Well, the original point, was my incredulity that Win10's background thread processing was enough to overwhelm any CPU, resulting in 100% CPU usage at idle. Only, it turns out that it wasn't idle, it was doing whatever Win10 does when you first install it, which is run tons of stuff. After an hour or two it finally quieted down to around 10% CPU usage at idle, which was much better. (But made the original point of the thread invalid.)
But the point is, that would be application performance of a P4 on Windows 7. Windows 7 itself has negligible overhead, even on a P4. (As long as you shut off Automatic Updates.)It's nothing to do with Win10, it has everything to do with the poor choice of processor. Similarly I would be laughed off the thread if I started complaining that Win7 doesn't perform as well as I'd like on a Pentium 4 from say 10-12 years ago, even though that probably outperforms the AMD C-70 (or at least bats in the same ball park). IIRC, even the E-350 has trouble competing with ~ten year old CPUs.
Well, I try shutting off as much stuff as I can. I'm glad though that my initial assessment was wrong, and that Win10 isn't going to run at 99-100% CPU usage permanently on that rig. That was my initial impression, and what I was afraid of.I'm glad to hear that the system in question has settled down, for now (10pc CPU usage on idle is still horrendous though). It'll probably start wheezing again when Patch Tuesday rolls around.
TBH, I'm afraid to buy a high-end laptop, as I figure it will end up (physically) trash, within a year or two. (Not performance trash.)
I spent list price ($350), on a nice Acer 1007U laptop, upgradable, dual-band Wifi, Windows 7, the works. It fell apart, and the charger has issues, after little more than a year.
I buy extreme low-end, because I figure regardless of how high I buy on the performance scale, they just won't physically last, so I might as well buy a new one every two years or so, that's minimally-acceptable for my usages.
Say hello to my 2009 MacBook pro. Still with original battery, lasts 4-5 hours. Still with original everything, aside form a samsung ssd (120gb?). Run quickly, great, and going on 7 years now. You really do get what you pay for. You could buy one of the higher end dell metal laptops, and probably be good for just as long, for a touch less than the macbook pro's also. Also buy used. Also don't buy low end stuff, it falls apart.
Windows 10 is a PIG.
Well, I try shutting off as much stuff as I can. I'm glad though that my initial assessment was wrong, and that Win10 isn't going to run at 99-100% CPU usage permanently on that rig. That was my initial impression, and what I was afraid of.
Even trying to web browse while at 100% CPU, was a better experience than Linux Mint, mostly because I hadn't installed the proprietary AMD drivers in Linux, and even though the background processing was only taking 30-50% of the CPU, scrolling was a lot slower, because that was using the CPU, so it was giving an inferior experience.