Processr lifespan...

[b_usa]

"At the P4's launch, Intel put the lifespan of Netburst at up to seven years ..."
Got this quote from a story in The Rgeister". Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but do processors burn out eventually? Is that what this quote means?

[sarah31]

Yes, like anything else electrical that produces an abundance of heatr processors can indeed burn out. Proper care of your computer (ie. making sure that airflow is good and there is a minimum of dust, and so forth) can extend a processors life well beyond the lifespan average.

[nouse66]

i say overclock the hell out of it! :) who really want the same processor for 7+ years? thats no fun at all. i think 6 or 7 years ago i had a pentium 75 and now i feel out of date because i only have a duron 700...

[Icarus]

Originally posted by nouse66
i say overclock the hell out of it! :) who really want the same processor for 7+ years? thats no fun at all. i think 6 or 7 years ago i had a pentium 75 and now i feel out of date because i only have a duron 700...
Ya! Take that 75 and over clock it to 400!! (Get you fire extinguisher ready) :D

I've never seen a processor burn out due to age, overclocking is a different story though ;)

[Lorithar]

Actually they are referring to the lifespan of the technology ... that is .. .they expect to be making processors with that technology in them for x period of time... not how long a processor will last ...

I've a commodore pet that still fires up ... and its NOT like I've been nice to it.

[Qwijibrumm]

Semiconductors, especially the high speed switching ones do eventually wear out over time, electricaly. If I am not mistaken, the doping (an excess or shortage of electrons) of the silicon actually fades under higher frequencies. The result is no longer a semiconductor but an insulator. The higher clock frequencies along with the smaller transistors speed breakdown. This is one reason that while your old Atari ST may still boot up, your celeron just doesn't work anymore.

The bottom line... They just don't make 'em like they used to!

[nouse66]

wow! i thought i was the only one that had an atari st in their closet! :)

[Lorithar]

While it's true that Integrated circuits can both decay and degenerate, ... this is a far longer process than the decay of a technology concept nowadays ... take a look at the VLBus .. .or even EISA .. VLBus was out for about 7 years ... it was usable and current for all of 2 or 3 ... before it was superceded by PCI...

My point was that the article being discussed had little to do with how long an individual processor was likely to last ... but rather than Intel intends to keep using the NetBurst technology in Pentium/Itanium for at least another 7 years ... no matter what else happens to the processor...

[b_usa]

Interesting... It's not a topic I hear much about, processors wearing out... But everything does eventually, I just want to get my $1500 out of my P4 system!;)

[Stween]

Originally posted by nouse66
wow! i thought i was the only one that had an atari st in their closet! :)

Your's is in the closet?? :eek: :o :eek:

Mine's still set up in my brothers room. I still play games on it from time to time. Had the PSU burn out on it about a year ago (hey, it had been running for 9 years solid), had to get a refurbished one in to replace it.

Runs perfectly. Wish I could say the same about my Athlon ;)