Slow down CPU to simulate slower computers in browser testing

Question

I\'m trying to see how our web pages behave on an average customer\'s computer. We have not yet pinned down this configuration, but it\'s likely to be slower than what our d

Answer 1

In multi core systems running vista or better you can set the cpu affinity forcing the browser to run only on a single core

For example

c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe /C start /affinity 1 notepad.exe

Individual cores on most machines these days aren't significantly faster than a couple of generations ago. That said you will find that due to architecture changes the cache is probably larger and the ram will be faster both of which make a significant difference.

Have you considered just buying an old pc from ebay or your local free adds. I suspect the cost in wages of having a member of staff do the necessary research, set up your limited ram vm and add core binding shortcuts for the major browsers etc would buy you a fair few old boxes, complete with older os (and if your really lucky all the last owners spyware and browser toolbars for an extra accurate simulation of your end users pcs)