Intel Pentium III 933MHz 1-core Socket 370
The 933 MHz Pentium III with 256 KB L2 cache and 133 MHz front-side bus is a single-core Socket 370 chip that delivers a PassMark score of 142, making it a basic option for legacy tasks. Its FC-PGA design and low power draw suit older motherboards, though its 0.9 GHz base clock limits modern workloads. This CPU is best for retro PC builders or collectors restoring early-2000s systems for basic word processing or light web browsing.
Snapshot
The 30-Second Version
A 933MHz relic that belongs in a retro PC, not on your desk. Buy it for nostalgia, not for work.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Dirt cheap if you can find one working 92nd
- Perfect for authentic retro builds
- Socket 370 boards are still floating around
- Low power draw by old standards
Cons
- Performance is bottom of the barrel today
- Single core only, no hyperthreading
- 256KB cache chokes on anything modern
- Customer rating is 2 out of 5 for a reason
The proof
Performance
The numbers are rough. A single core at 0.9GHz with 256KB of L2 cache puts this in the bottom 10 percent for single and multi thread performance. PassMark gives it 142 multi, which is about what a modern budget phone's background process scores. The 133MHz front side bus was fine for 2001, but today it's a bottleneck on top of a bottleneck. Nothing surprised us here except maybe how far we've come.
Specifications
Full Specifications
Processor
| Brand | Intel |
| Series | Pentium III |
| Model | 933MHz |
| Class | desktop |
Cores & Clocks
| Cores | 1 |
| Threads | 1 |
| Base Clock | 933 |
Cache
| L2 Cache | 0.25 |
Performance
| PassMark Multi | 142 |
Platform & Power
| Socket | Socket 370 |
| Unlocked | No |
vs Competition
Stacked against something like the AMD Ryzen 5 7600, this Pentium III isn't even in the same conversation. The Ryzen 5 has six cores, twelve threads, and modern IPC. Even a used Dell Xeon E5-2637 V2 from a decade ago will run circles around the P3 in every workload. The only reason to pick the Pentium III is if your motherboard literally cannot accept anything else.
| Spec | Intel Pentium III 933MHz | AMD Ryzen 5 7600 | Dell Xeon E5-2637 V2 | be quiet! Ryzen 3 Dark Rock Pro 5 | Thermal Grizzly Ryzen 7 CSF-AM5 | Expert X6AIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cores | 1 | 6 | 32 | 4 | - | - |
| Threads | 1 | 12 | 64 | 4 | - | - |
| Boost Clock Mhz | - | 5100 | 3500 | 3400 | - | - |
| L3 Cache Mb | - | 32 | 256 | 8 | - | - |
| Tdp W | - | 65 | 200 | 270 | - | - |
| Socket | Socket 370 | AM5 | Socket A/Socket 462 (PGA 462) | AM4 | AM5 | BGA |
| Integrated Graphics | - | AMD Radeon Graphics | No | - | - | - |
| Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare |
| Product | AI | Feature | Platform | Efficiency | Multi Thread | Social Proof | Affordability | Single Thread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Pentium III 933MHz | 7.8 | 20.6 | 17.4 | 7.9 | 8.5 | 1.1 | 92.1 | 9.3 |
| AMD Ryzen 5 7600 Compare | 81.9 | 96.5 | 92.4 | 94 | 82.4 | 96.4 | 66.7 | 90.4 |
| Dell Xeon E5-2637 V2 Compare | 97.8 | 90.9 | 76.9 | 31.5 | 47.4 | 0 | 88 | 51.6 |
| be quiet! Ryzen 3 Dark Rock Pro 5 Compare | 44.9 | 62.7 | 61.2 | 26.6 | 46.3 | 90.3 | 76.1 | 50.9 |
| Thermal Grizzly Ryzen 7 CSF-AM5 Compare | 3.2 | 20.6 | 17.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 96.4 | 97.8 | 2.9 |
| Expert X6AIR Compare | 3.2 | 20.6 | 17.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 70.9 | 72.2 | 9.6 |
Price
Value & Pricing
At around 40 USD for a working unit, you're not spending much, but you're also not getting much. For retro gaming or period-correct builds, fine. For anything else, that 40 bucks is better spent on lunch or saved toward a used Ryzen 3.
Amazon 1 offer From $40
We started tracking prices for this product on Nov 5, 2026. The chart appears once we have more data.
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Overview
This is a museum piece, not a CPU you should actually buy for anything resembling modern work. The Pentium III 933MHz was a solid chip back when Napster was a thing, but in our database it lands at a 4 out of 100 overall. The one thing to know: it's cheap, it's old, and it's only useful if you're building a retro Windows 98 or early XP machine for nostalgia.
Common Questions
Q: Can this run Windows 10 or 11?
Technically Windows 10 might boot if you squint hard enough, but it'll be miserable. Windows 11 won't even install. Stick to Windows 98, 2000, or a lightweight Linux distro if you must.
Q: Is this good for a home server or NAS?
No. Server performance is the weakest area here at 3.2 out of 100. A Raspberry Pi will embarrass this chip for that use case.
Q: What kind of motherboard do I need?
You need a Socket 370 board that supports the 133MHz front side bus and FC-PGA packaging. Check your board's manual before buying, not all Socket 370 boards handle the 933MHz part.
Who Should Skip This
If you're looking for a cheap upgrade to make an old PC usable for web browsing or office work, this isn't it. Go grab a used Core 2 Duo or first-gen Ryzen instead. You'll spend a little more and get a hundred times the performance.
Verdict
Don't buy this for daily use. Period. If you're restoring an old Socket 370 system and need the exact era-correct chip, go for it. Everyone else should close the tab and look at literally any CPU from the last ten years.
Usage Scores
- Overall4
- AI/LLM3.2
- Budget31
- Gaming3.2
- Server3.1
- Efficiency4
- Productivity4
