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Please take note of our
systems specs for both the Intel and AMD test platforms.
Comparable system components were used in each system and a
clean install of Windows XP was setup before each run of
benchmarks.
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HotHardware's Test Systems |
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Fast and furious |
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Intel
Platform:
Pentium 4
Northwood Processors at 2.4GHz, 2.53GHz and 2.8GHz
Motherboard and RAM Config
Iwill P4R533-N Motherboard
512MB of Samsung PC800 RDRAM
512MB of Samsung PC1066 RDRAM
Other Hardware and Software:
NVIDIA GeForce 4 Ti 4600
On-Board Sound
IBM DTLA307030 30GB ATA/100 7200 RPM
Windows XP Professional
Direct X 8.1
NVIDIA Detonator 4, version 28.32
Intel Chipset Driver v4.00
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AMD
Platform:
Athlon
XP 2100+, Athlon XP 2600+
Motherboard and RAM Config
EPoX 8K3A+ VIA KT333 Motherboard (2600+)
Gigabyte GA-7VRX KT333 Motherboard (2200+)
512MB of PC3200 DDR RAM @ CAS 2
Other Hardware and Software:
NVIDIA GeForce 4 Ti 4600
On-Board Sound
IBM DTLA307030 30GB ATA/100 7200 RPM
Windows XP Professional
Direct X 8.1
NVIDIA Detonator 4, version 28.32
VIA 4-in-1 Chipset Driver v.4.42
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Pentium 4 Northwood - 2.8GHz |
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We're in 3GHz
territory |
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CPUID and
Hardware Temp Monitor - Click images for full viewing
CPUID shows the
2.8GHz Pentiurm 4's 133MHz System Bus with a 21X multiplier.
Additionally, we ran hardware monitor on an Asus motherboard
we have in the lab and recorded an amazingly chilly 34C core
temp. We were skeptical of this figure, so we decided
to load the system down with a
Prime 95 burn in run. After about 5 minutes the
core did reach nearly 47C, so it seems the readings we were
getting are at least somewhat accurate. This new
stepping seems to run cooler than any Northwood we've seen
to date. However, again Intel reported to us that
there shouldn't be much of a difference in operating temp
with the 2.8GHz chip.
So, let's see
what happens where the rubber meets the road, in our
overclocking tests.
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Overclocking
The
Northwood |
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We hit 3GHz but
not fully stable |
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Although Intel
of course doesn't recommend overclocking as a general rule,
the fine art is so commonplace today in the enthusiast
market, that it almost seems like "everyone" is doing it.
Here's what our the 2.8GHz Pentium 4 we had in the lab could
achieve, with a little coaxing.
CPUID @
3.15GHz and Sandra's Processor Tests @ 3.15GHz. - Click
images for full view
3.150GHz
3.150GHz -
Sandra Tests
CPU Test |
Multimedia |
Memory |
With the Front
Side Bus set to 150MHz, the 2.8GHz Pentium 4 clocked in
nicely at 3150MHz or 3.15GHz. The memory bus was
heavily overlocked at an RDRAM 1.2GHz clock (600MHz X 2).
As you can see, the chip at this speed smokes every other
reference system in the Sandra suite. However, it was
interesting to note that the
2.4GHz overclocked Athlon from our 2600+ review
edges out the Pentium 4 in these synthetic Sandra tests.
As you are aware however, Sandra scores are hardly
indicative of real world performance but instead just
another metric for reference only.
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SiSoft Sandra Benchmarks |
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Stock speed light
duty benchmarking |
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Here are the
rest of the Sandra scores for the 2.8GHz Pentium 4. These
were taken at the stock 2.8GHz clock speed with PC1066 RDRAM.
Once again, the
new Pentium beats out any reference system on the charts
here but fails to out perform
our AMD Athlon 2600+, at stock speed in the Sandra
tests, from last week. Is this a sign of things to
come? Will the Athlon XP 2600+ beat out a 2.8GHz
Pentium 4? Click next and your questions will be
answered.
Business and Content Creation Winstone
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