|
 |
|
Benchmarks
and Comparisons Continued... |
|
DirectX
and The Winstones... |
|
Our next set of
tests will focus more on real-world tests, stressing the
systems capabilities to run business applications and
multimedia intensive programs. First up, Business
Winstone 2001.
Business Winstone 2001:
Below is
the description from the
etestinglabs website of how Business Winstone 2001 tests
a systems performance.
"Business
Winstone is a system-level, application-based benchmark that
measures a PC's overall performance when running today's
top-selling Windows-based 32-bit applications on Windows 98
SE, Windows NT 4.0 (SP6 or later), Windows 2000, Windows Me,
or Windows XP. Business Winstone doesn't mimic what these
packages do; it runs real applications through a series of
scripted activities and uses the time a PC takes to complete
those activities to produce its performance scores. The
CD-ROM that contains Business Winstone includes all the
files and application portions you need to run the
benchmark."
The Shuttle AK35GT2/R did a fine
job with Business Winstone 2001, handling the stress
quite well. We were pleased to see how the Shuttle
board was able to surge past the more expensive MSI system.
Let's here it for the KT266A system though, it held its own
pretty well against the two high profile motherboard.
Now let's take a look at Content
Creation Winstone 2002.
Content
Creation Winstone 2002:
Below is the description from the
etestinglabs website of how Content
Creation Winstone 2002 tests a systems performance.
"Content
Creation Winstone is a system-level, application-based
benchmark that measures a PC's overall performance when
running top, Windows-based, 32-bit, content creation
applications on Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, or
Windows XP. Content Creation Winstone 2002 uses the
following applications:
-
Adobe
Photoshop 6.0.1
-
Adobe
Premiere 6.0
-
Macromedia
Director 8.5
-
Macromedia
Dreamweaver UltraDev 4
-
Microsoft
Windows Media Encoder 7.01.00.3055
-
Netscape
Navigator 6/6.01
-
Sonic
Foundry Sound Forge 5.0c (build 184)
Following the
lead of real users, Content Creation Winstone 2002 keeps
multiple applications open at once and switches among those
applications. Content Creation Winstone 2002 is a single
large test that runs the above applications through a series
of scripted activities and returns a single score. Those
activities focus on what we call "hot spots," periods of
activity that make your PC really work--the times where
you're likely to see an hourglass or a progress bar."
With Content Creation 2002, it
was a very close race between the two KT333 based systems,
handing us a virtual dead heat. Once again, the KT266A
test system surprised us with a solid performance, coming
within less than a point of the Shuttle boards score.
Back when we
reviewed the original version of this board, the AK35GTR, we
were thoroughly impressed with its overall quality,
performance and overclocking ability. This time around
with the newer AK35GT2/R, we still have that same feeling.
Essentially the same system with a newer chipset, the
AK35GT2/R continued to show impressive scores throughout the
testing of the board, often equaling or exceeding the
performance of the more expensive MSI KT3 Ultra ARU.
If one thing is certain,
the KT333 is a step in the right direction, but there is no
reason to replace your KT266A based board just yet.
While the performance shows a marked improvement, I doubt
most people would feel the difference in everyday use.
However, for those of you looking to make a major upgrade
from something pre-KT266A, this motherboard would be a wise
choice. The AK35GT2/R is a prime motherboard for those
of you who more concerned with quality and performance
rather than having the prettiest motherboard on the block.
This is a motherboard that is all substance and nothing
else, focusing on stability and performance. We've
seen this board selling on the web for around $90, an
excellent price for what you get. It is
difficult to believe that anyone would be disappointed with
the AK35GT2/R.
After completing
the review of the AK35GT2/R, we see little reason why we
shouldn't give it the same score as the original AK35GTR.
Although we would've like to see the continued use of active
cooling on the chipset, the system is well designed,
offering the user exactly what they want, performance,
stability and excellent overclockability.
We give the
Shuttle AK35GT2/R motherboard a Hot Hardware Heat Meter Rating of a
9.
HotHardware's PC Hardware Forum is all the rage! Are
you in?
| 
