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Benchmarks - MadOnion's Gaunlet |
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Video 2000 MPEG2
Encoding and 3D Mark 2001 |
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MadOnion
certainly has a great set of tools when it comes to system
and 3D graphics benchmarking. Here we'll stress the
AV40 a little more with MPEG2 encoding and the ever popular
3D Mark 2001 benchmark.
The AV40 Pentium 4 / DDR
combination shows real muscle in this test. The race is so
close that it is almost within the margin for variances
between tests.
With respect to 3D Mark 2001,
the differential is totally insignificant. Here the
P4X266 chipset along with DDR SDRAM, shows that it is
definitely a viable and competitive alternative to i850
board with RDRAM. One would argue that, for the cost
differential between the two platforms, the P4X266 and the
AV40 is a better value for gamers.
Finally, the "Gamer's Benchmark"
that is world renowned.
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Head-to-Head / Performance
Quake 3 Time Demo |
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Where the Pentium
4 shines |
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In this test, we have the
resolution and color depth, as well as texture quality,
turned way down so the processors and memory subsystems can
"drag race" to the finish, without limitation on the GPU.
The AV40 shows approximately a 4% delta between it and the
RDRAM based system. You simply can't argue with these
numbers. The P4X266, DDR and the Shuttle AV40, are
solid competition for the i850 crowd.
In the final analysis, it is
clear to see that VIA has a winner on their hands with
respect to the P4X266 chipset and its DDR support for the
Pentium 4. The Shuttle AV40, in most tests, falls
within 5 - 10% of the mature i850/RDRAM platform, in terms
of raw performance. Furthermore, we should remember,
the P4X266 is a new chipset from VIA. Optimizations in
drivers could very well bring this architecture right up to
par with its RAMBUS based brethren.
The AV40 P4X266 based
motherboard is an excellent representation of the kind of
features and benefits that can be packed into this new DDR
driven Pentium 4 platform. The board has an excellent
high quality design and is extremely stable. With the
"R" version of this board and its on board Promise ATA100
RAID controller, you'll have just about every bell and
whistle available for the P4. Among P4X266 boards
(frankly there aren't many released as of yet), we expect
the AV40 to hold strong in the top of its class.
The AV40 is great new PC gear
from Shuttle and we're giving it a HotHardware Heat Meter
rating of...
You have something meaningful to say or do you just want to
flap your gums? Get some in the Hot Hardware PC
Hardware Forum now!
Get your DDR at...
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