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So, we have new found performance in two areas on the Socket A platform. It was inevitable that we'd go quicker at roughly the same CPU clock as XP2600 here just by virtue of the new front side bus clock and all that brings to the party. nForce2 in the supporting role with a quite superb memory controller feeding the CPU at low latency with a synchronous bus.
You can 'feel' the work that Twinbank and the DASP unit are doing on nForce2 to help the new CPU do its stuff. The CPU just screams along when you give it work it relishes. Is it faster than P4 2.8? Overall if you use the nForce2, it's only a shade slower. With the P4 constantly on top in the gaming benchmarks, its storming performance in the other tests can't quite claw it back up. XP2800+ would be a fairer fight with very very little to choose between them.
Just like XP2600+, the performance is mighty and all for a fair bit less of your hard earned than a 2.8.
Overclocking wise, the CPU did 2333MHz at stock voltage @ 179fsb. No voltage adjustment on the test A7N8X board (please put it in Asus, if you do, you have a customer). While that might just be a nice press sample processor, I rather think shipping processors will do the same.
XP2600+ clocked much the same so it all holds out that these new CPU's will hit much the same heights, especially since they share a core revision.
What really makes the CPU shine however is the chipset. nForce2 is a revelation for this reviewer and it's the only chipset that will tempt me back to Socket A. TwinBank, the DASP unit and the outstanding MCP bridge are big highlights and they pair well with the CPU's.
Performance is excellent, just shy of a CPU costing much much more. But that leads on to a slightly less glowing overall conclusion in one area.
Read on!
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