UT2003, Quake III, performance thoughts
More impressive numbers in our system-bound UT2003 test. This is only the third time that a default CPU has hit an average of 200FPS+. Both new AMD CPUs make a regular Northwood or Prescott look slow.
It's nice to know that the slowest CPU in this illustrious group manages a lofty 432.5FPS.
Performance thoughts
Enthusiasts and commentators have been awaiting AMD's S939 processors for a while now. We were disappointed when they didn't emerge, as expected, at the end of March. The biggest performance and compatibility bonus, of course, is in using regular garden variety RAM. Benchmark numbers have shown both S939 CPUs to be excellent performers. Was the wait for the new platform worth it?. On the balance of our benchmarks the answer is an unequivocal and resounding yes. It seems as if some behind-the-scenes work has paid performance dividends.
The two evaluation processors are differentiated by the amount of L2 cache each carries. Lack of cache, well, 512kb vs. 1024kb, doesn't hamper Model 3800+'s performance greatly. Couple this with a lower street price and it's our pick of the two. When you buy into the Athlon 64 world, you buy into excellent default performance that's tempered by low overclocking headroom. That's the case here, too, with both processors topping out at less than 10% above default speeds. Still, it's very hard not to be impressed by the sheer raw power of S939.
