Performance Test Configuration

If you are interested in more information comparing the Athlon 64 chipsets, the Athlon 64, and the Athlon 64 FX, please see our in-depth comparisons in the recent launch reviews:

AMD Athlon 64 4000+ & FX-55: A Thorough Investigation
nForce4: PCI Express and SLI for Athlon 64
.09 Athlon 64: Value, Speed and Overclocking
AMD Sempron: A Fresh Take on Budget Computing
Socket 939 Chipsets: Motherboard Performance & PCI/AGP Locks
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ and FX-53: The First 939 CPUs

 Performance Test Configuration
Processor(s): AMD Athlon 64 FX55 (2.6GHz) Socket 939
RAM: 2 x 512MB OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2
Hard Drive(s): Seagate 120GB 7200 RPM IDE (8MB Buffer)
Chipset Drivers: nVidia nForce 6.11 Beta (nForce4)
nVidia nForce Platform Driver 4.24 (nForce3 Ultra)
Video Card(s): ATI X800 XT (PCI Express)
ATI X800 XT (AGP 8X)
nVidia 6800 Ultra (PCI Express)
nVidia 6800 Ultra (AGP 8X)
Video Drivers: ATI Catalyst 4.10 (All ATI Video tests)
nVidia nForce 61.81 Beta (nForce4)
nVidia nForce 61.77 (nForce3 Ultra)
Operation System(s): Windows XP Professional SP1
Motherboards: ATI Bullhead (RX480/RS480 PCIe)
nVidia nForce4 Ultra Reference Board
MSI K8N Neo2 (nVidia nForce3-250Gb)

Tests used OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev. 2, G. Skill TCCD, or Corsair 3200XL XMS3208v1.1 memory modules. All three memories use Samsung TCCD chips and perform virtually the same in our benchmarks at stock speed. Resolution in all benchmarks is 1024x768x32, unless noted otherwise.

ATI RX480: Measuring Performance ATI X800 XT: MSI K8N Neo2 vs. ATI Bullhead
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  • kogase - Monday, November 8, 2004 - link

    Eh... I don't think the boards are kicking Intel's ass. A64 is.
  • fuzzynavel - Monday, November 8, 2004 - link

    I didn't realise that the nforce4 and ATI mobos...kicked intels ass so badly!! Not bad for a first attempt....just avoid the integrated graphics and it all looks sweet
  • Denial - Monday, November 8, 2004 - link

    This is nice and all, but I'm not uprading until dual cores are out. The difference between my home PC (P4 2.8) and office workstation (dual 2.66 xeons) is night and day. It's at the point that my home PC drives me nuts when one process brings everything else to a halt (all the more frustrating when it's something like explorer running amok). I've absolutely had it with single CPU's, no more!
  • VaultDweller - Monday, November 8, 2004 - link

    The tables on pages 10 and 11 both list Halo as the first benchmark, but the review text on page 10 refers to a 14.4% gain in 'Quake 3.' According to the table, that 14.4% was for Halo.
  • MAME - Monday, November 8, 2004 - link

    sweet

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