Overclocking Performance

In order to give a better indication of the performance benefits of Pentium 4 Northwood overclocking, we've taken some of the most popular benchmarks and tested them at a few of the main core speeds we attained. We have combined the Pentium 4-1.6A and Pentium 4-1.8A benchmark scores into a single graph for each test, but keep in mind that each uses a totally different platform and 3D video card. As such, specific comparisons should only be made between scores attained using the same processor.

* Please note that while we have combined the benchmark scores to save space, the Pentium 4-1.6A and 1.8A use two totally different platforms (i845/Radeon 8500 vs. SiS 645DX/GF4 Ti 4600) and should not be directly compared.

Quake 3: Arena Performance

The Quake 3 performance scores show nice separation for both processors at 1024x768, especially in the initial jump above 2 GHz. Naturally, the faster the platform and video card, the higher the payoff will be for any overclocking effort. For this reason, the GeForce4 Ti 4600-powered Pentium 4-1.8A hits the highest scores, but the relative gain for the i845D/Radeon 8500 system is also quite good.

When we move to the 1280x1024 resolution, the Pentium 4-1.6A/i845D scores start grouping rather closely together, while the Pentium 4-1.8A still offers well over 20 fps on the initial 2.4 GHz overclock, but settles back down at 2.6 GHz.

3DMark 2001SE Pro 32-bit Performance

We see much the same scenario with 3DMark 2001SE, as the initial large jump in core speed really get the motor humming, but even a 200 MHz jump from 2.4 to 2.6 GHz really doesn't provide the oomph we might have expected. As we move higher on the Pentium 4 speed ramp, the issue of potential video card bottlenecks is certainly a logical culprit.