PCMark 2004 Pro is a much-needed upgrade to the standard 2002 version, and along with adapting to the ever-changing hardware world, FutureMark has also added some new tests. The PCMark 2004 design still cuts a line between purely synthetic and application-based benchmarks, and provides a more general view of computer performance. PCMark 2004 performs general use tasks such as image compression, grammar check, and audio conversion, while combining this with a selection of similar benchmarks for individual system components. As we're dealing with processor and subsystem performance, the main tests we'll be looking at are the System, CPU and Memory results.
The PCMark 2004 System scores show the Celeron D 335 and Sempron 3100+ running close together at standard speeds, but once we move to the overclock results, the Celeron pushes ahead. Both processors do quite well in relative terms when overclocked, with the Celeron D 335 falling just short of the Pentium 4-3.0E, and the Sempron 3100+ coming close to the Athlon 64 3400+.
The PCMark 2004 Memory benchmark is a bit different story, and due to the different architectures, the Intel and AMD results really need to be taken separately. On the Intel side, the Celeron D 335's high 169 MHz bus speed still fell short of the 200 MHz speed of the Pentium 4 processors (with the PAT-equivalent enabled), and so did the memory performance. The Sempron 3100+ faired a bit better, and due to its higher CPU bus and slightly higher DDR speeds, actually surpassed the score of the Athlon 64 3400+.
The PCMark 2004 Pro CPU performance scores show the Celeron D 335 holding a noticeable advantage over the Sempron 3100+ at base clock speeds, and maintaining this advantage when overclocked. At 3.55 GHz, the Celeron D 335 also takes it to the Pentium 4 competition, and posts the highest overall score. The overclocked Sempron 3100+ also puts in a good showing, but falls short of the AMD and Intel higher-end processors.
CINEBENCH 2003 is a system benchmark that uses CINEMA 4D for both CPU and video-based testing. This benchmark processes a large, detailed image file on-screen, times the overall performance, and displays the results. As this is a processor review, we're concentrating on the CPU score, which incidentally, supports both multi-processing and Hyper-Threading.
CINEBENCH 2003 gives approximately a 1.2X performance edge to Hyper-Threading-enabled CPUs, and it's only natural we see the value processors fall back a bit from the Pentium 4 models. The Celeron D 335 at 3.55 GHz still can't match the Pentium 4-2.8E, due to the Celeron's lack of HT technology. The Sempron 3100+ posts a very impressive overclocked score, surpassing the Pentium 4-2.8E, and falling just shy of the Pentium 4-3.0E and Athlon 64 3400+.
