Performance

Even though the AMD Athlon XP 1900+ is a nominal core speed jump over the previous 1800+ model, there are a few great reasons for taking a close look at the performance numbers. The first is that we've transitioned to a brand new KT266A test rig for the Athlon XP, which provides for the highest level of performance currently on the market. For this task, we have selected the EPoX EP-8KHA+, which fits the bill as a straight up performance motherboard with excellent stability and features. This should let us demonstrate exactly how the Athlon XP 1900+ compares to the Pentium 4, using a high-performance KT266A base for the AMD results.

We're also speed freaks here at SE, and even a slight core speed jump makes for some interesting benchmarking, especially since the previous Athlon XP 1800+ was pretty impressive against the Pentium 4-2.0 GHz. For that reason, we have selected the Athlon XP 1900+ and 1800+ as our main benchmark contenders, as well as the Pentium 4-2.0 GHz as our Intel competition. To round off the entrants, we're also including an Athlon 1.4 GHz to demonstrate exactly what kind of speed boost the Athlon XP has over AMD's previous bad boy. Not only that, but complimenting both the AMD and Pentium 4 platforms is the GeForce3 Ti 500 powerhouse, which should ensure that video limitations will not be part of the equation.

System Specifications

General Settings
Desktop Resolution: 1024x768
Color Depth: 16-bit
V-Sync: Disabled

Athlon XP 1900+ / PC2100 / EPoX EP-8KHA+
Processor: 1.60GHz AMD Athlon XP 1900+
Memory: 256 MB Micron PC2100 DIMM
Motherboard: EPoX EP-8KHA+
Motherboard chip set: VIA KT266A
VIA Drivers: 4.35
NVIDIA reference drivers: 21.83
Video Card: VisionTek GeForce3 Ti 500
Hard-Drive: IBM 30GB Deskstar 7200RPM DMA/100
IDE Interface: Ultra ATA/100
Sound: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live
CD/DVD: Panasonic DVD-ROM
Power Supply: Antec 300 Watt
Operating System: Windows 98SE / Windows 2000 Professional

Pentium 4-2.0 GHz / PC800 / Intel D850MD
Processor: 2.0 GHz Intel Pentium 4
Memory: 256 MB Kingston PC800 RDRAM
Motherboard: Intel D850MD
Motherboard chip set: Intel 850
INTEL specific drivers:
IDE Interface: 6.01.008
AGP Miniport: 2.50.1.0
NVIDIA reference drivers: 21.83
Video Card: NVIDIA reference VisionTek GeForce3 Ti 500
Hard-Drive: IBM 30GB Deskstar 7200RPM DMA/100
IDE Interface: Ultra ATA/100
Sound: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live
CD/DVD: Panasonic DVD-ROM
Power Supply: Antec 300 Watt
Operating System: Windows 98SE / Windows 2000 Professional SP2

Athlon XP 1800+ / PC2100 / EPoX EP-8KHA+
Processor: 1.53GHz AMD Athlon XP 1800+
Memory: 256 MB Micron PC2100 DIMM
Motherboard: EPoX EP-8KHA+
Motherboard chip set: VIA KT266A
VIA Drivers: 4.35
NVIDIA reference drivers: 21.83
Video Card: VisionTek GeForce3 Ti 500
Hard-Drive: IBM 30GB Deskstar 7200RPM DMA/100
IDE Interface: Ultra ATA/100
Sound: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live
CD/DVD: Panasonic DVD-ROM
Power Supply: Antec 300 Watt
Operating System: Windows 98SE / Windows 2000 Professional

Athlon 1.4 / PC2100 / EPoX EP-8KHA+
Processor: 1.4GHz AMD Athlon
Memory: 256 MB Micron PC2100 DIMM
Motherboard: EPoX EP-8KHA+
Motherboard chip set: VIA KT266A
VIA Drivers: 4.35
NVIDIA reference drivers: 21.83
Video Card: VisionTek GeForce3 Ti 500
Hard-Drive: IBM 30GB Deskstar 7200RPM DMA/100
IDE Interface: Ultra ATA/100
Sound: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live
CD/DVD: Panasonic DVD-ROM
Power Supply: Antec 300 Watt
Operating System: Windows 98SE / Windows 2000 Professional

Quake III Arena Test Specifics
Version: 1.1 (retail)
V-Sync: Disabled

3DMark 2001 Pro Test Specifics:

• Version 1.1

BAPCO SysMark 2001 Test Specifics:

• Patch3