In order to give a game-related view of processing power, we have included MadOnion's 3D Mark CPU test, taken from the 3D Mark 2000 benchmark suite. While the scores attained relate to overall CPU speed, the tests used stress mainly the graphics pipelines and are still dependent on the video card used. Please note that since the newer 3D Mark 2001 suite omits the processor test, the previous 2000 version was used.

Before the release of the Pentium 4-1.7 GHz, AMD was the reigning champ of this test. We stress "was;" and even when compared to the Athlon 1.4 GHz, the Pentium 4 still holds court and achieves the highest scores. This reflects on the nominal core speed increase between the Athlon 1.33 and 1.4 GHz, which is simply not enough to turn the tide. It should also be noted that this test utilizes the SSE/3DNow! instruction set, which gives some credence to Intel's SSE and SSE2 performance claims.

3DMark2000 CPU Test 2001 1024 x 768 x 16

Quake 3: Arena is our primary gaming benchmark and its design really shows off some of the advantages of the Pentium 4. Quake 3 is both floating-point intensive and has support for Intel and AMD optimizations (MMX, 3DNopw! and SSE), making it a great fit for the Intel Pentium 4. It also happens to be a very popular game and Quake 3 performance is often used as the barometer for many gamers.

Both Quake 3 Win ME and Win 2K benchmarks are included, as well as Normal and MAX graphic settings. Normal is the basic Quake 3 option (set at 16-bit color/textures) while MAX uses the High Quality setting and ups the details even further.

Quake 3 is definitely Pentium 4 territory, and even the Pentium 4-1.5 GHz easily bests the Athlon 1.4 GHz in all operating systems and detail levels. Quake 3 performance on the Pentium 4-1.7 GHz is in a world of its own and, and the P4 is definitely the fastest Quake 3 processor that money can buy.

Quake III Arena Demo001 Normal 640 x 480

Quake III Arena Demo001 Max 800 x 600