First Tests: 3.2-GHz Pentium 4
Source: PC World
The CPU that may end Intel's Pentium 4 line is now available. In exclusive PC World tests, the 3.2-GHz processor modestly outruns systems based on Intel's previous top chip and splits the contest with systems based on AMD's Athlon XP 3200+.
Leading PC vendors are expected to implement the 3.2-GHz CPU. The test system, a Xi Mtower 4320, is available now. The highly tuned PC, which has 1024MB of DDR400 memory and a Radeon 9800 Pro graphics card, scored 132 on PC WorldBench 4. That's a largely imperceptible 4 percent faster than the average score of 126 achieved by three previously tested and comparably configured 3-GHz P4 systems. All test systems include Intel's recently introduced 800-MHz frontside bus.
Two previously tested and comparably configured systems using AMD's new Athlon XP 3200+ processor (which runs at 2.2 GHz using a 400-MHz frontside bus) netted an average score of 137. That's an equally imperceptible 4 percent faster than the new Intel-based system.
In additional CPU- and graphics-intensive tests, the 3.2-GHz P4 system delivered 128 frames per second on Return to Castle Wolfenstein game tests run at 1024 by 768 and 32-bit color. That's a modest improvement from the three 3-GHz P4 systems' average of 120 fps, and notably higher than the rates of the two Athlon XP 3200+ systems, which netted an averaged of 102 fps. In similar tests using Unreal Tournament 2003, the 3.2-GHz P4 achieved 245 fps, the 3-GHz systems averaged 237 fps, and the AMD-based PCs netted an average of 246 fps.
To the average consumer, the most noticeable difference among the systems will likely be in cost, as illustrated by Xi's pricing. The company's 3.2-GHz P4 unit sells for $3778, its 3-GHz P4 PC sells for $3528, and a comparably configured Xi system with AMD's 3200+ chip sells for $3319.
