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3D Mark 2001SE, 1024x768 - Default
3D Mark is one of those benchmark apps that will eat up as much processing power as it can. Benchmarks were run at default 1024x768, as I felt 640x480 is getting to be fairly pointless. The 166FSB gives an extra 200 3D Marks or so, showing that clock speeds being equal, the faster FSB will net better performance.
Unreal Tournament 2003
I've been playing around with the retail version of UT2K3 for quite sometime now, and have been pretty impressed with the graphics. It's a real system killer, and can bring many pre-2002 killer rigs to its knees. We used the scripts written by , which are excellent tools in testing various resolutions and detail levels. We selected the CPU test, which uses the dm-inferno map.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record... higher FSB owns.
Quake 3 Arena, 640x480 - Fastest
It's getting old, I know, but Quake 3 is still a decent benchmark for almost anything. For motherboards and CPUs, we run at the lowest settings and fire away. We're treading into Intel territory, and Intel holds the fort against AMD here.
Jedi Knight 2, 640x480 - Fastest
Jedi Knight is still a Quake 3 engine game, so naturally, the P4 wins again. The difference is smaller this time around, but nevertheless, the winner is Intel.
Final Words
Though it didn't go all that well for Intel, save for Q3 and JK2, in defence of the P4, the 2.4B is an extremely overclockable CPU, and with the right mobo and cooler, it should be enough to get it at . This isn't an AMD vs Intel article though, so here's our analysis of the TBred 2400+...
At a stock clock of 2GHz, 486-487MHz boost in speed is pretty much a lock if you got a solid air cooler behind it. Peltiers and watercooling will probably allow you to push it higher. Unlocking a TBred the traditional way for overclocking is still a bit of a chore, though much less tedious than unlocking a Palomino. You only have one bridge to connect now, whereas the Palomino required five. There are some motherboards out there that can unlock a TBred (the Epox nForce2 is one that I know of) without any modifications to the CPU.
The TBred "B" also runs much cooler than previous Athlons. At 2.486GHz, our load temperatures were about 49C. The Athlon 1700+, using the same cooling was at 44C, but for an extra 530MHz stock, the TBred was a mere 5C hotter. In fact, OCing the 1700+ (1.47GHz) to 1.66GHz resulted in a 48C load temperature. I think you're getting the picture.
Performance is simply impressive. At stock speeds, the 2400+ did pretty good, and overclocked netted excellent performance. This speed also comes with stability, so long as you got a cooler up to snuff. If performance of a stock 133 bus concerns you in regards to bottlenecking your DDR333 ram, the 2400+ easily does 12x166 anyways, and as our benchmarks have shown, the extra bandwidth made a difference.
If there's one complaint, it's the core is just as fragile as the Palomino, as was the Thunderbird before it. Although we feel pretty confident testing a dozen heatsinks a month, there are a lot of people who sweat over changing their HSF even once. Unfortunently, their stress will continue, as a gaff in installation of a heatsink can still result in a busted CPU. Don't misunderstand though, it's not like a sneeze will crack the core, but do take some care. For the uber-paranoid, consider that if you purchase an Athlon from , and you break it, they will replace your CPU no matter what condition you return it in. Just don't lose that receipt.
When it comes to pricing, it's pretty hard to beat the 2400+. With overclocking performance surpassing a stock 2800+, and at a much lower cost, budget shoppers should definitely give the 2400+ a very close look.
Pros: Very speedy, very overclockable, and a price that won't break the bank.
Cons: Still prone to core cracking if you're careless.
Bottom Line: Although we didn't break a 500MHz+ overclock, it's hard to find a fault with a CPU with this much performance selling at half the price of an Athlon 2800+. If the P4s, and top end AMD TBreds are a little too rich for you, pick the 2400+ up with a nice nForce2, and you'll have money left over towards a GFFX or an ATi Radeon.
We'd like to thank for making this review possible.
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AMD Athlon XP 2400+: The 2800+ may be faster at stock speeds, but you'll be surprised what this "budget" CPU can do at a fraction of the price. Oh, it also overclocks like a champ.
