3D Mark 2001SE

3DMark®2001 Second Edition, is the latest installment in the 3DMark® series. By combining DirectX®8.1 support with completely new graphics, 3DMark2001 SE continues to provide benchmark results that empower you to make informed hardware assessments.

We used a resolution of 640x480, and 16Bit colour. FSAA was off, and decided that these settings will allow the benchmark to tax the main subsystem as much as possible. The newer Ultra2 edges out the Ultra by a mere seven 3D Marks. The difference isn't much, but since we're talking pure numbers, it's there nevertheless. Let's see if the trend continues for Quake 3...

Quake 3: Arena

Although it's getting long in tooth, the Quake 3 engine is still a useful tool in gauging overall system performance. Like our 3D Mark benchmark, 640x480 resolution was used, and set to the "Fastest" setting. We used the v1.31 point release, and the timedemo was demo four.

The new and improved Ultra wins again by a whopping 1fps. Now, for the record, we ran the benchmark 5 times, and the older MSI board scored consistently in the 226 - 228 range, whereas the newer MSI board consistently scored 227 - 230.

Final Words

Although we were generally satisfied with the KT3 Ultra2-R, there are a few notes you should consider before investing in the KT333.

By now, the PC2700 specification has been ratified for several months. The majority of PC2700+ ram you see right now are probably certified for PC2700. Certainly, this would be the ram to get. However, you should keep in mind that the KT333 is still handcuffed by older Athlon processors, which itself is still a 266FSB part. It's only capable of 2.1GB/sec, and the KT333 (2.7GB/sec) is left twiddling it's thumbs. You should know that the KT3 Ultra2 is able to handle the newer 166 (333) Thoroughbreds, so it'd still be a worthwhile purchase.

On that note, if you're thinking of picking up a KT333, this may be the time to get one. The KT400s have been somewhat problematic, but according to several online resources, VIA may trim its product line to the KT400 and the KT266As. Naturally, there will be a slew of remarking and/or handicapping of KT400s going on, but the KT333 may become a rare breed.

MSI:

Pros: Good performance, extra USB ports, including USB 2.0, solid construction, stable, good software bundle.

Cons: Long boot times with RAID enabled.

Bottom Line: Feature-wise, MSI does not skimp here. Everything from ATA133 RAID-to-USB2.0 is here. Overclocking was successfull, unlike the previous KT3, and for the money, it's tough to beat MSI's quality.

Agree? Disagree? Discuss it in our forums.

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