PiFast
A good indicator of CPU/Motherboard performance is PiFast version 4.2, by Xavier Gourdon. We used a computation of 10000000 digits of Pi, Chudnovsky method, 1024 K FFT, and no disk memory. Lower numbers are better.
PiFast @ 400FSB
As in the synthetic world, performance follows into the real world. The Premier continues to trail the the Platinum again.
PiFast @ Overclocked Speeds
Overclocking helps the Premier out a little better with PiFast. Running at its rated speed, it improves on the Platinum by just under one second.
Quake 3: Arena
This benchmark doesn't have much life left when it comes to testing video cards, but I find it useful when running our CPU and subsystem tests. Tests were run at the "Fastest" settings, at 640x480.
Quake 3: Arena @ 400FSB
It's safe to say that the Premier just can't match the Platinum, clock speeds being equal.
Quake 3: Arena @ Overclocked Speeds
Things look better for the Premier when overclocking, but keep in mind that the CPU speeds are bumped up a little here as well.
Stability
Max overclock I got was 488 which is nice, but unstable at 3-4-4-8 timings,. Tweaking the timings, the most stable I got was 472 MHZ at 2.5-4-4-7
Final Words
Marc's 2 Cents
In all, I think it is a resonable buy, and has good overclocking potential. Despite the "budget" tag, it is still quite expensive, considering the performance. I thought the benchmark scores would be a little more impressive, they disappointed me a bit.
Hubert's 2 Cents
I'm behind Marc 100% on this one. The ram isn't bad if you absolutely need to save some money, if PC3700 ram is what you're after specifically. Using a 1GB kit as an example, we spotted the OCZ PC3700 Premier . Taking a look at the PC3200 Platinum kit, which is a better performer despite the clock speed deficit, . PC3200 is passé? OCZ PC3500 Platinum, which I guarantee will blow the Premier away . Trust me, the extra 56$ is worth the time.
Pros: Nice heatspreaders, good overclocking potential
Cons: Runs very hot. Performance is not strong unless overclocked.
Bottom Line: The ram is of decent quality, but the price:performance ratio isn't enough for us to give it a recommendation. Spend the extra green, and you'll be much happier.
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