Benchmarks: QIII Arena, UT2003
Quake III Arena is a First Person Shooter (FPS)
that revolutionized gaming as we know it. Using multiple light sources and
having graphics textures that can fill videocards, even after 3 years it's still
able to bring a cutting edge system to its knees.
| Quake III
Arena Fastest nv15demo (CPU STRESS) |
|
Processor |
FPS |
Ranking |
| 1. |
8RDA+ - 166/333 |
107.3 |
 |
| 2. |
KX400-8XV Pro - 166/333 |
95 |
 |
| 3. |
KX400-8XV Pro - 177/354 |
100.4 |
|
Like we
saw with the DFI AD77 Infinity, the KX400-8XV Pro does quite poorly in Quake III
Arena. It seems like VIA has yet to address
the 3D performance issues with the KT400 chipset.
 Unreal Tournament 2003 Demo |
Source: Epic |
|
Unreal Tournament 2003 is the sequel to 1999's
multiple 'Game of the Year' award winner. It uses the very latest Unreal Engine
technology - where graphics, sound and game play are taken beyond the bleeding
edge. Unreal Tournament 2003 employs the use of Vertex as well as Pixel Shaders
and it's recommended that you use a DirectX 8 videocard to get the most out of
the game.
UT2003 goes easier on the Albatron KX400-8XV Pro, the frame rate difference
is much closer here. Still even when overclocked the KX400-8XV Pro is not able
to match the power of the Epox 8RDA+ at stock
speeds.  With a retail price of $115
CDN ($75 US), Albatron are clearly targeting the
KX400-8XV Pro at mainstream users with moderate computing requirements. The board
comes with on board 10/100 Ethernet, a slew of USB2.0 ports and 5.1 audio, but
that's about it. Five PCI slots leave lots of room to spare, say
for a more powerful audio card. Upgrade paths are good for individuals
who already have a lot invested in expansion cards.
When
comparing the KT400 chipset to the Nforce2 we can see that the
performance difference between the two is about 8% in UT2003, 11% in
QIII and virtually nil in the office based benchmarks.
The KT400 is a capable gaming
platform, but not the fastest solution out there when compared against the
Nforce2 which nets as much as an 11% lead in gaming benchmarks.
Differentiating
between the KX400-8XV Pro and an nForce2 based motherboard when running office applications
is difficult considering the almost identical performance illustrated in the benchmarks.
If you're
looking for a new budget Athlon motherboard you should definitely take a look at
the Albatron KX400-8XV Pro, it's one of the least expensive
motherboards on the market and comes with 8X AGP. If you burn
the midnight oil playing games, one of Albatron's other motherboards may be a
better option, but for budget minded folks who aren't obsessed with FPS games, the KX400-8XV Pro
could be a good compromise.
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Related Articles:
Here are a few other articles that you might enjoy
as well...
1. MSI KT4 Ultra-FISR KT400 Motherboard Review
2. DFI AD77 Infinity KT400 AMD
Motherboard
3. Epox 8RDA+ nForce2 Motherboard Review
4. FIC AU11 nForce2 Motherboard
Review
5. Asus A7N8X nForce2-SPP Motherboard
Review
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