3DMark2001 is the latest
installment in the 3DMark series by MadOnion. By combining DirectX8 support with
completely new graphics, it continues to provide good overall system benchmarks.
3DMark2001 has been created in cooperation with the major 3D accelerator and
processor manufacturers to provide a reliable set of diagnostic tools. The suite
demonstrates 3D gaming performance by using real-world gaming technology to test
a system's true performance abilities. Tests include: DirectX8 Vertex Shaders,
Pixel Shaders and Point Sprites, DOT3 and Environment Mapped Bump Mapping,
support for Full Scene Anti-aliasing and Texture Compression and two game tests
using Ipion real-time physics. Higher 3DMark scores denote better performance.
| 3DMark 2001 Benchmark Results |
|
FSB |
3DMarks |
Ranking |
| 1. |
133 MHz |
7867 |
 |
| 2. |
166 MHz |
8512 |
 |
3DMark2001 is notorious for loving high FSB's and here there is a
very large gain in performance when the bus is cranked up to 166MHz.
Serious Sam: The First Encounter |
Source: CroTeam
|
|
Serious Sam is a game that uses OpenGL and is a
little more advanced than the now retired Quake III Arena. Croteam have also
recently announced that Serious Sam, the 2nd Encounter is ready for production,
so there is still life to this game as a benchmark, whereas QIII is surplanted
by RTCW. Higher numbers denote faster frames per second (FPS), and hence, better
performance.
| Serious Sam (640x480 Normal suburbs) Benchmark Results |
|
FSB |
(FPS) |
Ranking |
| 1. |
133 MHz |
124.3 |
|
| 2. |
166 MHz |
141.2 |
|
| Serious Sam (640x480 Normal dunes) Benchmark Results |
|
FSB |
(FPS) |
Ranking |
| 1. |
133 MHz |
152.5 |
|
| 2. |
166 MHz |
173.5 |
|
| Serious Sam (1024x768 Quality Suburbs) Benchmark
Results |
|
FSB |
(FPS) |
Ranking |
| 1. |
133 MHz |
90.6 |
|
| 2. |
166 MHz |
95.5 |
|
| Serious Sam (1024x768 Quality dunes)
Benchmark Results |
|
FSB |
(FPS) |
Ranking |
| 1. |
133 MHz |
125.6 |
|
| 2. |
166 MHz |
134.6 |
|
At lower resolutions, where the video card doesn't play a factor, the differences between the two systems is about 13%. When the resolution is turned up a
notch, even the mighty GeForce3 Ti500 is starting to become a bottleneck! Differences
here are less then 10% at those settings.
Return to Castle Wolfenstein is a relatively new
game benchmark. However, RTCW takes up where Quake III left off and continues to
form the basis of the first person shooter system stressing that QIII has become
a hallmark for. Based upon the Quake III engine, RTCS is obviously going to be
quite taxing on even a top end system. Higher numbers denote faster frames per second (FPS), and
hence, better performance.
| RTCW (640x480 atdemo6) Benchmark Results |
|
FSB |
(FPS) |
Ranking |
| 1. |
133 MHz |
52.2 |
|
| 2. |
166 MHz |
57.2 |
|
| RTCW (640x480 atdemo8) Benchmark Results |
|
Processor |
(FPS) |
Ranking |
| 1. |
133 MHz |
138.1 |
|
| 2. |
166 MHz |
154 |
|
| RTCW (1024x768 atdemo6) Benchmark Results
|
|
Processor |
(FPS) |
Ranking |
| 1. |
133 MHz |
51.5 |
|
| 2. |
166 MHz |
54.9 |
|
| RTCW (1024x768 atdemo8) Benchmark
Results |
|
Processor |
(FPS) |
Ranking |
| 1. |
133 MHz |
134.9 |
|
| 2. |
166 MHz |
149.7 |
|
Finally, some performance
differences that a person would notice! It's common knowledge that Quake III
Arena loved high FSB's/memory bandwidth, and when the FSB is upped to 166 MHz
it leads to a very healthy gain!
In fact, it would probably
allow a player to play at 1 notch higher in terms of resolution!
Conclusions:
Overall, IWill has done a good job with the
XP333-R. The board was
the picture of a stable system, overclocks well and it's loaded with
features. However, with the good inevitably come the not so good, and for IWill most of
the boards in this class are at about the same performance
levels. With the competition coming from the KT266A the XP333-R doesn't really have the massive
lead DDR333 should have brought. VIA's KT266A chipset still maintains a short
lead.
In one corner we have features, and IWill manages
to pack in a full army of them. The inclusion of the HPT372 HighPoint controller
brings ATA133 into the picture the potential for improved hard disk access. Six
channel audio is something the consumer has been asking for relentlessly, and
the XP333-R again gets full marks there.
Care is taken to provide users with both accessible access to the processor socket, and protection from sloppy installation by users intent on
now!-now!-now! instead of looking out for the PCB when a screwdriver
slips. Two hard pieces of plastic have been layed below the socket clips to prevent
damage to the trace lines in those slip-ups. Clearance for
large heatsinks looks like this; 15mm on either side of socket
where the clips are and the same amount to the left and
right.
4mm mounting holes in the PCB allow users with their Swiftech, Zalman or
Alpha heatsinks to bolt them right on and forgo the socket clips altogether.
With a relatively good board layout and very organized three-phase power supply,
the XP333-R has a lot going for it, and support for DDR-333 is just one more
potential benefit for the future.
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