Elmer,
I wish I could say it is the number that scores the sae as equivalently clocked P4 at Sysmark, but we know that we can't use Sysmark as an objective tool any more. Maybe Sysmark 2000, before Bapco could fix it to make P4 NW look better than Athlon XP, since neither CPU was available to Bapco: 216.194.77.198
Anyway, looking retroactively, the performance of Athlon XP Model rated parts has it roughly between Willamette and Northwind, that is slightly faster than Willamette, slightly slower than Northwood.
One can make a reasonable criticism that Athlon XP #whatever+ does not perform faster than Northwood #whatever, but I will accept this criticism (as search for truth and objectivity) only from people who complained that AthlonXP was rated too conservatively in Willamette days (which excludes everybody on this thread).
Anyway, most likely nForce2 will make the Athlon XPs + again, and when the dual DDR chipsets arrive for P4, they will turn the + to - again.
Let me ask you, how would you sell a processor by an unknown firm against an entrenched competitor, if your CPU had higher IPC? How would you show the customer which CPUs have equivalent performance?
Joe |
