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In the Forums... |
Posted: June 5th, 2001 Written by: Tuan "Solace" Nguyen Benchmarks (cont.) 3DMark2001 3DMark2001 isn’t multiprocessor aware, but we use it to gauge the improvement in DirectX 8 optimizations that do include some SMP compliant code.  Here we see the small gains just like we predicted. There isn’t much of a gain, but there is still some. Since 3DMark2001 is also running on a regular dual Athlon system, we see the gains true to the CPU itself since everything remains constant except for CPU core. All the tweaking and new enhancements AMD gave the Athlon MP enables it to stay ahead of a regular Athlon. Quake 3 Arena Quake 3 isn’t SMP capable right out of the box. You’ll need updated patches and you’ll need to use the r_smp command at the console.  Quake 3 definitely takes advantage of a second processor -- speeding things up by almost 73 FPS! If you intend to go dual AMD for your next gaming rig, I suggest waiting for the 762MPX chipset to make its way to your local store before jumping the gun. Motherboard prices will be much cheaper and by then, so will processor prices. It may be even cheaper to wait and go for a dual Athlon + 762MPX system than a single Pentium 4 + RDRAM solution. You’ll blow the competition away while making sure you still have a wallet. For gamers, the 762MPX is really the only smart choice to go. Right now, a Tyan Thunder K7 is much too expensive for even a hardcore gamer. |
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