General Performance
Starting out with the overall system performance benchmarks, we have PCMark05, 3DMark03/05/06, and a couple 3D rendering tests. We will also include the CPU results from the 3DMark applications. Note that 3DMark05/06 have multithreaded CPU tests, while 3DMark03 does not.
The Pentium D 805 makes an immediate impression as a high-performance budget offering. The margins in 3DMark are not very large, but the Pentium D comes out ahead in all three benchmarks, both at stock speeds and when overclocked. Given that PCMark05 includes several multitasking tests, the greater margin of victory isn't too surprising. However, even if the results are somewhat expected, it does not change the fact that the Pentium D makes a great budget setup for anyone that does moderate amounts of multitasking. If we consider the X2 3800+, it comes out ahead of the Pentium D 805 at stock clock speeds, but overclocking -- at least with this particular graphics card -- results in a dead heat.
Looking at the 3DMark CPU results, things begin to spread out quite a bit. The X2 3800+ easily leads in these benchmarks, in both stock and overclocked configurations. If we ignore the X2 chip, the Pentium D 805 has a commanding lead in the multithreaded 3DMark05/06, while it trails several of the other systems in 3DMark03. We always mention how 3DMark is really a synthetic graphics benchmark as opposed to real gaming benchmarks, and the same applies to the CPU benchmarks within the 3DMark applications. They show the potential your CPU has to outperform other processors under certain situations, but whether or not real applications perform similarly is going to depend on many factors. Dual core systems definitely have more potential performance, but unfortunately the vast majority of games remain single threaded applications.
Shifting over to 3D rendering, the Sempron systems are able to do quite well in the single threaded rendering tests. Once SMP support is enabled in Cinebench, the 83% performance increase that the Pentium D and X2 gain easily eclipses the other offerings. POV-Ray also seems to like the NetBurst architecture as the result from our overclocked Pentium 805 is at the top of the chart. It's unfortunate that POV-Ray doesn't support multiple processors, but we could say the same thing about many other applications.
Starting out with the overall system performance benchmarks, we have PCMark05, 3DMark03/05/06, and a couple 3D rendering tests. We will also include the CPU results from the 3DMark applications. Note that 3DMark05/06 have multithreaded CPU tests, while 3DMark03 does not.
The Pentium D 805 makes an immediate impression as a high-performance budget offering. The margins in 3DMark are not very large, but the Pentium D comes out ahead in all three benchmarks, both at stock speeds and when overclocked. Given that PCMark05 includes several multitasking tests, the greater margin of victory isn't too surprising. However, even if the results are somewhat expected, it does not change the fact that the Pentium D makes a great budget setup for anyone that does moderate amounts of multitasking. If we consider the X2 3800+, it comes out ahead of the Pentium D 805 at stock clock speeds, but overclocking -- at least with this particular graphics card -- results in a dead heat.
Looking at the 3DMark CPU results, things begin to spread out quite a bit. The X2 3800+ easily leads in these benchmarks, in both stock and overclocked configurations. If we ignore the X2 chip, the Pentium D 805 has a commanding lead in the multithreaded 3DMark05/06, while it trails several of the other systems in 3DMark03. We always mention how 3DMark is really a synthetic graphics benchmark as opposed to real gaming benchmarks, and the same applies to the CPU benchmarks within the 3DMark applications. They show the potential your CPU has to outperform other processors under certain situations, but whether or not real applications perform similarly is going to depend on many factors. Dual core systems definitely have more potential performance, but unfortunately the vast majority of games remain single threaded applications.
Shifting over to 3D rendering, the Sempron systems are able to do quite well in the single threaded rendering tests. Once SMP support is enabled in Cinebench, the 83% performance increase that the Pentium D and X2 gain easily eclipses the other offerings. POV-Ray also seems to like the NetBurst architecture as the result from our overclocked Pentium 805 is at the top of the chart. It's unfortunate that POV-Ray doesn't support multiple processors, but we could say the same thing about many other applications.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
56 Comments
View All Comments
JarredWalton - Monday, July 10, 2006 - link
I'd be more inclined to drop to a 3200+ and spend the money for a 7900 GT if you're looking for gaming performance. Get that with one of the 570SLI boards (yeah, there goes the budget) and maybe 2x1024MB of DDR2-667. That'd be a nice mid-range config.Avalon - Monday, July 10, 2006 - link
I've also had good luck with Apex/Allied case/PSU combos. Bought several a couple years ago for some AXP systems, and they're still going strong. Generic isn't always bad. Just powmax ;)DrMrLordX - Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - link
Sadly, the Apex case + PSU combo I got for my current system didn't work out well at all PSU-wise. I got the Apex TU-124 and it came with a dinky little 350W PSU that I immediately removed from the case and replaced with my old Antec Smartpower 400W PSU. The Antec had previously been in my 1 ghz Tbird rig and is still running, while the PSU from the Apex case went into my Tbird rig when I upgraded. I later gave away the Tbird, only for the system to die after about 6-8 months of operation in new hands. The Tbird was put together in early 2001, and can you guess what component died after I gave it away? The PSU.I'm not sure what it was about that Tbird rig, but it killed two generic PSUs (the original that came with the case I bought for it and the one from the Apex case I bought in March 2005). The Antec PSU, however, worked just fine. I got that one back in 2004 or so when Antec was still putting out PSUs with high marks for reliability.
Operandi - Monday, July 10, 2006 - link
"Generic case with iCute 400W PSU (Purchased Locally)"Generic PSUs and cases should never be recommended, particularly PSUs. Reliability is not something you can benchmark with one sample in six months time. If you can't afford a $50 InWin, Evercase, or entry level Antec case along with a $30-50 Forton-Source PSU you should probably be shopping at Dell or HP which will almost certainly get you more reliable machine.
I believe AOpen cases are still shipping with Fortons built in, so that would be a very good choice. Antec case PSU/bundles while not the best are fairly decent and that really should be the entry level even for a low budget machine, not generic garbage.
johnsonx - Monday, July 10, 2006 - link
I do grow tired of the Power Supply snobs. Yes, yes, we all know that there are some really lousy power supplies out there bundled with cheap cases. There are also many perfectly good power supplies bundled with cheap cases. For the purpose herein, *most* generic power supplies will work just fine.Anyone looking for a low-cost case that comes bundled with a reasonably good power supply, check out Athenatech:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Subm...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi...rchInDes...
I've used several of these cases, including quite a number of the MicroATX cases which include Sparkle power supplies.
mindless1 - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - link
There are snobs and then there are SNOBS.Fact is, we dont' actually have sufficient data about longevity of generic PSU with modern, higher wattage system configs. That your 4 year old box has now 4 years running off a different generic is no evidence that another generic will run a modern system pulling 50% more current.
DrMrLordX - Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - link
Sparkle is hardly generic, though. Those are rebranded Fortrons.mesyn191 - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - link
Yup, FSP/Sparkle are quality PSU's that are cheap. Inwin aint' bad either.OP is really a PSU snob he just doesn't know it!!
JarredWalton - Monday, July 10, 2006 - link
Cases are something you can go out and grab whatever you really want; I bought this locally because that was convenient 6 months ago. Sorry if this isn't clear, but the case/PSU was listed for disclosure purposes. Yes, there are better choices, but that's what was used for these benchmarks. Fotron Source would be a great choice for a 400W-500W PSU that would certainly be better than the iCute I used. I hoped people would understand that the configurations were a look at some available parts and not a specific recommendation, i.e. get a different GPU than the XFX, possibly different RAM, the Tforce 550 has some performance issues right now....Basically, I built three budget platforms that more or less were priced similarly, and looked at how they compare in terms of performance. Out of the three, I'd take the PD805 for my purposes. Makes a nice addition to a folding farm. :)
CSMR - Monday, July 10, 2006 - link
The title says budget PC, but the article makes clear it is a "budget gaming system" that is being talked about. So the title should be changed to budget gaming system or budget gaming PC.