Intel Pentium III 1GHz

While the Athlon at 1GHz was the fastest thing we had ever tested two days ago, the Pentium III at 1GHz comes in and takes performance to a new level. At 640 x 480 we are able to limit the effects of the graphics subsystem on the tests and we can truly stress the CPU, in this case we have the Pentium III 1GHz pulling ahead of the rest of the competition, including the 1GHz Athlon.

Both of these options, the 1GHz Athlon and the 1GHz Pentium III are most likely too expensive for the likes of most gamers, but keep in mind that in a few months these 1GHz chips will become the affordable bunch.

Here's something very interesting. The Pentium III at 1GHz on the more expensive i820 + RDRAM setup falls slightly below the same CPU on a 133A board. This advantage is next to nonexistent in real world gameplay but the fact that it is here is what raises interest. What's even more interesting is that the performance advantage disappears when you use drivers other than the newest 3.76 detonator drivers that apparently improve performance on the KX133 that uses the same AGP core as the VIA 133A.