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Content Creation Winstone 2002 |
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Office
Productivity Time |
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Ziff Davis'
latest office productivity application doesn't demonstrate
the same performance disparity that the games did, but it
still shows the 7VJL leading the KT333 pack.
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Business Winstone 2001 |
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Office Productivity
Time, Again |
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Business
Winstone focuses more on office applications than Content
Creation 2002, which involves a lot of data transfer.
Again, Chaintech's 7VJL holds it's ground, besting MSI KT3
and ABIT KX7 boards.
Now, it is
entirely possible that Chaintech's 7VJL is simply a faster
board than it's established competitors. That doesn't
change the fact that I'm a skeptical guy, though. It
makes relationships a bit tough but is a definite boon to
tech journalism. After re-configuring each board, I
used CPUID to measure the default frequency of each
processor. As we previously discussed, the Athlon XP
2100+ has a multiplier of 13x, however, each manufacturer
can play with the operating frequency by introducing
variations to the front side bus. For instance, you
may think 133MHz equals 133.000MHz, but more often that not,
the actual frequency is something like 133.48MHz.
Multiplied 13 times, the extra .48MHz adds up, doesn't it?
Yes, the chart
is grossly over-exaggerated, but it illustrates one
difference between three motherboards in default form.
With less than a 10MHz difference separating all three test
beds, I think it is safe to say that Chaintech's board is a
better performer, fair and square but just by a nose.
Chaintech has
done quite a job with the 7VJL KT333 motherboard. If
it hadn't done so well in our benchmarks, I may have mocked
the flashy gold accents. Instead, the board has proven
itself a hot rod, with good looks to back up aggressive
performance. The CBOX front panel is a welcome
addition for those with portable USB devices and the rounded
cables are an invaluable way to tidy up your system's
innards. VIA's new 8235 South Bridge with USB 2.0, is
icing on the cake.
With an
estimated street price of roughly $125.00, the 7VJL isn't
inexpensive considering ABIT's KX7-333 can be picked up for
under $100.00. NVIDIA's nForce2 has already been
announced and VIA should be unveiling the KT400 in the near
future. Competition is going to get fierce for the
KT333 chipset. If the Athlon XP remains on a 266MHz
bus for a while, though, you can be sure the 7VJL will
remain a top competitor for a while. Just be sure the
7VJL's extra features are worth the price premium.
Remember, it's all about the Benjamin's, baby.
HotHardware's PC Hardware Forum is all the rage! Are
you in?
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