Athlon XP 2100+: AMD Turns Up The Heat – THG.RU

Maxed Out: Palomino Core Up To 1800 MHz

The “darling of home users” is presenting its seventh model with a Palomino core, the Athlon XP 2100+. The Athlon XP 2100+’s effective clock rate, no longer a crucial criterion for the performance of a processor, reaches an astonishing 1733 MHz. It’s pretty obvious, though, that the manufacturer has maxed out its performance – at least while using the 0.18 micron manufacturing process. According to unofficial sources, AMD is planning to unveil the Athlon XP 2200+ at 1800 MHz and with a Palomino core in the near future. The reason? Older roadmaps claim that the successor to the Palomino, the ‘Thoroughbred,’ is long overdue.

The AMD Athlon XP 2100+ at 1733 MHz.

Add to that the fact that, with its Pentium 4/2200, arch enemy Intel is not exactly an overwhelming enemy, and so AMD isn’t feeling much pressure to beef up performance. One major issue here is optimizing software for a certain CPU architecture. Intel shows more activities in this respect than AMD, though most benchmarks are still based on older software.

Comparing the Cores: Palomino vs. Thoroughbred vs. Northwood

A Translation Table as a Clock Multiplier

Op = Open
Cl = Closed

With the Athlon XP2100+ (13.0 x 133 MHz = 1733 MHz), AMD just stuck to the same course it had started with the Duron 1300. The clock multiplier of 13.0 is reached using a translation table that is activated using the L10 bridge. As a result, settings above 12.5 can only be made by setting an additional flag. Both of our pictures of the L-bridges on the Athlon XP2000+ and the Athlon XP2100+ show that the L10 bridges have been newly encoded beginning with the 2100 version. The CPU uses this to interpret the multiplier’s default of 5.0 as 13.0 – on the condition that the L1 bridges have been unlocked on the processor. If this is not the case, the CPU will automatically determine all of the settings.

A glance at the L bridges on the Athlon XP 2100+.

A glance at the L bridges on the Athlon XP 2000+.

Important: Bios Update for Athlon XP 2100+

Multipliers that are larger than 12.5 are available in BIOS – yet the processor still works with a translation table.

BIOS has to be updated for all motherboards so that they can show the correct model number (performance rating) above 2000. However, the processor’s performance does not improve after the update – without new BIOS software, the real clock rate of 1733 MHz is displayed.

Power Loss: New Top Values in Sight

Increasing the clock rate by 66 MHz compared to the Athlon XP 2000+ automatically increases the power loss. This automatically places the Athlon XP 2100+, with 72.9 watts thermal power loss, almost at the top of all 35 AMD processors for Socket 462! The Athlon XP 2200+, which will be available soon, will have the highest heat loss of all AMD CPUs. Everyone who uses a fast XP CPU should be well aware of the fact that a high-quality cooler is definitely necessary. Cheap run-of-the-mill coolers will definitely condemn the processor to death by fire, if not very soon then at least in the medium term. Our article Горячо! Как современные процессоры защищены от перегрева? will give you detailed information on this subject. The table above lists the power loss ratings for 35 AMD processors.

Price Comparison: AMD Athlon XP vs. Intel Pentium 4

A View of the Testing Platform: VIA KT333 and DDR333

Testing platform: Gigabyte GA-7VRXP with a VIA KT333 chipset and DDR333 module (optionally CL2 mode) by Corsair.

Testing platform for Athlon XP 2100+ without cable connections.

Test Setup

Benchmarks Under Windows XP

We performed a total of 20 different benchmark tests in order to obtain the most complete, well-balanced view of how the AMD XP 2100+ performs. You can get a clear overall picture from the benchmark results for a total of 23 different processors – we’ve included the figures from the last test of the Pentium 4 CPUs (2400, 2533 and 2666) as a quasi-reference. We compared this to all of the AMD Athlon XP processors, the classic Athlon with Thunderbird core to the slowest of all, the Athlon 850.

We ran four different Quake 3 tests to determine OpenGL performance. The different MPEG-encoding benchmarks provide a comprehensive testing environment – the Lame MP3 Encoder was used to encode a 178 MB WAV file into MPEG-1 Layer 3 format. Still a classic, our MPEG-4 test converts a file from a commercial DVD-ROM into MPEG-4 format using Xmpeg 4.2a and the Divx 4.12 codec. We also created an MPEG-2 film using the video-editing software ‘Pinnacle Studio 7’. A regular in our list of benchmarks is determining rendering performance using Newtek’s Lightwave (version 7b). We also ran the new WinACE 2.1 to test how well the CPU performs when archiving files, a common application in the computing world. The Sysmark 2002 benchmark was used for the first time to determine office performance. The SPECviewperf benchmark offered a comprehensive 3D benchmark suite.

OpenGL-Performance: Quake 3 Arena

In all four time-demo runs of Quake 3 Arena, different pictures emerge. In the first time-demo run, the Pentium 4 comes out ahead of the Athlon XP 2100+. Why? The Athlon XP lacks memory throughput, causing the AMD platform to bring up the rear. The NV15 demo-test is another story, though. The Athlon XP 2100+ outclasses the Pentium 4/2200. A hint – all Pentium 4 CPUs with an FSB clock speed of 133 MHz and 533 MHz Rambus memory that are not yet available on the market were marked with a blue-and-black bar and are there only for reference purposes.

DirectX 7 Games: 3D Mark 2000

The 3D Mark 2000 determines DirectX 7’s Direct3D performance under Windows XP. The Athlon XP 2100+ even outstrips, albeit marginally, the Intel Pentium 4/2400 with Rambus memory. All Pentium 4 CPUs at an FSB clock speed of 133 MHz and 533 MHz Rambus memory that are not yet available on the market were marked with a blue-and-black bar and are there only for reference purposes.

DirectX 8 Games: 3D Mark 2001 SE

The 3D Mark 2001 determines DirectX 8’s Direct3D performance under Windows XP. This test makes it clear that the Athlon XP 2100+ is the perfect CPU for 3D games; none of the currently available Pentium 4 processors can even come close. All Pentium 4 CPUs at an FSB clock speed of 133 MHz and 533 MHz Rambus memory that are not yet available on the market were marked with a blue-and-black bar and are there only for reference purposes.

MP3-Audio-Encoding: Lame MP3

The Lame MP3 Encoder under Windows XP is used to convert a 178 MB sound file from a WAV format to a MPEG-1 Layer 3 format. The diagram shows that the AMD Athlon XP 2100+ even outstrips both Pentium 4 processors at a 533 MHz RDRAM rate (2533 MHz and 2666 MHz). All Pentium 4 CPUs at an FSB clock speed of 133 MHz and 533 MHz Rambus memory that are not yet available on the market were marked with a blue-and-black bar and are there only for reference purposes.

Video-Encoding MPEG-4: Xmpeg 4.2a und Divx 4.12

RAM performance is an important factor in MPEG-4 encoding, but the AMD Athlon XP 2100+, when equipped with DDR333 modules, is right on the heels of the Pentium 4/2200. On the other hand, though, an Athlon 850 looks literally antiquated with its mere 18 frames per second. Again, all Pentium 4 CPUs at an FSB clock speed of 133 MHz and 533 MHz Rambus memory that are not yet available on the market were marked with a blue-and-black bar and are there only for reference purposes.

SiSoft Sandra 2002 Benchmarks: CPU und Multimedia

The SiSoft Sandra Pro Benchmark 2002 shows that the Athlon XP 2100+ passes all the tests with flying colors, with the exception of the memory benchmarks. All Pentium 4 CPUs at an FSB clock speed of 133 MHz and 533 MHz Rambus memory that are not yet available on the market were marked with a blue-and-black bar and are there only for reference purposes.

3D-Rendering: Newtek Lightwave 7b

The Lightwave benchmark clearly brought the enhancements of the Pentium 4 processors to light – the Athlon XP 2100+ placed in the center of the pack. All Pentium 4 CPUs at an FSB clock speed of 133 MHz and 533 MHz Rambus memory that are not yet available on the market were marked with a blue-and-black bar and are there only for reference purposes.

3D-Rendering: Cinema 4D XL 7.303

The Cinema benchmark tells a completely different story – The AMD Athlon XP 2100+ placed first among the currently available CPUs. It even surpassed the performance of the Pentium 4/2400, not yet available on the market, that we ran with 533 MHz Rambus. Note that the Pentium 4/2400 will not be on the market with 133 MHz. All Pentium 4 CPUs with an FSB clock speed of 133 MHz and 533 MHz Rambus memory that are not yet available on the market were marked with a blue-and-black bar and are there only for reference purposes.

3D-Rendering: 3D Studio Max 4.2

In this benchmark, 10 pictures from the ‘Rabbit’ scene were calculated with a resolution of 800 x 600 pixels. The AMD Athlon XP 2100+ once again takes the lead among all currently available Pentium 4 processors. All Pentium 4 CPUs with an FSB clock speed of 133 MHz and 533 MHz Rambus memory that are not yet available on the market were marked with a blue-and-black bar and are there only for reference purposes.

3D-Rendering Performance: SPECviewperf

If we ignore the P4 CPUs with 533 MHz Rambus here, the Athlon XP 2100+ takes the lead in the rather sensitive SPECviewperf test. All Pentium 4 CPUs at an FSB clock speed of 133 MHz and 533 MHz Rambus memory that are not yet available on the market were marked with a blue-and-black bar and are there only for reference purposes.

Archiving: WinACE 2.11

Archiving is a very practical application. WinACE 2.11 was used under Windows XP to archive a 178 MB WAV file while the clock was running. The Pentium 4/2200 comes out ahead of the Athlon XP 2100+. High memory throughput helps render positive results in this test, as well. All Pentium 4 CPUs at an FSB clock speed of 133 MHz and 533 MHz Rambus memory that are not yet available on the market were marked with a blue-and-black bar and are there only for reference purposes.

Video-Encoding MPEG-2: Pinnacle Studio 7

The Intel Pentium 4/2200 was somewhat slower at creating an MPEG-2 film using Pinnacle Studio 7 than was the AMD Athlon XP 2100+. The slowest candidate is once again the AMD Athlon 850 that we included only for comparison purposes. The performance of the AMD Athlon XP 2100+ is striking. Combined with DDR333 and the KT333 chipset, it outstrips its competitor Intel that runs at much higher clock speeds. All Pentium 4 CPUs at an FSB clock speed of 133 MHz and 533 MHz Rambus memory that are not yet available on the market were marked with a blue-and-black bar and are there only for reference purposes.

Office-/Internet-Performance: Sysmark 2002

The new 2002 version of the Sysmark benchmark recently came on the market; we’ve tested all 23 processors on the different platforms. In all three areas, the Athlon XP 2100+ ranked in the upper mid-range and performed similarly to a Pentium 4/2000 with Northwood core. One more thing about all AMD Athlon XP CPUs: compared to Intel’s models, the AMD processors lag slightly behind because they lack enhancements.

All Pentium 4 CPUs with an FSB clock speed of 133 MHz and 533 MHz Rambus memory that are not yet available on the market were marked with a blue-and-black bar and are there only for reference purposes.

Conclusion: The Athlon XP 2100+ Outclasses the Pentium 4/2200

The unveiling of the Athlon XP 2100+ propels the Palomino core to its penultimate level – according to unofficial comments, AMD will present the Athlon XP 2200+ in a matter of only a few weeks. The presently fastest Athlon XP runs at 1733 MHz, while the Athlon XP 2200+ runs at a clock speed of 1800 MHz.

They are manufactured using the 0.18 micron process; the Athlon XP with Thoroughbred core, slated to be launched in the second quarter of this year, will be the first Athlon to be based on 0.13 micrometer-wide strip conductors. AMD will definitely have to apply the new technology if it wants to reach higher clock speeds. Still, the ‘Thoroughbred’ is merely a Palomino that has been somewhat reduced in size; new features will not be added.

Our test results show that AMD won’t have to worry any time soon, even if its arch enemy Intel keeps turning up the megahertz-dial. The reason? Even at its considerably lower clock speed, the AMD Athlon outstrips its competitor Intel when used with your everyday applications. The benchmark results present a clear picture.

The Athlon XP 2100+ was outperformed by the P4/2200 only when it came to ‘office performance’. In some disciplines not based on optimized software, the Athlon XP 2100+ even reached the level of a Pentium 4 at 2.4 GHz, which will not be introduced until early April. Don’t forget that only using a Rambus platform will enable the Intel Pentium 4 to perform to the max.

This stands in stark contrast to Intel officially turning its back on serial memory technology and its embracing of DDR SDRAM. The monopoly has clearly been influenced by the market in this aspect. AMD paints a different picture, though. The Athlon XP works better with DDR RAM and can reach considerably higher clock speeds after the die shrink – at least in theory.