Tech
Athlon XP/2200+: rendering performance
Despite a new version 2.46 of 3D Studio Max that contains optimisations for the Pentium 4, the 2.
Despite a new version 2.46 of 3D Studio Max that contains optimisations for the Pentium 4, the 2.53GHz Pentium 4 does not render simple 3D objects (Kinetix-logo) faster than an Athlon XP/2200+. However, the Pentium 4/2200 with DDR memory is 15 percent slower than the Athlon XP/2100+.
With complex scenes, the Pentium 4 is clearly faster than the Athlon XP. The architecture scene from the 3D Studio Max Benchmark in the SPEC-APC suite is rendered a good 15 per cent faster by the 2.53GHz Pentium 4 than the Athlon XP/2200+. Even so, the fastest AMD processor still beats the Pentium 4/2200 in this test.
Pentium 4 optimisation can deliver the Intel processor’s full performance potential. Rendering with the P4-optimised Lightwave 7b runs a good 66 percent faster on the 2.53GHz Pentium 4 than on the Athlon XP/2200+.
Although a program like Lightwave 7b can bring out the performance potential of the Pentium 4, Corel Bryce 5.01 is an example of how slow the platform can be with non-optimised applications. With this program, the Athlon XP processors set the standard: the Athlon XP/2100+ is 17 percent faster than the quickest Pentium 4, while the new Athlon XP/2200+ is 23 percent faster.
