Athlon Processor Outperforms Pentium III by 14 Percent in Head-to-Head Comparison

According to recently published performance results by Mercury Research, a PC built around the new Athlon processor from Advanced Micro Devices has outperformed an identically-configured system based on Intel's Pentium III by up to 14 percent. The test systems were assembled one at a time by Mercury Research to eliminate any bias, with only the processors and motherboards being changed. The comparison between the two processors has been hailed as the most accurate to date by Dean McCarron, a principal analyst at Mercury Research.

Key Takeaways:

• The Athlon processor outperformed the Pentium III by up to 14 percent in a head-to-head comparison, according to Mercury Research.
• Mercury Research assembled the test systems themselves to ensure identical components and eliminate bias.
• Only the processors and motherboards were changed in the test systems, with 600-MHz processors, 128 Mbytes of memory, and a Dynamite TNT2 Ultra graphics card from Hercules used in both cases.
• The results can be found on The Meter, a web site published by Mercury Research, starting from today.
• Dean McCarron, a principal analyst at Mercury Research, believes that the testing methodology used in this comparison is the best available today.
• Mercury Research is a research and consulting firm that provides in-depth analysis of PC components and related hardware markets.
• The Meter is a web publication designed to help PC enthusiasts and gamers choose the best hardware.

Statistics:

• Up to 14 percent performance increase of the Athlon processor over the Pentium III in a head-to-head comparison.
• 600 MHz: the clock speed of the processors used in the test systems.
• 128 Mbytes: the amount of memory used in the test systems.
• Dynamite TNT2 Ultra: the graphics card used in both test systems, supplied by Hercules.

Sources:

• "Mercury Research publishes Athlon tests", The Meter, www.themeter.com
• Mercury Research Inc. of Scottsdale, AZ.