This model of the P4 family is special from the rest in that it is the first desktop processor to feature Hyperthreading (see page 58, PCQuest Dec 2002 issue for more on HT). All the other features are the same as previous processors, and the performance gain is also what would be expected from the increase in clock speed. Thus our main emphasis in this article is on HT, since it will be incorporated in all new processors.
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Both OS and application need to be HT-enabled to properly take advantage of it. This means that older OSs like Win 9x go right out of the window, and only modern ones like Linux and Win 2K/XP can be considered. What if you have the right OS, but have apps that are not written for HT? Well, we don’t have a definite answer.
We benchmarked our P4 3.06 GHz processor first with HT enabled, and then disabled it through the
BIOS for our next set of tests. For certain benchmarks like Content Creation 2001, we saw almost a 5% reduction in the score. For others like DivX encoding, there was an equal increase. Thus, it is difficult to give a definitive verdict on HT’s performance on non-HT applications. However, what we can say is that HT will give a big boost for applications that are written for it. For example, a benchmark called Primordia in ScienceMark shows a 14.3% increase in performance through code optimized for HT.
Content Creation Winstone 2001 |
3D Mark 2001 |
Quake III Arena (fps) |
Serious Sam (fps) |
DivX encoding (s) |
MP3 encoding |
Primordia (s) |
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With HT |
100.8 | 5338 | 350.9 | 165.5 | 107 | 59 | 467 |
Without HT |
105.2 | 5309 | 348.2 | 164.3 | 112 | 59 | 534 |
Test configuration:Intel D850MV motherboard, 512MB PC-1066 RDRAM, Samsung SP4002H HDD, Asus V7700 TI display |
The Bottom Line: HyperThreading’s success depends on developers using it. Going by past experience, Intel should succeed though it will take time. Till then, the new P4 3.06 GHz, though the fastest processor, will have a large untapped potential.
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Anuj Jain