Kryotech Super G2 Athlon 1.86GHz

Overall System Performance

Because of its multitasking nature and low disk dependency SYSMark 2001 was one of the first benchmarks that showcased Content Creation and Office Application performance as being significantly improved by a MP system.  This provided the realization that even enthusiast users that don’t necessarily run multithreaded applications can reap the benefits of a MP system. 

The Pentium 4 has always done very well in the ICC tests of SYSMark 2001, and the trend obviously continues.  Although the 1.866GHz Super G2 leaves the Athlon MP 1.2 alone at the bottom of the charts it’s not quite able to outperform a pair of them in this test.

Although the Pentium 4 definitely excels in Internet Content Creation style applications, the Athlon takes the crown in Office Productivity (Office, E-Mail, AntiVirus, Internet browsing, etc... tasks).  These are the types of applications, even when run simultaneously, that aren’t demanding enough to require multiple processors. 

The Super G2 holds a 13.6% advantage over the overclocked 2GHz Pentium 4 and an even larger 22% advantage over the Dual Athlon MP.

Although SYSMark 2001 proved that dual processors are helpful even if you don’t run 3D Studio MAX all the time, it is also made very clear that a single higher clocked CPU is definitely preferable to a pair of lower clocked CPUs.  Remember that with SMP and most applications you’re never going to get 100% efficiency out of the upgrade to two CPUs.