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Super Computing

by Staff Writers  on Jan 1, 1900
Tags: Super | Computing
This Labs featured in the March 2000 issue, any pricing seen in these reviews were correct at the time of printing.
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It seems as though every several months there is a whole new paradigm of performance that usurps the previous generation in terms of raw power. This month we run the latest Pentium III processors up against their chief rival - the AMD Athlon - with some interesting results.

In a Labs where performance is paramount, it is not surprising that we had no difficulty finding a Speed Award winner. However, it was the manner in which it won which delighted us. The sheer consistency of our Speed Award winner, and the margin by which it clinched the award, made our job easy. Like the old adage - justice must not only be done but needs to be seen to be done - it is not only necessary to have a Speed Award winner but also
to justify why it is a Speed Award winner. In our eyes it came down to simply being a superbly crafted machine, period.

While a performance Labs makes sexy reading there is a tendency to throw the value for money equation out the door. With manufacturers freed to unleash their full creativity in choosing a specification, and without a price cap, we received some impressive systems to say the least. In a Labs like this, the Value crown goes to the contender that can achieve the best balance between running amok with a cheque book for every new and improved hardware component and keeping a level head by sticking to a tried and trusted formula that is known to work.

The one lesson to come out of the Labs is this: there was a time when building a fast PC was a labour of love, when hardware was an exotic mix and match of components and the skill of the engineer played a part in determining how fast a PC system ran. Then there came a moribund period where the engineer played a lesser role and the assembly of a PC was a staid process of mix and match.

To some extent the circle has turned again. The romance has returned. Building a better PC is again the domain of skilled engineers prepared to go to that nth degree. Sure, just like making a fine wine, the raw material has to be up to scratch. But with the rich choices we currently have in video, processor and i/o technologies, getting that right mix of performance, compatibility and stability in a system has raised the profile of the skilled system engineer once again to the status of a black art.

Labs Editor David Lin
Contributors Tim Dean, Tremayne Sargeant
This article appeared in the March, 2000 issue of PC Authority.


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