Intel Pentium 4 Vs. Atom: A Battle Of The Generations

Features
By published

Most people know that Intel’s Atom is a slow, low-cost processor. But does it even offer enough performance to take it beyond desktop processors nearly a decade old? Today we're comparing a modern Atom CPU to two Northwood-class Pentium 4-based PCs.

Test Systems And 3DMark Vantage

Swipe to scroll horizontally
System Hardware
HardwareDetails
Performance Benchmarks
Motherboard IIntel D510MO (Rev. 1.0), Chipset: Intel NM10, BIOS: 0175 (03/8/2010)
Motherboard IIElitegroup 945GCT-D (Rev. 1.0), Chipset: Intel 945GC, BIOS: 08/07/08
Motherboard III (Socket 478)DFI LANParty PRO875B (Rev. B), Chipset: Intel 875P, BIOS: 1.2 (05/21/2005)
CPU Intel IIntel Atom D510 (45 nm, 1.66 GHz, 1 MB L2 Cache, TDP 13 W)
CPU Intel IIIntel Atom 230 (45 nm, 1.6 GHz, 512 KB L2 Cache, TDP 4 W)
CPU Intel IIIIntel Pentium 4 2.2 GHz (130 nm, 2.2 GHz, 512 KB L2)
CPU Intel IVIntel Pentium 4 3.2 GHz (130 nm, 2.2 GHz, 512 KB L2)
RAM DDR (dual)2 x 1 GB DDR2-400 (Corsair CMX1024-3200C2) 2 x 1 GB DDR2-400 (Corsair CMX1024-3500LLPRO)
RAM DDR2 (dual)2 x 2 GB DDR2-800 (Apogee AU2G732-12GH001)
RAM DDR3 (dual)2 x 2 GB DDR3-1333 (OCZ3G2000LV4GK 8-8-8-24)
Graphics Card (AGP)Radeon AX800 Pro, 256MB
Hard DriveSeagate Barracuda 7200.11, 500 GB (ST3500320AS), 7200 RPM, SATA 3Gb/s, 32 MB Cache
Power SupplyEnermax Pro 82+, EPR425AWT
System Software & Drivers
Operating SystemWindows 7 Ultimate x64 Updated on 2010-05-10
Drivers and Settings
Intel Chipset DriversChipset Installation Utility Ver. 9.1.1.1025
Intel Storage DriversMatrix Storage Drivers Ver. 8.​9.​0.​1023
Intel Graphics 945GIntel Graphics Media Accelerator 15.​12.​75.​4.​1930
Intel Graphics NM10Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 15.​12.​75.​50.​5.​2117

In the CPU test, the dual-core Atom D510 does well, delivering the best performance in this benchmark section.

Once graphics performance is involved, both Atom solutions don’t stand a chance anymore.