Intel Pentium 4 Vs. Atom: A Battle Of The Generations
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.
Benchmark Results: Power Consumption
Obviously, idle power is lowest on the newest system as a result of its more advanced silicon manufacturing process and degree of integration.
Despite its two cores, the new Atom D510 offers lower idle power than the single-core Atom 230, thanks to platform-based improvements.
Both Pentium 4 systems require idle power similar to what a current machine based on an Athlon II, Phenom II, or Core i3/i5/i7 would require when utilizing a discrete graphics solution.
Peak power on the Atom machines doesn’t change too much in comparison with the idle power results. The Pentium 4 side, however, requires considerably more power, which tells us that power efficiency should be rather poor on these old setups, since performance fails to scale upward with power consumption.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Current page: Benchmark Results: Power Consumption
Prev Page Benchmark Results: Audio/Video Next Page Benchmark Results: Efficiency