Irongate with Super Bypass vs. VIA Apollo KX133
OpenGL Benchmarks
SPECviewperf running under Windows98 shows the AGP1x-problem of Irongate quite clearly. It's also interesting to see that super bypass doesn't improve the viewperf-scores or Irongate under this operating system.
Unter NT super bypass is able to help at least a little, but the lead of KX133 with the new AGP4x-enabled GeForce-drivers is far beyond reach of Irongate.
Conclusion
I hope all the upset souls have finally calmed down. 'Super bypass' is certainly an important feature for Irongate, but it's not making a Porsche out of a Chevy. Anyone who is in the process of buying an Athlon-system or platform should make sure that it carries the KX133-chipset. It's a matter of fact that Irongate has just become obsolete. This may be a bitter pill to swallow for all Irongate-owners, but those should please appreciate that in the PC-world there's always something better and faster around the corner. Changing from Irongate to KX133 is a rather questionable move though. Unless you are using OpenGL development software you might want to wait until the next Athlon-chipset that supports DDR-SDRAM.
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