Memory Bandwidth
Using the same setings, Intel leads slightly in memory performance. Here, it remains to be seen if ATi will be able to catch up by the time the final product makes its appearance.
Conclusion: Paper Tiger Shows Its First Claws
It's still too early to draw final conclusions about the Radeon 9100IGP. The final product won't be available on the market until around August or September. Nevertheless, the first benchmarks show that the 9100IGP is quite respectable with regard to graphics performance: in all of the 3D benchmarks, the ATi chipset surpasses the integrated "Extreme Graphics 2" of the Intel 865G (Springdale). Support for a front side bus clock of 200 MHz (FSB 800) is technically doable, although still a bit shaky at this point. Currently, the preview sample only allows Pentium 4 CPUs with a maximum of 3.06 GHz at FSB 533. At least ATi is working on a license agreement with Intel, so there's still hope that Intel will give them their blessings. In any case, the Hyper-Threading capabilities of the P4 can be used.
The OEM purchase price for a "slimmed-down" version of the motherboard should be around $65, while fully equipped retail motherboards will carry a price tag of around $120. This would result in complete PC systems for about $499. The pricing for the Mobility Radeon 9100IGP should be structured so that Pentium 4-M notebooks can be available starting from $999. Pentium M variants, or the Centrino counterparts, should cost slightly more.
