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Page 5

Budget System Comparison
By Douglas Helmer

Round 3: Real-world Test:

Now that the propellor-heads are happy with the analytical benchmark stuff, how does all this translate into real-world performance. Okay, here's a single, off-the-cuff test we did using Falcon 4.0 that we believe pretty much sums up the differences in these two systems. Keep in mind this is just a silly test and shouldn't be considered an all-inclusive measurement tool but it is something we felt was interesting.

Test Conditions: Both machines de-fragged and turned off for twenty minutes prior to test. Ambient room temperature was 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Falcon 4.0 with iBeta RP3. Ran the F4patch.exe utility and nothing was selected. In-game graphics sliders maxed-out on both systems. In-game screen resolution set to 1024 X 768. No joysticks, throttles, or rudder pedals attached to either machine.

Falcon 4.0 Tests	Tsunami (Intel Celeron)	Monsoon (AMD Duron)
Pie Screen Load Time (Avg.) =>	33 seconds	11 seconds
Instant Action Cockpit View: Guns Held Firing.(Bombers in view and getting shot-up)=>	1-8 Frames Per Second (FPS)	19-27 Frames Per Second (FPS)
Instant Action Cockpit View: Looking at Knees in Cockpit =>	27 FPS	35 FPS
Instant Action Cockpit View: No other planes in line of sight =>	17 - 18 FPS	36 - 51 FPS
Instant Action Cockpit View: Same as previous, but with guns held firing =>	7 FPS	35 FPS

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