Final Results and Overall Mark

Well we have reached the end of the review. Here are my final comments, notes and grades for the Intel Pentium 4 2.2GHz, Intel Celeron 1.3GHz and Intel D845BG Motherboard.

Final Comments

How It Grades
		Installation: 90% P4 2.2GHz Performance: 95% P4 2.2GHz Price: 50% P4 2.0A GHz Performance: 92% P4 2.0A GHz Price: 75% Celeron 1.3GHz Performance: 80% Celeron 1.3GHz Price: 80% D845BG Features: 80% D845BG Performance: 75% i845 B0 Chipset Audio Features: 85% i845 B0 Chipset Reliability: 90% Motherboard Users' Guide: 80% Motherboard Design: 75% Overall for Pentium 4 2.2GHz & D845BG Motherboard:  90% Overall for Pentium 4 2.0A GHz & D845BG Motherboard: 92.75% Overall for Celeron 1.3GHz: 83.3%

The Pentium 4 2.2 GHz processor takes computer users a step ahead by offering them an incredible resource of power designed to meet the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s multimedia applications and games. With this new model, the Pentium 4 really reaches a cruise speed where performance is no longer questionable thanks to an appreciable 512KB L2 cache. Actually very expensive, this new top-notch CPU will see its price drop in the next weeks. Users that choose a Pentium 4 2.2GHz based PC will have a durable and evolutive system that will stay on top for a long, long time before software programs indicate a P4 2.2 GHz as the minimum system requirement. With such a system 3D gaming, video or audio editing, and Internet surfing will be faster, attractive and more pleasant: imagine if you can rip Audio CDs into MP3s faster than ever before, compile a whole DV film in shorter time and kill your Quake enemies even before they appear. More power also means faster loading times for most of your software including Windows, Internet Explorer & Outlook Express but it also adds new possibilities for advanced multitasking work.  

The i845 chipset is the best (and only viable) solution for everyone who wants to adopt the Pentium 4, right now, without spending several dollars on the purchase of the expensive, and hard to find, Rambus memory. With two i845 flavours, Intel covers every segment of the market: the native i845 with SDRAM is clearly dedicated to mainstream, entry-level or corporate systems, while the latest i845 B0 with DDR is reserved to high demanding users. At the regards of those tests, it’s obvious that the i845 B0 DDR chipset is better than the original i845 that clearly limits the Pentium 4 due to the use of the very old poor performance SDRAM memory. For now, the most intelligent choice is to pick a motherboard using the i845 B0 or i850 chipset depending on the level of performance you’re craving for. It’s clear that with the actual SDRAM price increases, and the poor performance of the i845 SDR, this solution is condemned to death on the short term.

As for the Celeron 1.3GHz, Intel made astonishing progress!! For the first time ever, a Celeron processor offers an extraordinary level of performances combined to an affordable price delivering users with enough power to run the most demanding applications and the latest 3D games. The Celeron 1.3GHz, a lighted version of the Pentium III, is now a very good choice to equip an Office or the household with powerful but inexpensive PCs. Due to the new engraving process used, those who possess adequate motherboards will be easily able to overclock the Celeron 1.3GHz to get even better performance. 

Intel has now two clear offers for everyone who needs a PC: the Celeron family now hosts a worthy 1.3 GHz model intended to replace the Pentium III and dedicated to the low range market, while the Pentium 4 2.0/2.2 GHz combined to the standard i845, i845 B0 or i850 chipsets target the middle to high range market. The Pentium III 1.2 GHz is somewhat in between and most likely aimed for the server market. Intel won’t promote them anymore and supplies are hard to find. 

Finally Intel motherboards remain a model of reliability and flexibility. Highly integrated, the D845BG supports the latest technologies and offers outstanding LAN & Audio features with the legendary rock-solid quality coming from Seattle.

Links of Interest

Intel Updated Drivers & Bioses for Windows XP
Intel D845BG BIOS Page
Intel D845BG Drivers Page