I come back to resume testing the socket 462 platform! This time we will test the advantages the 333 MHz FSB (effective) has over the 266 MHz.
I selected the following processors:
1. Athlon XP Thoroughbred B 2000 with 256 KB of cache and 1667 MHz frequency and 266 MHz FSB
2. Sempron 2400 also with 256 KB of cache and 1667 MHz frequency but with 333 MHz FSB.

All testing will be done on Abit AN7/nforce2 ultra motherboard with the chipset driver version 5.10. Having won every single competition with every Athlon classsic/XP generation it is the best performing motherboard for socket462.
All previous used components, drivers and tests will remain the same:
GPU: Leadtek geforce 7800gs with driver version 93.71
RAM: 2*1gb from Corsair as these are stable with the same 2.5-2-2-5 timings at both 266 MHz and 333 Mhz FSB.
HDD: WD raptor 150gb - the fastest SATA1 drive ever manufactured!
ODD: some PATA model I have laying around
OS: Windows XP SP3 with no updates
Cooler: some Spire model with a cooper core

I will not put up pictures with the system again, anyone can check the previous pages. In both cases i simply drop the "new"CPU in and it was recognized on the spot so i started testing right away!
A few screen shots with the relevant data about about the components used can be seen below:
First is the Athlon XP system:

For once CPU-Z legacy shows all the info correctly!
Everest 5.50 displays every single detail about the system, including the geforce 7800gs that I used this time. Previous tests where I tested various chipsets with Athlon XP 2000 were done with the geforce 7600GT because the 7800gs would not fit in all boards so I retested the XP 2000 with the 7800gs.

Please note that Sempron CPU's are recognized as such by Abit AN7 only with BIOS version 17 or later however even with earlier Bios version Sempron CPU's can be installed and configured manually without any problem!

Second is the Sempron 2400 system. To be easier to differentiate the 2 systems i used the Windows XP royal theme with the Athlon XP 2000 and Zune theme with the Sempron 2400.
CPU-Z reports the following:

All details can be seen in these screenshots from Everest 5.50:

With all details laid out it is time for the results and the first test is the Code creatures pro which is a Direct X 8 test.
The orders in which the screenshots are put on the forum will always be:
1. Athlon XP 2000
2. Sempron 2400

1. 1024*768 resolution default settings:

2. Same 1024*768 resolution default settings but with sound:

3. We stay at the 1024*768 resolution but with AA these time:

4. 1024*768 AA4x SOUND ON:

5. We switch to 1280*1024 without sound:
Athlon XP 2000 first
Sempron 2400 second

6. The same resolution but with sound this time:
XP 2000
Sempron 2400

7. We reached the most demanding resolution: 1600*1200! No sound first:

8. We reached the final and most demanding settings: 1600*1200 AA 4X Sound ON:

Code creatures pro conclusions: in tests done without sound the difference is minimal: 1-4%; however in tests with sound the difference jumps to 3-5%. Maybe this a trend, maybe not. We shall see!

9. AQUAMARK 3 is the next benchmark and we start at the default settings: 1024*768, no AA, no sound. The score is not what we are after but the average FPS:
XP 2000
Sempron 2400

10. Same resolution - 1024*768 - but with max settings, including sound:
XP 2000
Sempron 2400

11. Next is the 1280*1024 resolution without sound the first time:
XP 2000
Sempron 2400