Readers' Award 2003 Results (3)
Grumpy/Bluetooth 5 Jan 2004

2003 was a good year for Intel. Having been thumped, at least performance wise, by AMD in 2002, Intel needed to hit back hard. Their answer was the P4 C, running at 800 FSB enabled with Hyperthreading. Running on either the Canterwood or Springdale Chipsets, they finally managed to retake the performance crown from AMD and the NF2 Chipset from Nvidia. Via struggled to get back in the game, while SIS found some good ideas late in the year with the 655FX and 655TX Chipsets. Only in the last 2 months of 2003 did we see AMD recover to once again pass Intel, but overall, 2003 was the year of the P4 2.4C CPU.

So without further ado, we present the Best Socket 478 Chipset for 2003. Drum Rolls in distance, and the winner is, not surprisingly, the Intel 875P with 34.9% of the vote. Dual Channel, a very good integrated SATA and Gigabit Ethernet solution on the Southbridge make this a kick ass combination. It took a few tricks from Mainboard Manufactures to get its little brother even close to its performance. Coming second with 20.5% was SIS and their SIS 655TX. Also Dual Channel, it even manages to beat the 875 in a few cases, but at a far lower price. Third with 19.6% was the Intel 865 PE, giving Intel a clear victory in the Chipset wars. The ALi M1683 came forth with 17.2% of the votes, a very good result for them.

Best Socket 478 Chipset

The 2003 Readers Awards would be funny without the Best Socket 478 Board In Overclocking, and it was as expected when 1st place was finalised. Gaining 22.2% of members' votes, the Abit IC7-Max3 edged out the Abir IS7-E on 21.9%. A case of Canterwood versus Springdale, luckily for Intel the dearer Chipset won. This result gave Abit a win for both AMD and Intel in this category, and confirms Abit as the Overclocking Mainboard Manufacturer of choice by Members. Again, DFI popped out of nowhere and into 3rd spot with 17.8%, the 865PE Infinity proving they are not a one Motherboard wonder. Asus was a whisker behind in 4th with the P4C800-E Deluxe.

Best Socket 478 Board in Overclocking

Things change somewhat in Best Socket 478 Board In Cost/Performance 2003. Abit and Asus are nowhere to be found. ASrock again takes the crown with the P4AL-800 ( Based on the ALi M1683 Chipset), but has to share it with Gigabyte's 8SQ800 Mainboard. . ALi seems to be getting Awards for products not really available. Both companies collected 27.3% of readers votes. Gigabyte will be happy to get first place for a change, as will SIS with their 655 Chipset powering this Mainboard. DFI again gets a mention with 21.7% with the 865PE-AL, the 865 Motherboard the saving grace for Intel in this category. ASrock came back for forth using the Intel 845 PE Chipset on the P4i45PE Mainboard, snagging  11.0 %.

Best Socket 478 Board in Cost/Performance

Best Socket 478 Heatsink 2003 only got a small turnout, due partly to the fact the Retail HSF does a good job for the average overclocker. Surprising me once more was Cooler Master and their Jet 4. A massive 48.7% gave the thumbs up to this product, leaving the Thermalright SLK-800U far behind with 22.0%. Thermalrights' SP-94 gained third with 14.8%, still putting them behind when combined. Whether or not they cool the most, Cooler Master has the HSF people want. There Aero 478 even managed 4th place almost besting the SP-94 at 14.5% of Members votes.

Best Socket 478 Heatsink
 

Finally, in the Best Socket 478 P4 Package, we get a real close tussle. Asus is renowned for their Deluxe Mainboards, and their P4 versions are no exception. Here, they took first and second. The P4S800D-E on 25.5% using the SIS 655 TX Chipset, followed by the P4C800-E Deluxe using the Intel 875 P Chipset. Both have Sata Raid and all necessary cables, gigabit Ethernet and the famous Wi Fi Slot, and Asus says both are Prescott Ready ( Hmmm ). The P4C800-E Deluxe has the edge with additional IDE Raid, but the P4S800D-E wins on price. Third with 19.3%, the DFI lan Party 975 Pro again brought happiness to the DFI camp with a feature and goodies rich Mainboard. The Asus P4P800 Deluxe rounded up the Asus blitzkrieg, the Intel 865 grabbing a healthy 12.1% of Members' votes.

Best Socket 478 P4 Package

All in all, a good year for Intel, though it took a while to hit 5th gear. SIS has again come back fighting with an excellent Chipset, and ALi has re-entered the fight with what may be a strong product. Via, as with their Chipset for AMD, suffered terribly, barely rating a mention anywhere. MSI too was absent, and has entered a very bleak period. The coming year will be tough for Intel and their Chipset Partners. Several Socket upgrades, maybe more than AMD, a still too hot CPU called Prescott, and a forthcoming lack of performance compared to rival AMD, the Intel Boys will have to fight hard with some good gear to stay in the game this year. Expect to see DFI and ASrock to shine here as with the AMD Sector.

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