We ran a total of 16 different benchmarking tests to obtain as much reliable and comprehensive information as we could about the performance of the Celeron 1300.

OpenGL performance was measured by four different Quake tests. Direct3D performance from the DirectX package was measured by the 3D Mark 2000 (based on DirectX 7) and the 3D Mark 2001 (based on DirectX 8). The different MPEG-encoding benchmarks provide a comprehensive testing environment - the Lame MP3 Encoder was used to encode a 178 MB WAV file into "MPEG-1 Layer 3 Format." We also took a look at how well the CPU encodes an MPEG-2 file within a project by using the video-editing software "Pinnacle Studio 7." For some time now, we've also been using a new benchmark to determine rendering performance - Newtek's professional Lightwave package (version 7b). Additionally, we ran WinACE to test how well the CPU performs when archiving files, a common application. Compiling the latest Linux kernel has long been a standard benchmark in our repertoire, as well. Finally, the Sysmark benchmark was used to determine office performance.

OpenGL Performance: Quake 3 Arena

In both the time-demo run-throughs of Quake Arena 3, the Duron 1200 comes out ahead of the Intel Celeron 1300. The results are similar in the NV15 demos - the Duron 1200 comes out on top, beating the Intel model.