Bij HardwareCentral hebben ze een Intel i815E moederbord (een Intel test-exemplaar) uitgebreid getest met een Celeron 600 en een P3-933. Qua performance wist de i815E de BX chipset over het algemeen niet te verslaan maar eindigde er meestel nét ietsie onder. Vergeet echter niet dat de BX in zijn levensbaan al veel getweaked is dus het zou best kunnen dat de i815 na verloop van tijd het gat dicht loopt. Hier een hap uit de conclusie:
Performance-wise, we’re not elated, but we’re not upset either. i815(E) did outperform its real competitor, the VIA 133A, by a slight margin, while at the same time, it again falls behind the veteran BX chipset. Some may perhaps have been expecting i815 to trounce BX right out of the gate, and while this, somewhat to our dissappointment, isn't the case, we’re very confident that within a couple months we’ll see some i815 boards capable of outperforming BX boards. All in all, the performance is quite good, although the simple fact that BX still comes out on top may leave some feeling unimpressed. Given a bit of time for tweaking, we firmly believe that can change, and i815E can be an excellent product. [break]Helaas zullen i815E plankjes wel een zwaarder prijskaartje krijgen waardoor BX en Apollo Pro 133A plankjes de komende tijd nog steeds interessant zullen blijven:[/break]Do we recommend i815E boards? That depends on who you are. For anyone considering purchasing a VIA 133A board, i815 looks like a compelling option. i815 boards will almost certainly be faster than most VIA 133A boards, so the only real concern is the difference in price, which could be upwards of $20-$30 between i815 and VIA 133A boards. Whether or not the extra bit of performance is worth the few extra dollars in cost is up to the consumer. Anyone still clinging to, or considering purchasing a new BX board, our recommendation to you is to sit tight for a few weeks. Your best option is to sit back, and see what can be done with i815E in the skillful hands of the likes of Asus, Abit, Soyo, and others.