Not exactly 100% true, but close.
I have been running a intel pent IV 2.4 gig for the last couple years coupled with 1 gig of pc2700 and a Nvidia Ti4200 128 meg card. Sort of a run of the mill setup but runs links fine.
Well, for some reason I have some kind of soundcard conflict that makes using ventrillo, in head to head games, very hit and miss.
Anyway , to try and make a long story shorter, I decided to put together some parts I have and build another pc, but different.
AMD 2500+ Barton(Supposedly the better one )
1 gig pc 2700
Radeon 9200SE 128 meg card.
Now all the AMD lovers out there try to tell me this 2500+ is as good and as quick as my 2.4 pent and it seems that speed wise these two pc`s are quite close.
Now comes the difference.
I load links and give it a try after updates , etc and found a major difference in meter speed. So I go on a hunt for vid drivers and try about 5 of them and all are identical. Even the generic drivers in xp are the same.
Without a word of a lie, the meter on the second amd machine with the radeon card is got to be 20-30 % slower. I am not saying the meter crawled, it was simply a lot easier to follow with the eye and I`m sure that a few games of practice with it , I would find it easier to hit the snap than I do with my pent machine.
Now , to even go further, I downloaded some overclocking software and ran some tests. Found I could get that radeon from 128 meg to 196 meg with very little loss in bus speed. Fired up links and not a bit of change . Meter still a nice leisurely pace.
After playing so long with this pent with the yellow blur, the meter has become reflex timing and I hate to mess myself up with the slower meter but what this all points out to me is no 2 pc`s are exactly the same and many of us out there are probably playing under quite different conditions.
Oh and just to clear up another question, yes, both pc`s are running a steady 31 fps in links !!