I just got an Axim with PXA255 to replace the PXA250 just for the 200Mhz Bus. Here's my results on the benchmark. Both are on PPC 2003 v4.20.1081 (build 13100). PXA250 was at 400Mhz and PXA255 was at Max performance. I must say I was surprised how much of an impact the bus speed can have. I have not yet had a chance to run the PXA255 through daily usage so not sure how this would translate into real world performance.

PXA250:

Spb Benchmark index 795.2
CPU index 1336.42
File system index 708.11
Graphics index 402.94
ActiveSync index insufficient number of tests were done.
Platform index 720.06

Write 1 MB file 1404 ms 729 KB/sec 92%
Read 1 MB file 51.5 ms 19.4 MB/sec 107%
Copy 1 MB file 1406 ms 728 KB/sec 92%
Write 10 KB x 100 files 2569 ms 399 KB/sec 71%
Read 10 KB x 100 files 172 ms 5.83 MB/sec 92%
Copy 10 KB x 100 files 2928 ms 350 KB/sec 73%
Directory list of 2000 files 131 ms 15.2 thousands of files/sec 12%
Internal database read 937 ms 1067 records/sec 253%
Graphics test: DDB BitBl 24.9 ms 40.2 frames/sec 149%
Graphics test: DIB BitBlt 114 ms 8.79 frames/sec 65%
Graphics test: GAPI BitBlt 22.1 ms 45.2 frames/sec 21%
Pocket Word document open 10076 ms 25.9 KB/sec 83%
Pocket Internet Explorer HTML load 5381 ms 4.6 KB/sec 35%
Pocket Internet Explorer JPEG load 1632 ms 155 KB/sec 294%
File Explorer large folder list 4598 ms 435 files/sec 85%
Compress 1 MB file using ZIP 5839 ms 173 KB/sec 164%
Decompress 1024x768 JPEG file 631 ms 445 KB/sec 139%
Arkaball frames per second 26 ms 38.4 frames/sec 35%
CPU test: Whetstones MFLOPS 6092 ms 0.061 Mop/sec 132%
CPU test: Whetstones MOPS 1184 ms 53.2 Mop/sec 156%
CPU test: Whetstones MWIPS 12333 ms 4.05 Mop/sec 136%
Memory test: copy 1 MB using memcpy 13.6ms 73.4 MB/sec 104%



PXA 255:


Spb Benchmark index 1011.27
CPU index 1748.94
File system index 1031.4
Graphics index 446.61
ActiveSync index insufficient number of tests were done.
Platform index 924.07

Write 1 MB file 871 ms 1176 KB/sec 148%
Read 1 MB file 36 ms 27.8 MB/sec 153%
Copy 1 MB file 865 ms 1184 KB/sec 150%
Write 10 KB x 100 files 1779 ms 575 KB/sec 103%
Read 10 KB x 100 files 129 ms 7.75 MB/sec 122%
Copy 10 KB x 100 files 2051 ms 499 KB/sec 105%
Directory list of 2000 files 87.1 ms 23 thousands of files/sec 19%
Internal database read 739 ms 1354 records/sec 321%
Graphics test: DDB BitBlt 24.5 ms 40.8 frames/sec 152%
Graphics test: DIB BitBlt 44.6 ms 22.4 frames/sec 166%
Graphics test: GAPI BitBlt 21.5 ms 46.5 frames/sec 22%
Pocket Word document open 7135 ms 36.5 KB/sec 118%
Pocket Internet Explorer HTML load 4396 ms 5.63 KB/sec 43%
Pocket Internet Explorer JPEG load 1242 ms 204 KB/sec 387%
File Explorer large folder list 3567 ms 561 files/sec 109%
Compress 1 MB file using ZIP 4236 ms 239 KB/sec 226%
Decompress 1024x768 JPEG file 510 ms 552 KB/sec 173%
Arkaball frames per second 25.8 ms 38.7 frames/sec 36%
CPU test: Whetstones MFLOPS 5080 ms 0.073 Mop/sec 159%
CPU test: Whetstones MOPS 1159 ms 54.4 Mop/sec 159%
CPU test: Whetstones MWIPS 10383 ms 4.82 Mop/sec 162%
Memory test: copy 1 MB using memcpy 9.79 ms 102 MB/sec 45%

Whew thats was lotsa formatting...Wish there was better way to post the results.

Sidewinder,
Listen, I'm trying to find out if the MS Mobile 2003 OS is now shipped with the PXA255 or is it just pot luck. I called Dell 3 times and no rep seems to know. I don't want the PXA250 because I understand it has a couple bugs which are ironed out in the PXA255. This is the only thing keeping me from getting the Axim Advanced. Do you or anyone else know if I'm assured the 255 processor upon ordering the Axim form Dell? Thanks much for any help as I'm not new to the PPC (I have a Jornada 545 for the last 3 years) but I am new to forum action.

Hal

hal, if it is a new, non-refurb, Axim from Dell, it will have the 255 on it.

Devices: Motorola Q, Samsung i600, Voq Professional Phone
Accessories: Jabra JX10, Sandisk 2GB miniSD, Leadtek 9537 BT GPS
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I must say I'm a bit surprised by the performance difference. Although I've read elsewhere that when the 255 is in auto mode the bus runs at 100Mhz, which would essentially mean that in many real world scenarios there really wouldn't be a difference between the two.

However, given that 255 Axims seem to be roughly 25-30% faster than 250 Axims I'm surprised that Dell didn't change the model name or something just for their own reference (for example the Axim X5s). I can imagine that this could be a bit of a pain for tech support in the future. For example, if some app runs marginally well on a 255 it would probably run poorly on a 250. It would be a bit weird if games run 30% faster on one of two otherwise identical PPCs.

I could easily imagine a tech support call to the effect of "blablabla runs like crap on my Axim, but it seems to run absolutely fine on my friend's." If someone didn't know the technical reason why, I would imagine tech support would have a hard time convincing them why its ok for their Axim to be slower.

Here's the safe way to do it, and possibly help others in the future:

Order an Axim and if it's not the 255/WM2003/A04, send it back immediately for a full refund (NOT exchange). Do this well within the 30 day limit. You may eat a small return shipping charge.

Then order another as a NEW transaction and repeat the process until you get what you want. These units will then only be able to sold as refurbs or used for replacements.

Until Dell gets their act togther and knows what they are selling, and how to support it, their profits on this line will suffer. SOMEONE is in charge of this product unit and presumably worries about it and the bottom line. Maybe, just maybe, when they see the huge piles of uneccessay returns, they will eventually get a bit smarter about how to succeed (read: good customer communication and support personnel that are more intersted in happy customers than blindly holding to the party-line to "please" their immediate boss).

At the end of the day, the only reason Dell markets the Axim is to make the most amount of money possible. Right now, this seems to be attempted by trying to screw the existing customers - but that can't last if this product is to survive in the long run.

Sorry for the long-wind...it really ticks me off...

ST

EDIT: Should be 255/WM2003/A05 not "A04" above - sorry.

Thanks Smeg36. I'm one step closer to making a decision. It's between the Axim and Ipaq 2200 series. Although the Axim doesn't have SDIO, it has a CFII slot and I prefer it's larger battery and record button. I read that some folks, however. have an issue with the directional pad but that would be minor. Overall I think the Axim may be the better deal. Straittalk also makes a good point about Dell. I've been reading lots about it over the last few weeks. It does give me pause with regard to pulling the trigger on the purchase. I also keep hearing about the Axim coming out in the latter part of the year. I'm tempted to take a deep breath, wait a minute, and see if this next unit gets it right.
Not as if any of them do. Peace.

Hal

I can say the Axim is a better value compared to the HP but it has its share of problems. First of all, the screen on the new Axim I just got is inferior to the older one. It has a hint of yellowness to it compared to the my old Axim. Especially when displaying white background the older Axim is more of a pure white. I understand the earlier HPs like the 1910 had a superior screen compared to the earlier Axim so if the current HP has a better screen than the older HP then Axim loses out there. Don't get me wrong you would probably not know the difference without comparing the two Axims side by side. Either way screen is definitely usable but I just like the older screen better.

Another problem is the D-pad on my brand new Axim is very inaccurate. If I navigate left or right it sometimes wants to go opposite directions. I have better control with the older Axim although it also is not perfect (up is more sensitive than down). Dell really need to redesign their Dpads or better quality control.

I also tried running my navigation program Mapopolis and there were no noticeable performance improvements with the PXA255 that I could notice while driving around the neighborhood for about 30min playing with zoom and tuning etc. Only thing that may have been a tad(i mean a tad) faster is when zooming in/out. Although it may have been more psychological than actual. Don't matter either way. Same thing with Destinator...no improvements. Guess I should not have expected any improvement given the GPS is really the bottle neck if anything since it only updates once per second. So all you really need is 1 FPS which should not be an issue at all on the PXA250.

From what I've gathered from others, it appears the new Axim did fix some nagging issues such as sound recording and the side toggle control. Only thing is I don't use either...so thats no improvement for me.


I have not tried any games so can't say what improvement is in that department but I don't intend to play too many games on the Axim so that is also a moot point. Even if I load few games I will still be able to play them albeit a bit slower which is no big deal. Guess you know where I'm going with this by now.

In the end, I have decided to return the PXA255. It does have its benefits to hardcore gamers and movie nuts out there but I guess sometimes newer is not always better(ex. screen, dpad)

would there be any ethical way of getting my 250 replaced with a 255? I ordered it back in Feburary.

After reading the benchmarks thats a big difference and could use it.

Sure. How is your Dpad? How does the playback of voice recordings sound if you use the side 'record' button? If you push in the side scroll dial does it sound/feel like your gonna break the darn thing? These are all warranty-able (sp?) issues well known in the early Ax's.

Good luck on getting a pxa255, though. Dell will send you a random unit from their refurb bin. I've tried twice and received pxa250's both times. One unit was worse than what I already had, the second was the same issues. I sent both refurbs back and kept my original unit. I even explained to the Dell CSR what to look for but Dell hamstrings them so that they're not allowed to think or even help their customers... They just send a random unit.

Chris...

Youth & Skill are no match for Age & Treachery !!

 

I found my way to be pretty ethical:

I sold my current Axim on Ebay, WM2k, 250 chipset

and bought a new Axim WM2k3 and hopefully 255 chipset

More great reviews!

   

Thanks for the ideas Chrisss but now that you mentioned that it makes me mad that I would have to suffer with a refurb since I bought mine new.


Obviously you didn't get all your money back so how much extra did you have to shell out?

Thanks

Nothing, I sacrified a cradle... and a wireless keyboard that I added with my axim on ebay...

More great reviews!

   

ok, im a newbie so this may sound stupid.
i just got my axim monday. i have the pxa255 processor and wm2003, and the a05 rom version.
is this the desireable configuration?
when i placed my order, i checked the status the next day, and it said my order had been sent to the factory for assembly, so i would think that maybe all the old axims are gone and only the new versions are being sold now?

Yup, you've got the good setup...

Chris...

Youth & Skill are no match for Age & Treachery !!