Pentium PCs
Benchmark Tests
Performance is the name of the game for these Pentium PCs, as new technologies and chip sets--including burst EDO and synchronous DRAM and Intel's new Triton II PCI chip set--boost test scores to new heights under both 16- and 32-bit apps.
We tested all systems with 1GB hard disks or larger, quad-speed or faster CD-ROM drives, and 16MB of RAM. We used each vendor's preinstalled graphics driver for 1,024-by-768 resolution with 256 colors, small fonts, and a refresh rate of 75 Hz. We also disabled power management features and removed unnecessary drivers. We defragmented hard disks before each test and let Windows 95 manage virtual memory settings.
We used our benchmark test program Winstone 96, Version 1.0, to measure each machine's performance when running typical Windows applications. Winstone 96 measures the time a PC takes to execute a set of application scripts that exercise 13 of the best-selling Windows applications. Winstone weights a given PC's test timings based on the applications' unit market shares; it then derives a composite number and converts it to a relative score. (The score is relative to the performance of a 486SX/25 Dell 425s/P with 8MB of RAM, whose score is defined as 10.)
We also used our new benchmark test program, Winstone 32,Version 1.0, to measure units' performance when running 32-bit Windows applications under operating systems such as Windows 95 and Windows NT 3.51. Winstone 32 measures the time a PC takes to execute a set of scripts that utilize eight best-selling 32-bit applications. Like Winstone 96, Winstone 32 then weights a given PC's test timings based on the market share of the applications and converts it to a relative score. Both Winstone tests use the same base machine--the Dell 425s/P--whose score is defined as 10. However, the Winstone 32 base system runs Windows 95 and MS-DOS 7.0, while the Winstone 96 base system runs Windows 3.1 and MS-DOS 6.2.
We used our benchmark test program WinBench 96, Version 1.0, as a measure of graphics, disk, processor, CD-ROM, and motion-video performance under Windows. The Graphics WinMark 96 score, based on 115 tests of Windows GDI functions, represents the performance of each machine's graphics subsystem under Windows. Graphics WinMark scores are reported in millions of pixels per second. The Disk WinMark 96 score, based on extensive application profiling, represents the disk subsystem's performance under Windows.
The CPUmark16 and CPUmark32 scores gauge the speed of a PC's processor subsystem--which includes the CPU, secondary cache, and system RAM--under 16- and 32-bit operating systems, respectively.
The CD-ROM WinMark 96 tests gauge the performance of a machine's CD-ROM subsystem, which includes the CD-ROM drive, its adapter, and its required software drivers. This test is based on a profile of six of today's most popular Windows CD-ROMs.
We report the results of the CD-ROM Sequential 16K Read test, which measures the throughput of the CD-ROM subsystem as it reads 16K blocks of data on a CD-ROM. The Access Time score measures the CD-ROM drive's performance while randomly accessing 2K files from the entire CD-ROM.
The CD-ROM CPU Utilization score represents the percentage of the processor's bandwidth occupied by servicing the CD-ROM subsystem while it retrieves data. To determine this score, WinBench 96 uses a default block size of 16K. The transfer rate defaults to the maximum rate of your particular CD-ROM subsystem. WinBench 96 then calculates this transfer rate before it runs the actual tests. WinBench 96 also includes Video Test, a suite of 33 video clips that measure the PC's ability to play full-motion AVI files. Video Test allows you to test video-playback performance with two types of clips at a variety of data and frame rates, using either the Indeo or Cinepak codec.
We report results from the High-Quality Action Indeo test, which uses an Action Indeo, 320-by-240, 30-frame-per-second, 600-KBps video clip; the Full-Screen Scaling test, which uses an Action Indeo, 160-by-120, 30-fps, 300-KBps clip; and the Medium-Quality Action Cinepak test, which uses an Action Cinepak, 320-by-240, 30-fps, 300-KBps clip.