MaximumPC 2008 05

How We Test

Real-world benchmarks. Real-world results

W

e use the following multithreaded apps

to test a PC’s performance relative to

our zero-point test bed:

Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 : We take HD video

shot on a pro Sony camera and output the

edited results to a Blu-ray-friendly MPEG-2 file

format. This test favors clock speed and likes

quad-core CPUs.

Adobe Photoshop CS3: A gazillion Photoshop

filters are applied to a RAW digital-image for-

mat.

Photodex ProShow Producer: This pro-level

photo slide-show application spits out a hi-def

MPEG-2 file format and favors multicore CPUs.

Mainconcept Reference: We take an

HD-resolution MPEG-2 file and convert it to

H.264/AVC with this multithreaded encoder.

Used by advanced amateurs and professionals,

this encoder likes fast, efficient multicore procs.

FEAR: Our DX9 gaming test runs at 1600x1200

with soft shadows and is a good approximation

of gaming performance for slightly older titles.

Quake 4: Based on the Doom 3 engine, this

OpenGL shooter is optimized for dual-core

CPUs, and although older, it still reveals weak-

nesses in OpenGL drivers.

There’s

More

Maximum

PC Online!

For web-exclusive hard-

ware, software, and game

reviews, head to http://www.

maximumpc.com/

exclusive today. Here

are just a few of the many

reviews you’ll find online

at MaximumPC.com.

• CanaryWireless Digital
  HotSpotter Model
  HS-20


• The Club


• Antec Veris enclosure


• Cosmos Sport


• Rosewill enclosure


• Intelliscanner Mini


• Samsung i325 ACE


• CablesToGo RapidRun
  System


• Cambridge SoundWorks
  iPod Dock


• Soundcast SpeakerCast


• Cowon iAudio 7

How to Read Our Benchmark Chart

Maximum PC’s test beds double as zero-point systems, against which all

review systems are compared. Here’s how to read our benchmark chart.

[bullet] CanaryWireless Digital HotSpotter Model

HS-20

[bullet] The Club

[bullet] Antec Veris enclosure

[bullet] Cosmos Sport

[bullet] Rosewill enclosure

[bullet] Intelliscanner Mini

[bullet] Samsung i325 ACE

[bullet] CablesToGo RapidRun System

[bullet] Cambridge SoundWorks iPod Dock

[bullet] Soundcast SpeakerCast

[bullet] Cowon iAudio 7

0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Our current desktop test bed consists of a quad-core 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Quad

Q6700, and 2GB of Corsair DDR2/800 RAM on an EVGA 680 SLI motherboard. We

are running two EVGA GeForce 8800 GTX cards in SLI mode, Western Digital 150GB

Raptor and 500GB Caviar hard drives, LG GGC-H20L, Sound Blaster X-Fi, and PC

Power and Cooling Silencer 750 Quad. OS is Windows Vista Ultimate

1,000

vista benchmarks

premiere pro 1,310 sec

zERo Point SCoRES

pHoTosHop Cs3 152 sec

prosHoW 1,506 sec

maiNCoNCepT 1,448 sec

Fear 1.07 137 fps

QUake 4 135 fps

107 sec

1,046 sec

698 sec (+107%)

205 fps

184 fps

The bar graph indicates how much faster the

review system performed in respect to the

zero-point system. If a system exceeds the

zero-point performance by more than 100

percent, the graph will show a full-width bar

and a plus sign.

Every month we remind readers of our

key zero-point components.

The names
of the
bench-
marks used.

The scores achieved by our zero-point system are noted

in this column. They remain the same, month in, month

out, until we decide to update our zero-point.

The scores

achieved by the

system being

reviewed.