How We Test

Performance testing is an important part of our reviewing process. Here we explain why you can trust our results and give you a tour of our most frequently used benchmark programs. At the core of our PC performance tests are industry-standard benchmarks from Bapco and Futuremark. Our staff have over 10 years of combined testing experience. We know all the perils and pitfalls of practical benchmarking. Listed below are the main benchmarks we use for testing PC systems and components.

Benchmarks

SYSmark 2007 Preview
SYSmark 2007 Preview is the latest version in a long line of Bapco benchmarks and is compatible with both 64 and 32-bit versions of Windows 7, Vista and XP Professional and Home. An application-based benchmark that tests real-world system performance by running full versions of 14 market-leading applications in four distinct business usage scenarios:- E-Learning, Video Creation, Office Productivity and 3DModeling.

Futuremark PCMark Vantage
The latest version of Futuremark’s synthetic benchmark used to test the performance of a PC's major subsystems across variety of common tasks such as viewing and editing photos, video, music and other media, gaming, communications, productivity and security in five test suites.  It will only run on 32 or 64-bit Windows 7 and Vista based systems.

Futuremark PCMark05 
Not as up-to-date or as multimedia based as PCMark Vantage, but the latest version of PCMark05 is supported by 32-bit versions of Windows 7, Vista and XP which makes it useful for testing the overall system performance of XP based systems such as netbooks, and the results are easier to analyze. It comprises five test suites; System, CPU, Memory, Graphics and Hard Drive. Each suite has a number of tests built into it.

Futuremark 3DMark Vantage
The latest version of Futuremark’s graphics card benchmark and is another that is Vista only. 3DMark Vantage tests the DirectX10 performance of a graphics card using real time 3D graphics and processor tests via four built in presets that run at different resolutions; Entry (1,024 x 768), Performance (1,280 x 1,024), High (1,680 x 1,050) and Extreme (1,920 x 1,200).
Each preset contains nine tests; two GPU tests, two CPU tests and five feature tests (Texture Fill, Color Fill, Parallax Occlusion Mapping, GPU Cloth, GPU Particles and Perlin noise). We test using three out of the four presets, ignoring the Entry test.

Futuremark 3DMark06
Not as advanced as 3DMark Vantage but as with PCMark05 it still has its uses as it will run on 32-bit versions of Windows 7, Vista or XP. It features two SM2.0 and two SM3.0 shader tests as well as two CPU tests and seven feature tests.

Cinebench R11 / R10
MAXON’s Cinebench (R11 is the latest version) is a real-world test suite that tests a computer’s performance and is based on the award winning Cinema 4D animation software. It comprises two tests, CPU and graphics. We only use the CPU test. The CPU is tested by rendering a photorealistic image from a 3D scene file using
CPU intensive features such as reflection, area lighting, procedural shaders and ambient occlusion. The test comprises two test runs, the first test only uses one CPU or core while the second uses all available CPU power.

MobileMark 2007
MobileMark 2007 is the latest version of Bapco’s battery life benchmark for notebooks running on 64 and 32-bit versions of Windows 7, Vista and XP Professional and Home. It features four modules; Productivity, Reader, DVD Playback and Wireless. 

Games

To test PCs and notebooks we use a single game, currently Far Cry 2's built in benchmark abut when it comes to testing graphics cards we use a more extensive suite of games. The games suite we used is updated at regular intervals to include the more demanding games, giving more realistic scores when it comes to the latest graphic card technologies.
At the present time the suite comprises: World in Conflict, Crysis Warhead, Lost Planet, FarCry 2, Unreal Tournament 3 and Batman Arkham Asylum. Added to these are two DirectX 11 benchmarks, Unigine Heaven and DiRT2 to test the DirectX 11 capabilites of the latest graphics cards.

How we test
We use a wide range of benchmarks on everything we test, but naturally there are differences between each class of PC or component that we test.

Desktop PCs
Sysmark 07 Preview, PCMark Vantage, PCMark05, 3DMark Vantage, 3DMark06, Cinebench R11\R10
Far Cry 2, Power Consumption.

Graphics cards
3DMark Vantage, 3DMark06, World in Conflict, Crysis Warhead, Lost Planet, FarCry2, Unreal Tournament3, Batman Arkham Asylum, Unigine Heaven, DiRT2 and Power Consumption.

Hard Drives
PCMark05 hard drive test suite, HD Tune, HD Tach, PerformanceMark

Motherboards
Sysmark 07 Preview, PCMark Vantage, PCMark05, 3DMark Vantage, 3DMark06, Cinebench R11\R10
Far Cry 2, Power Consumption (while plugged in).

Notebooks
Sysmark 07 Preview, PCMark Vantage, PCMark05, 3DMark Vantage, 3DMark06, Cinebench R11\R10, Far Cry 2, MobileMark 07 (DVD and Reader), Power Consumption (while plugged in).

Netbooks
PCMark05, 3DMark06, Cinebench R10, Battery Eater, Power Consumption (while plugged in).

Test beds
To test components e.g. motherboards, graphics cards, hard drives etc we use standardised AMD and Intel-based test rigs which get updated on a regular basis. To meet our test rigs click here.