Media Benchmarks

Download from: bit-tech.net

We have developed our own suite of benchmarks using real-world and open source applications to simulate how PCs are actually used. The suite comprises an image editing test using Gimp, a video encoding test using Handbrake and a multi-tasking test using 7-Zip to archive and encrypt a large batch of files while a HD movie plays in mplayer.

A score of 1,000 means that the test system is as fast as our reference PC, which used a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 at stock speed, 2GB of Corsair 1,066MHz DDR2 memory, a 250GB Samsung SpinPoint P120S hard disk and an Asus P5K Deluxe WiFi-AP motherboard. The scoring is linear, so a system scoring 1,200 points is 20 per cent faster than our reference system. Equally, a system scoring 1,200 is 4 per cent faster than a system scoring 1,150.

Unfortunately, in the short time we had to benchmark the systems, we were unable to get our usual image editing benchmark to complete a run as it kept freezing half way through. Despite our best efforts we were unable to solve this strange issue but were able to run our video encoding and multi-tasking tests. As such we've listed this, but image editing and overall scores are absent.

Handbrake H.264 Encoding

Website: HandBrake

We use the open-source, GPL-licensed, multi-platform, multi-threaded video encoder Handbrake to encode a HD video using the H.264 codec. This primarily tests multi-threaded CPU and memory subsystem performance.


For an explanation of what these numbers mean, head to the Performance Analysis page.

Multi-tasking with 7-Zip and mplayer
Websites: www.7-zip.org and www.mplayerhq.hu

Multi-tasking is a phrase with which we're all familiar, as most of us are now used to running multiple applications at the same time. However, to run multiple applications well you need a powerful (ideally multi-core) CPU and plenty of RAM.

Our multi-tasking test performs a massive file backup (with encryption) using 7-Zip, while simultaneously playing back an HD movie file using mplayer, making it a demanding test for any PC.