Examining the Methods Employed by Our Laptop Testing Platform
In the world of technology, benchmark tests play a crucial role in evaluating the performance of Windows laptops. These tests provide a comprehensive view of a laptop's CPU, GPU, productivity, multimedia, and gaming capabilities.
CPU and GPU Performance
The benchmark suite commonly used to test CPU and GPU performance includes Geekbench 5 and 6 from Primate Labs, Cinebench R23, and 3DMark Benchmark Suite from Futuremark. Geekbench tests the overall performance across various workloads, while Cinebench measures CPU rendering performance using multi-core and single-core tests. The 3DMark suite contains multiple tests, such as Fire Strike for DirectX 11, Time Spy for DirectX 12, and Steel Nomad, to evaluate graphics and gaming performance.
Productivity and Multimedia Performance
For productivity and office-like tasks, PCMark 10 from Futuremark is used. This test assesses overall system performance, focusing on productivity. For content creation performance on supported devices, UL Procyon comes into play.
Gaming Performance
When evaluating gaming laptops, additional gaming benchmarks may include real-world game performance tests for titles like Guardians of the Galaxy, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and The Rift Breaker.
Industry-Standard Suites
BAPCo CrossMark is another industry-standard suite that measures real-world productivity, creativity, and responsiveness. It tests document creation, web browsing, photo/video editing, and application launch and file I/O. The Business Applications Performance Corporation (BAPCo) collaborates with Puget Systems to develop a suite of tests for measuring how well a system handles Adobe Creative Cloud applications.
Workstation Systems
For workstation systems, the SPECworkstation 3.1 benchmark is used to test graphics, utilizing engines from major applications like Blender, Maya, and 3ds Max.
Chromebooks
For Chromebooks, Geekbench, JetStream 2, WebXPRT 4, CrXPRT 2, and a custom app designed for Chrome OS are used for testing.
Evaluation and Comparison
Each score is recorded and compared with the average scores of all laptops in the same category. The Notebook's results on each test are compared with results from other systems in its category, with the category average for any given test and category calculated by taking the mean score from the prior 12 months of test results.
Categories currently include Chromebooks, Budget Laptops, Mainstream Laptops, Premium Laptops, Workstations, Entry-Level Gaming, Mainstream Gaming, Premium Gaming, and ratings may change to meet current market conditions.
The tests and criteria used to judge all types of systems are re-evaluated to ensure they best meet the needs of the users and represent the current state of the art in the industry.
In summary, a combination of these benchmark tests provides a comprehensive view of a Windows laptop's performance. Reviews of current-generation devices often combine several of these tests for balanced, standardized assessments.
- The benchmark suite used to test a notebook's CPU and GPU performance includes Geekbench 5 and 6, Cinebench R23, and 3DMark Benchmark Suite.
- Geekbench tests the overall performance across various workloads, while Cinebench measures CPU rendering performance using multi-core and single-core tests.
- The 3DMark suite contains multiple tests, such as Fire Strike, Time Spy, and Steel Nomad, to evaluate graphics and gaming performance.
- For productivity and office-like tasks, PCMark 10 is used to assess overall system performance.
- For content creation performance on supported devices, UL Procyon is utilized.
- When evaluating gaming laptops, additional gaming benchmarks may include real-world game performance tests for titles like Guardians of the Galaxy, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and The Rift Breaker.
- BAPCo CrossMark is another industry-standard suite that measures real-world productivity, creativity, and responsiveness.
- For workstation systems, the SPECworkstation 3.1 benchmark is used to test graphics, utilizing engines from major applications like Blender, Maya, and 3ds Max.
- For Chromebooks, Geekbench, JetStream 2, WebXPRT 4, CrXPRT 2, and a custom app designed for Chrome OS are used for testing.
- Each score is recorded and compared with the average scores of all laptops in the same category, with categories including Chromebooks, Budget Laptops, Mainstream Laptops, Premium Laptops, Workstations, Entry-Level Gaming, Mainstream Gaming, Premium Gaming, and others.
- The tests and criteria used to judge all types of systems are re-evaluated to ensure they best meet the needs of the users and represent the current state of the art in the industry, including areas like technology, lifestyle, education-and-self-development, entertainment, and general-news.
