The Business Winstone 2004 suite from ZD Labs is the same type of application-based PC benchmark line we've been using for years. It still makes use of real-world tests like word processing, spreadsheets, web browsing and formatting, as well as file compression, anti-virus scanning and email. A multi-tasking component has also been added, and the base requirements have been upgraded quite significantly. As usual, this suite of programs is run from a batch script that attempts to accurately emulate a business system load, and then supplies us with a final performance rating.
Intel has fallen back from AMD in the overall Business Winstone performance race, and even the 3.8 GHz Pentium 4 670 can do little to change that. In terms of relative Intel performance, the Pentium 4-3.73 GHz Extreme Edition is still top dog, although the Pentium 4 670 manages to slide ahead of the Pentium Extreme Edition 840. The Pentium D 820 falls back in the pack, as we expected due to its 2.8 GHz clock. Also, note that the integrated GMA 950 graphics of the i945G Express do enact a performance hit, even with the more business-oriented benchmark tests.
Content Creation Winstone 2004 is the second part of the Winstone desktop line, and is another application-based test suite, which includes hot programs like Photoshop, Macromedia Director, LightWave, Wavelab, and many others. This latest version also includes Windows Media Encoder 9, which means the AMD and Intel processor features are fully recognized and supported. This is a very demanding system benchmark, and makes a great comparison tool for our high-end testing and when comparing performance levels using high-end multimedia software.
Also note is that the 1.0.1 update patch has enabled multi-processor/threading and Hyper-Threading support in the LightWave section of the test.
The Content Creation Winstone 2004 benchmarking results are a bit closer, and the Intel processors manage to stay within striking distance of the AMD competition. The Pentium 4 670 is right near the top of the Intel list, just shy of the top-end Pentium 4-3.73 GHz EE. Once again, the 2.8 GHz Pentium D 820 is not able to keep up with the higher-clocked models, while the i945G and its GMA 950 core doesn't show any negatives compared to the much higher-end GeForce 6800GT board.
