PCMark 2004 Pro Performance

PCMark 2004 Pro is the latest edition of the popular system benchmarking tool and along with adapting to the ever-changing hardware world, FutureMark has also added some new tests. The PCMark 2004 design still cuts a line between purely synthetic and application-based benchmarks, and provides a more general view of computer performance. PCMark 2004 performs general use tasks such as image compression, grammar check, and audio conversion, while combining this with a selection of similar benchmarks for individual system components. As we're dealing with processor and subsystem performance, the main tests we'll be looking at are the System, CPU and Memory results.

PCMark 2004 Pro offers a bit different view of overall system performance, due in part to its support of newer technologies. The Pentium 4 670 manages to exceed the 6K mark, and even surpasses the score of the powerful Pentium 4-3.73 GHz EE. Of course, the Pentium Extreme Edition 840 uses its quad-processing power to take the overall title, while the i945G's integrated graphics take a serious toll on overall performance, so much so that even the Pentium D 820 posts a higher score.

The memory performance scores tell a different tale, and really give the advantage to the higher bus speeds. Since the Pentium 4-3.73 GHz utilizes the 1066 MHz CPU bus, it naturally scores much higher than the AMD and Intel competition, but the 3.8 GHz Pentium 4 670 acquits itself well in the dual-channel DDR400 world. Using the integrated graphics of the i945G only drops the score by a very small amount, but the lower 2.8 GHz clock speed of the Pentium D 820 takes a higher toll.

The PCMark 2004 CPU benchmarking offers a bit of the old and new, as it not only rewards old school CPU performance, but supports technologies like multi-threading as well. The combination of a 3.8 GHz clock and HT support make the Pentium 4 670 a serious contender, and outside of the insane performance of the Pentium EE 840 (with four logical processors), it posts the highest overall score. The i945G and its integrated graphics core is a non-issue as far as CPU performance is concerned, and while the Pentium D 820 posts the lowest Intel score, it still manages to outpace the entire AMD contingent.