CPU Reviews & Articles

PCMark05 Pro Performance

PCMark05 Professional is the latest update to the popular PCMark system benchmarking series from FutureMark, and is revamped to highlight current hardware and features additional multithreaded and multi-tasking performance tests. There is the usual selection of individual System, CPU, Memory, Graphics, and Hard Drive benchmark suites, and these continue to bridge the gap between synthetic and application-based benchmarks. For our purposes, the System, CPU and Memory areas will be where we concentrate our benchmarking efforts.

The PCMark05 System benchmark suite includes a wide range of tests, from Windows XP hard drive startup to video and audio encoding, and features a selection of standard desktop routines like text edit, virus scanning, and image decompression. Three of the benchmark scenarios are multithreaded, with the first two including two simultaneous tests, and the final one utilizing four program tests running simultaneously. This helps make the PCMark05 System benchmark a great analysis tool for our dual and quad core processors. For this test, the latest 1.2 patch + hotfix has been applied.

The Core 2 Duo E8500 posts an extremely high PCMark05 System score, and its 3.16 GHz clock speed and revamped Wolfdale core allow it to compete well against some of the top quad core processors. It easily outpaces the Phenom line, and even gives the Core 2 Extreme Q6850 a good fight.

Naturally, the Core 2 Duo E8500 doesn't fare as well at the PCMark05 CPU test, as a portion of this is multi-threaded and gives the quad cores some room to move. Even so, the latest Intel Wolfdale does outperform the Core 2 Quad Q6600 and the entire Phenom contingent.

The PCMark05 Memory benchmarking gets the Core 2 Duo E8500 back on track, and it posts the highest score, even better than the 3.0 GHz Core 2 Extreme QX9650. The added clock speed seems to make a difference, and we have noticed that a dual core version can sometimes offer better memory bandwidth than its quad core counterpart.