The Business Winstone 2004 suite from ZD Labs is an update to the application-based PC benchmark line we've been using for years. It still makes use of real-world application 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.
The Business Winstone 2004 benchmark scores are pretty well equivalent in terms of the two K8T800 Pro motherboards, although the ASUS A8V Deluxe does squeeze out a slim victory. The mainstream Athlon 64 3400+ motherboards show slightly lower scores, and give a definite advantage to the dual-channel DDR AMD64 platforms.
Content Creation Winstone 2004 is another new update to the Winstone line, and also updates the base requirements and applications. We're still looking at an application-based test suite, which includes hot programs like Photoshop, Macromedia Director, LightWave, Wavelab, and many others. This new 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 component performance levels using the latest multimedia software.
Content Creation Winstone 2004 doesn't change the overall rankings, and it's still the ASUS A8V Deluxe in a dead heat with the reference K8T800 Pro motherboard, while the two Socket 754 platforms come in behind.
PCMark 2004 Pro is a much-needed upgrade to the previous 2002 version, 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 subsystem performance, the main tests we'll be looking at are the System and Memory results.
The PCMark 2004 System benchmark testing again gives a slight advantage to the ASUS A8V Deluxe, and also shows off the inherent performance advantage of the dual-channel DDR enabled K8T800 Pro systems.
The PCMark 2004 Memory benchmark is the latest evolution of this popular FutureMark performance test, and follows much the same format as the previous PCMark 2002 revision. The benchmark uses multiple data types and sizes and processes these through system memory, thus giving a real-world performance rating across a wide range of applications and potential uses, along with producing a final memory performance score. The makes the PCMark 2004 memory performance section a pretty good test of real-world performance, for a wide range of possible applications and games.
PCMark 2004 Memory performance testing helps separate the memory bandwidth results from those of the different platforms, and naturally gives a noticeable edge to the ASUS A8V Deluxe and its K8T800 Pro chipset.
