To: andreas_wonisch who wrote (37266 ) 4/25/2001 11:32:45 AM From: Petz Read Replies (1) | Respond to andreas, can't remember where I read it, but Intel is about to start playing very dirty in the benchmark business. Ziff Davis, which was recently purchased by Intel-dominated CNet, will be DROPPING its benchmarks in favor of Sysmark 2001. Sysmark 2001 does things like video encoding in the background while testing all applications, since we all do this all the time. And of course, they will pick an SSE2 optimized video encoder, right?aceshardware.com If you recall, ZDnet was purchased by CNET in which Intel has heavy investments. It zdnet.com The Intel announcement also coincides with the debut of ZDNet's new performance tests for desktops and notebooks (as well as some peripherals). We won't bore you with all the geeky details on these benchmarks, but it's worth taking a moment to explain the new tests and what they can tell you before you invest as much as $3,000 in a new PC. The suite of tests ZDNet now uses was developed by BAPCo and its partner, MadOnion.com. The primary BAPCo test we'll be using is SYSmark 2001, which measures all-around performance using off-the-shelf productivity applications (Microsoft Office 2000, Netscape Communicator 6.0, etc.) and content-creation tools (Adobe Photoshop 6.0, Macromedia Dreamweaver 4, etc.). To simulate real-world performance, SYSmark 2001 throws PCs all kinds of curves--running multiple applications simultaneously, switching between applications, and performing background tasks such as file compression, virus scanning, speech-to-text translation, and video encoding. The main MadOnion.com test, 3DMark2001 Pro, measures 3D gaming performance including most of the features of Microsoft DirectX 8 not found in competing benchmark tests. The Gateway Performance 1700 was the first desktop...
