We
will explain the real Geekbench Scores.
Do you want to know if the new Mac you just bought was worth the pay? Is your
old Mac giving you issues every now and then? Geekbench 3 from Primate Labs
provides a reliable testing and evaluation platform for your Mac.
It allows you to test your Mac's performance
and compare it with other Macs. Geekbench can be used to test Windows, Linux,
iOS and Android systems as well.
Geekbench
makes use of both simulated real-world tests, to measure the performance of
your system performing the same types of tasks you'll be using it for on a
daily basis, and stress tests, that not only can show what your Mac is capable
of, but in some cases, even reveal problems with your system that you may not
know you have.
geekbench scores And RATINg
Pros
·
Multi-core aware, testing all available
processor cores.
·
Cross-platform; test your Mac and Windows PC
with the same app.
·
Supports both 32-bit and 64-bit processors.
·
Share your test results in the Geekbench The browser so others can compare their systems with yours.
Con
·
Only tests the processor; no graphics processor
testing.
Getting Started With Geekbench Browser Download
Geekbenchis a straightforward install; drag the app to your Applications folder and
you're ready to launch the benchmark utility. Geekbench starts by displaying a
system information window, showing the configuration of the Mac or other
computing system you're testing.
When
you’re ready to run a benchmark,
you can choose the 32-bit version or the 64-bit version. For all but the very
first Intel Macs, you should select the 64-bit version of the benchmarks.
Before
you press the Run Benchmarks button, make sure you have closed all other apps
on your Mac. This is important to get repeatable benchmarks.
Geekbench Benchmarks
Geekbench
runs 27 different tests. Each test is run twice; first for measuring single CPU
core performance, and then again using all available CPU cores, for a total of
54 test sequences.
Geekbench
organizes the tests into three categories:
1. Integer performance: Measures
the integer performance of your processors by performing tasks that rely on
heavy use of integer instructions. The integer tests include AES, which
generates encrypted text strings; Twofish encryption; SHA1 and SHA2
cryptographic hash algorithms; compression and decompression tests using BZip2,
JPEG, and PNG; and Sobel, an algorithm for finding edges in images.
2. Floating-point performance: Just
like the integer tests, Geekbench runs a series of processor-intensive tasks
that require the use of floating-point instructions.
The floating-point tests
include Black-Scholes, an equation used for modeling option pricing in stocks;
Mandelbrot, a fractal equation; Sharpen and Blur image, used in many
image-editing apps; SGEMM and DGEMM, a set of general matrix manipulation
routines; SFFT and DFFT, popular fast Fourier transforms; N-body, a common the simulation used in physics (popular with game apps); and Ray Trace, used to
render 3D space.
3. Memory performance:
Measures the memory bandwidth available to the processors using STREAM
benchmarks.
Interpreting the geekbench scores
Each test is measured against a baseline represented by a 2011 Mac mini (Intel
Dual-Core 2.5 GHz with 4 GB RAM). The Geekbench tests produced a score of 2500
in the single-core test for this model.
If
your Mac scores higher, it represents better performance than is available from
the baseline Mac model.
Stress Testing
Geekbench
supports a stress-testing mode that runs the multi-core tests in a loop. This
places a large processing load on all cores, and all threads the cores support.
The stress test can detect errors that occur while running, as well as display
average score, last score, and top score. All three values should be reasonably
close to each other. If they're far apart, it indicates a possible problem with
your Mac's processors.
Geekbench Browser
The
Geekbench results can be shared with other Geekbench users via the Geekbench
Browser, a special area of the Geekbench website that allows users of the app
to upload their results to share with others.
Review
Geekbench
is a good benchmarking tool that produces logical and repeatable results. Its
ease of use and cross-platform capabilities make it especially attractive.
The
use of simulated real-world tests, that is, running processes that your Mac is
actually likely to encounter in real use, allows Geekbench to produce more
meaningful results.
Additionally,
the stress test can be helpful for verifying the performance of a new Mac or
testing an older Mac that seems to be exhibiting intermittent problems.
If
you've been wondering how your Mac is performing, give Geekbench a try. And don’t forget to compare your Mac against others
using the Geekbench Browser.
Geekbench
is $14.99 for the cross-platform version or $9.99 for just the Mac version. A
demo is available.
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