Benchmarking for Dummies

[djohn3853]

Since I will be upgrading cpu and mem soon, I thought I'd like to see some before and after data (for me).

But, duh, I don't know what I'm doing. Is there a step by step guide somewhere? Is it consolidated anywhere? Any links would be appreciated.

Current stuff is XP2200+ with stock hsf and (3) 256mb sticks of Crucial PC-2700.

I am upgrading to Barton 2500+ and (2) 512mb sticks of Corsair XMS PC3200. Will be running a SLK-900A also.

In the past year since I first built my rig I have downloaded 3DMark2001 SE, WCPUID, CPU-Z and Sandra. But I really don't know how to use them. With WCPUID I can see my cpu speed of 1830 (11 x 166) but most of the rest of the stuff is Greek to me.

I'd like to see my benchmarks now, then install new stuff and run stock, then finally OC cpu hopefully up to 3200+.

 

[BlueWeasel]

It's really simple...trust me....

Just install 3DMark and Sandra using the files you downloaded. After setup is complete, run each of the programs from the Start Menu...

3DMark
Select Benchmark from the menu and the program will give you a combined score for your CPU and graphics card. While you will see an increase because of the CPU and memory upgrade, your GF4 Ti4200 will be your bottleneck.

Sandra
Go under View and select the Benchmarking modules. Run the following modules to benchmark your CPU and memory. Select the desired benchmark and then hit 'Refresh' (at the bottom) to run the test. Once the test is complete, you can select various other components (using the forms on the left) to see how they compare to yours.

 

[Duvie]

Why these are benchmarks these are not vetry good ones.....Most of the difference they may show you in scores don't seem to transfer to reality...

I recommend running some of the apps you run now and time them or whatever....

I have been upgrading quite a bit recently and one thing you will notice is void in my reviews and post are the worthless benchmarks listed above....

For example....My mem scores went from 3000 with my single channel ddr setup to 5700 now with my dual channel ddr setup...A whopping near 100% increase yet in REAL WORLD apps that translated into 5-10% increases....Big differnce huh....


I run encoding programs from mpeg2 and mpeg3...I run UT2003demo one of the best I have seen. Just set the screen to 640x480 to isolate the cpu...I run winzip and winrar compression test...I run superpi and prime95....I run POV-Ray v3.5 benchmark test to test 3d rendering...I run a DVD transcoding test...and the list goes on....


I really try to avoid synthetic benchmarks...3dmark for me has not increased since my cpu was a 1.6@2.4ghz and that is mainly because the obvious my radeon8500 AIW is not really that impressive 3d gaming....3dmark is too reliant on vid card so unless you are changing the vid card it is not a good test...I also notice changing ddr speeds and timings seem to have different results then running real games and ut2003demo...