PC Mark 7 Performance Review

Testing:

PCMark 7 testing provides overall system performance scores from its various benchmarks. The tests conducted are the six primary benchmarks at default settings, while comparisons are made between multiple systems.

Testing Setup:

• Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE
• Cooling: Noctua NH-U12P
• Motherboard: ASUS M4A89GTD USB3
• Memory: Mushkin Blackline 996782 PC3 12800 2x2GB
• Video Card: XFX HD5870 1GB
• Power Supply: OCZ 700W Modular Power Supply
• Hard Drive: 1 x Seagate 750GB SATA
• Optical Drive: Lite-on DVD-RW SATA
• OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
• Case: NZXT Phantom

Comparison Setup:

• Processors: Core i7 2600K @ 3.4GHz 100 x 34
• Cooling: Noctua NH-U12P
• Motherboard: ASUS Maximus IV Extreme
• Memory: Mushkin 996805 Redline PC312800 6-8-6-24 1600MHz 4GB
• Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD5870
• Power Supply: Mushkin 1000W Joule Modular power supply
• Hard Drive: 1 x Seagate 1TB SATA
• Optical Drive: Lite-On Blu-Ray
• Case: Cooler Master HAF 932
• OS: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit

Settings:

After the simple installation, users are prompted to enter their registration code or continue using the Basic Edition. Running PCMark 7 is as simple as it gets; there's absolutely no options relating to the benchmarks themselves. From the benchmarks tab you choose the test suites you would like to run. Strangely, you cannot create a test with custom workloads. Next is the results tab. From here you can view, load, save and export your results in addition to submitting your results online. The log tab is just that - a log of tests run in the past. On the help tab you'll find the help and support link, along with your version and registration details.

Conclusion:

With every new iteration of benchmarking software comes a new scoring scale. The difference in numbers between the Core i7 2600K system and the Phenom X4 955 are about right for stock settings. Using these two very common systems, we are given a basic reference of the scale for comparison in future reviews.

The application itself is very straightforward and not surprisingly, user friendly. Installation and setup do not get in the way of a streamlined benchmarking process. Benchmarking itself is also easier than ever, albeit at the slight cost of customization. There are six primary benchmarks which are fully automated at specific settings. The inclusion of a light-weight benchmark, means that the benchmark won't take unusually long or produce disproportionately low scores on entry-level systems. The cherry on top of PCMark 7, is that the basic version maintains all of the core features of the program, allowing a much larger user-base. Though there was nothing notably wrong with PCMark Vantage, PCMark 7 has improved on the design with a free version that facilitates a larger user-base, a user-friendly interface and an overall streamlined benchmarking process.