Testing Matrix

We selected fifth- and sixth-generation processors and put them through a variety of tests to isolate their particular strengths and weaknesses in diverse application scenarios. We did not evaluate some processors in particular tests, because they are unlikely to be used under those conditions. Also, in some cases we looked for general trends where a sampling approach sufficed.

Windows 95

Tested processors:

• AMD K5-PR166 (116.7 MHz), K6/200, and K6/233;
• Cyrix 6x86-PR200 (166 MHz) and 6x86MX-PR233 (187.5 MHz);
• Intel Pentium/200, Pentium MMX/200, Pentium MMX/233, Pentium Pro/200, Pentium II/233, Pentium II/266, Pentium II/300, dual Pentium II/266, and dual Pentium II/300

Tests run with 32MB and 64MB RAM:

• ZD Business Winstone 97
• CPUmark16
• CPUmark32

32MB RAM only:

• ZD 3D WinMark 97 (hardware emulation)
• 3D WinMark 97 (with Diamond 3D card)
• 3D WinMark 97 (with Leadtek 3D card)

We did not run the ZD 3D WinMark 97 tests with the Diamond and Leadtek cards on the AMD K5PR166, the Cyrix 6x86-PR200, and the Intel dual Pentium II/266 and dual Pentium II/300.

Windows NT

Tested processors:

• AMD K5-PR166 (116.7 MHz), K6/200, and K6/233;
• Cyrix 6x86-PR200 (166 MHz) and 6x86MX-PR233 (187.5 MHz);
• Intel Pentium/200, Pentium MMX/200, Pentium MMX/233, Pentium Pro/200, Pentium II/233, Pentium II/266, Pentium II/300, dual Pentium II/266, and dual Pentium II/300

Tests run with 32MB and 64MB RAM:

• ZD Business Winstone 97
• High-End Winstone 97
• CPUmark16
• CPUmark32

Tests run with 128MB RAM:

• AutoCAD, Photoshop Gaussian Blur (an MMX test)
• Photoshop Lighting Effects (a floating-point test)
• Photoshop Unsharpen Mask (an MMX test), and Pro/Engineer

32MB RAM only:

• Synthetic floating-point (FP) test

64MB RAM only:

• ZD Business Winstone 97 with systems using a 10,000-rpm SCSI hard disk instead of the standard 5,400-rpm EIDE hard disk used for all other tests

We ran the ZD Business Winstone 97 tests with the SCSI disk only on systems with the following:

• AMD K6/200 and K6/233;
• Cyrix 6x86MX-PR233 (187.5 MHz);
• Intel Pentium/200, Pentium MMX/200, Pentium II/233, Pentium II/266, and Pentium II/300

We did not run the Pro/Engineer and AutoCAD tests with the AMD K5-PR166 or the Cyrix 6x86-PR200.

Equipment Providers

To set up our test-bed, PC Magazine and PC Labs acquired products from the following vendors, whom we thank for their assistance:
First International Computer of America (800-342-2636; www.fica.com), Hewlett-Packard Co. (800-752-0900; www.hewlett-packard.com), and Tyan Computer Corp. (408-956-8000; www.tyan.com) for sending motherboards; IBM Corp. (800-426-3333; www.ibm.com) and Seagate Technology (408-438-8111; www.seagate.com) for hard disks; Kingston Technology Corp. (800-337-8410; www.kingston.com) for memory; Diamond Multimedia Systems (800-468-5846; www.diamondmm.com) and Leadtek Research (510-490-8076; www.leadtek.com) for graphics adapters; and Adaptec (800-442-7274; www.adaptec.com) for SCSI disk controllers.

Several vendors supplied systems for our tests: Compaq Computer Corp. (800-345-1518; www.compaq.com), CyberMax Computer (800-345-8939; www.cybmax.com), Digital Equipment Corp. (800-344-4825; www.digital.com), GST/Micro City (800-567-2764; www.aapogee.com), Polywell Computers (800-999-1278; www.polywell.com), Tagram System Corp. (800-824-7267; www.tagram.com), Tangent Computer (800-342-9388; www.tangent.com), and Tiger-Direct (800-830-0056; www.tigerdirect.com).

From the September 23, 1997 issue of PC Magazine

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