CPU Tests: Legacy and Web

In order to gather data to compare with older benchmarks, we are still keeping a number of tests under our ‘legacy’ section. This includes all the former major versions of CineBench (R15, R11.5, R10) as well as x264 HD 3.0 and the first very naïve version of 3DPM v2.1. We won’t be transferring the data over from the old testing into Bench, otherwise it would be populated with 200 CPUs with only one data point, so it will fill up as we test more CPUs like the others.

The other section here is our web tests.

Web Tests: Kraken, Octane, and Speedometer

Benchmarking using web tools is always a bit difficult. Browsers change almost daily, and the way the web is used changes even quicker. While there is some scope for advanced computational based benchmarks, most users care about responsiveness, which requires a strong back-end to work quickly to provide on the front-end. The benchmarks we chose for our web tests are essentially industry standards – at least once upon a time.

It should be noted that for each test, the browser is closed and re-opened a new with a fresh cache. We use a fixed Chromium version for our tests with the update capabilities removed to ensure consistency.

Mozilla Kraken 1.1

Kraken is a 2010 benchmark from Mozilla and does a series of JavaScript tests. These tests are a little more involved than previous tests, looking at artificial intelligence, audio manipulation, image manipulation, json parsing, and cryptographic functions. The benchmark starts with an initial download of data for the audio and imaging, and then runs through 10 times giving a timed result.

We loop through the 10-run test four times (so that’s a total of 40 runs), and average the four end-results. The result is given as time to complete the test, and we’re reaching a slow asymptotic limit with regards the highest IPC processors.

(7-1) Kraken 1.1 Web Test

Google Octane 2.0

Our second test is also JavaScript based, but uses a lot more variation of newer JS techniques, such as object-oriented programming, kernel simulation, object creation/destruction, garbage collection, array manipulations, compiler latency and code execution.

Octane was developed after the discontinuation of other tests, with the goal of being more web-like than previous tests. It has been a popular benchmark, making it an obvious target for optimizations in the JavaScript engines. Ultimately it was retired in early 2017 due to this, although it is still widely used as a tool to determine general CPU performance in a number of web tasks.

(7-2) Google Octane 2.0 Web Test

Speedometer 2: JavaScript Frameworks

Our newest web test is Speedometer 2, which is a test over a series of JavaScript frameworks to do three simple things: built a list, enable each item in the list, and remove the list. All the frameworks implement the same visual cues, but obviously apply them from different coding angles.

Our test goes through the list of frameworks, and produces a final score indicative of ‘rpm’, one of the benchmarks internal metrics.

We repeat over the benchmark for a dozen loops, taking the average of the last five.

(7-3) Speedometer 2.0 Web Test

Legacy Tests

(6-5a) x264 HD 3.0 Pass 1(6-5b) x264 HD 3.0 Pass 2(6-3a) CineBench R15 ST(6-3b) CineBench R15 MT

CPU Tests: Encoding CPU Tests: Synthetic and SPEC
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  • Stuka87 - Wednesday, January 27, 2021 - link

    Really no reason for them to move away from Vega for these chips. Do you also complain that Intel has not changed their IGP for years?

    The efficiency of Vega is quite good when not OC'ed way past where it should be like in the desktop cards. And it still offers adequate performance for the majority of people looking at a laptop. For anything more you want a discrete card anyway.
  • Unashamed_unoriginal_username_x86 - Thursday, January 28, 2021 - link

    Just on the Intel point, it's worth noting that they've had to develop GPU IP specifically for their CPUs. The paradigm has changed with the advent of Xe scalable, but even then the first product released with Xe was a CPU. Obviously AMD is disadvantaged with RTG not being as tightly nit as Intel's GPU group
  • IGTrading - Tuesday, January 26, 2021 - link

    Amazing execution from AMD.

    Unfortunately, the only way they could gain some significant market share would be if they manage to source enough capacity from TSMC.

    The demand for AMD CPUs in the market is huge.

    At Amazon, AMD's chips come with a +50% price premium on a regular basis. SONY & Microsoft are going nuts trying to get more chips from AMD.

    If AMD managed to negotiate well their cut from TSMC, we should see an explosion of AMD's revenue in 2021.

    The new crypto boom will only propel AMD's ASPs even higher, although it will annoy the IT enthusiasts.

    Great piece, Ian! Thanks.
  • Deicidium369 - Wednesday, January 27, 2021 - link

    Not a question of capacity - it's the fact that TSMCs fragile long supply chain is broken and limited resources have to be allocated - and AMD is contractually obligated to reach delivery targets for the Console SOCs. They have to use the limited resources to provide the ultra high volume, ultra low margin SOCs over their high margin PC GPUs and CPUs.

    In this case, it's not AMD's fault - it's an issue with TSMC
  • Spunjji - Thursday, January 28, 2021 - link

    "TSMCs fragile long supply chain is broken"
    ---citation needed---
  • Qasar - Thursday, January 28, 2021 - link

    ---will never see it---
  • e36Jeff - Tuesday, January 26, 2021 - link

    Minor quibble, the chart at the bottom of the first page lists the Flow X13's memory speed as LPDDR4-3267 rather than 4267.
  • Silma - Tuesday, January 26, 2021 - link

    It's one thing to develop great processors, it's entirely another thing to effectively ship them.
    I would have liked to purchase a Zen 3 processors for my new PC, but I had to make do with a 3700X.
    Would have been interested by an RTX 3070 or an AMD latest gen graphic card, but again, they only seem to exist in the hands of testers, YouTubers and twitchers.

    Let's see if AMD can really ship a decent number of Zen 3 mobile CPUs.
  • bji - Tuesday, January 26, 2021 - link

    All your problems are easily solved. Just go to MicroCenter!
  • Qasar - Tuesday, January 26, 2021 - link

    and if there is no microcenter near you, then what ?

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