Reviews

PCMark2002

Build: 100
Release date: 12.03.2002
Developer: MadOnion.com


  A year later the release of 3DMark2001 MadOnion.com has released its "absolutely new benchmark" - PCMark2002! The release was rather unexpected: most of all everybody wanted the company to release the next version of its most popular product - 3DMark. But after the first announcement (made 3 days before the actual release) everyone was trying to guess the main purpose of the forthcoming program. And, of course, there were correct suppositions.
  Now, when PCMark2002 is released, let's look at it and see if it will get as much popularity as 3DMark.



  According to MadOnion.com, PCMark2002 measures generic PC performance in home and office use. Unlike other similar programs (e.g. eTestingLabs' benchmarks), PCMark2002 does not include whole applications for measuring the performance but rather measures computer performance on a lower level. As a result, the program is relatively small - just 8.8 Mb. So downloading won't take long.
  Altogether, PCMark2002 includes 56 tests (in the Professional version - see below)! There's no need to list all of them. But in general, PCMark2002 tests the following:
  • The CPU (Central Processing Unit), both with integer and floating point workloads (6 tests, including JPEG decompression, Zlib compression & decompression, text search, Audio Conversion, 3D Vector Calculation).
  • The memory subsystem (25 tests, including both L1 and L2 caches, graphics memory, AGP bus and the system memory).
  • The Hard Disk Drive(s).
  • The Crunch test (it runs 3 tests simultaneously).
  • New Microsoft Windows XP GUI (Graphics User Interface) features (12 tests to demonstrate the new 2D functionality of the Windows XP).
  • Video performance and quality (11 tests, including ASF compression, ASF playback, DVD playback, Line Flicker Test, Feathering Test).
  • Laptop battery, if PCMark2002 is run on a laptop.

  Besides, PCMark2002 also includes the System Information module. It gives rather detailed and comprehensive information.
  When you open PCMark2002 you're greeted by a fading logo - traditional for all MadOnion.com's products. The first screen and the interface on the whole are very similar to the ones in 3DMark. In other words, they're intuitively obvious. As always, you can select a set of tests to be run, change test options, save results or submit them to the Online Result Browser, not to mention the buttons for starting the Benchmark, System Info or the Battery Test.

The first screen


  PCMark2002 ships in three versions: downloadable Free version, small fee Registered version, and the fully featured Pro version. Let's look at their differences:
  • The Free version includes: CPU, memory, graphics memory, HDD tests, System Information, ability to submit the results to the Online Result Browser.
  • The Registered version ($9.95) unlocks some of the functionality restricted in the Free version: custom selection of tests, testing options, result details, result export in text format.
  • The Professional version ($39.95) offers full functionality and comes with some additional features: ResultBrowser2002, Windows XP 2D tests, video encoding test, video playback tests, video quality tests, battery test for laptops.

  Minimum system requirements are as follows:
  • Intel compatible 400 MHz processor, with MMX support
  • 64 MB system memory
  • AGP graphics accelerator
  • Microsoft Windows 98/SE, ME, 2000 or XP operating system
  • DirectX 8.1 or later
  PCMark2002 requires a number of software to be installed for full functionality (mainly for the Professional version): Windows XP, Windows Media Player 7.1, Windows Media Encoder 7.1, DVD playback software (tested with Cinemaster, PowerDVD and WinDVD).

Conclusion

  As to the subjective impressions, PCMark2002 has proved itself very good. It didn't crash, didn't cause any errors. All the tests ran quite smoothly, the System Information module gave pretty accurate information.
  I was a little disappointed by the funtionality of the Free version. The happy medium here is the Registered version.
  A MadOnion.com Product is a synonym for quality! PCMark2002 is not an exception. It is highly recommended for everybody!

Download PCMark2002!

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I.S.Mareev
23.03.2002

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