Custom PC Media Benchmarks 2007 now available

Posted at: 4:54am 28th August 2007 by Ben Hardwidge

Our spanking new Media Benchmarks 2007 suite is finally here, and very fine it is too, but then we would say that wouldn’t we? Continuing with our long-running loathing for synthetic benchmarks, all of the tests in our new suite simulate tasks that you might actually perform with real software packages. Not only that, but they’re all based on open source software, so you won’t have any problems with trial software, such as the PaintShop Pro demo, expiring either.

There are three tests in the new Vista-compatible suite: a GIMP image editing test, an H.264 compression test using Handbrake and a multitasking test that creates a huge file archive in 7-Zip while playing back a video. For the full rundown of what’s in the new benchmark suite, check out the new benchmarks page here, where you’ll also find a download link to the benchmarks on the right.

As well as the new apps, we’ve also added a new front end, which allows you to set how many loops you want to run, and set your machine to automatically restart or defrag in between tests if you want. You can also set it to shutdown after testing if you want to leave your machine benchmarking overnight but want to keep down your electricity costs.

As a point of comparison, our base machine scored 1,000 points, and that contains a 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo E6750, 2GB of Corsair XMS2-8500 DDR2 RAM, a 250GB S-ATA II Samsung SpinPoint P120 hard disk and an Asus P5K Deluxe motherboard. If you reckon you can get more points than this, or if you just want to see how your machine compares, then run the benchmarks and see how many points you can rack up.

Several readers have already run the benchmarks on their rigs (and beaten our base machine), so check out the hall of fame to see what you’re up against.

We’re hoping that the new Media Benchmarks 2007 are going to become popular with PC enthusiasts everywhere, and Scan has already said that it plans to run the benchmarks on its PCs before you buy them, just so you can make sure that they’re performing in line with expectations. Make sure you tell all your mates about the new benchmarks too, and let’s see if we can make our real-world application-based benchmarks the next big thing in PC benchmarking.