Unit 2.2 Task 5

Task 5 (M3)

Evaluate the performance of a given computer system. This can be either a laptop or desktop, and either Mac or PC.

You may wish to use benchmarking software to do this (i.e.Novabench).

(D2)

Suggest improvements to the system, in each case explaining what benefits the improvement will bring in terms of performance and/or functionality.

7th June

Using NovaBench to evaluate the overall performance of a computer system, I decided to do a comparison between the Intel Core i7 and the MacBook Pro. The test is divided into 4 categories: System RAM, CPU tests, graphics tests and hardware tests and are given a score for each category.

- With an Intel Core i7, the system RAM was given an overall score of 175 with a total RAM speed of 11,339 MB/s. This is much better than the MacBook Pro, which was given a score of 108 and had a total RAM speed of 2,687 MB/s.

- The CPU testing is based on Floating Point Operations, Integer Operations and MD5 Hashes Calculated (all per second). The Intel Core i7 has a test score of 796 with 210,561,168 Floating Point Operations/s, 914,180,192 Integer Operations/s and 1,265,105 MD5 Hashes Calculated/s. The MacBook Pro has a test score of 187 with 48,447,244 Floating Point Operations/s, 95,730,000 Integer Operations/s and 677,596 MD5 Hashes Calculated/s.

- In the graphics test, the Intel Core i7 has a test score of 954 with a 3D Frames rate of 2,485/s whilst the MacBook Pro has as abysmal test score of 29 with a total of 70 3D Frames per second.

- Finally, the hardware tests is split into two categories: Primary Partition Capacity and Drive Write Speed. The Intel Core i7 has a test score of 18 with the Primary Partition Capacity at 932 GB and the Drive Write Speed at 143 MB/s. The MacBook Pro has a test score of 16 with a Primary Partition Capacity of 223 GB and a Drive Write Speed of 40 MB/s.

Overall, the Intel Core i7 tests better in every category with a large data storage capacity, impressive graphics and is very quick. The MacBook Pro on the other hand is lacking somewhat significantly in the majority of categories, particularly in the graphics testing.

The improvements I would make the MacBook Pro would begin with a much improved graphics card. This basically improves the user's experience with this machine as everything seems sharper and more detailed, thus making it more appealing to the eye. The second improvement I would make would be to enlarge the capacity of the machine. Many people prefer to take their computer systems with them for work or hobbies such as graphic design. A large capacity would be required for this to be able to manage the applications and the data storage required.

I feel that the Intel Core i7 is a very capable computer system that needs little to no improvements for your standard machine. Computer gamers may want a larger storage system or graphics card, but aside from that the Intel Core i7 is a very good machine.

LEFT: MacBook Pro

RIGHT: Intel Core i7