1.8 dual PM G5 Results 173.41
System Info
Xbench Version 1.1.3
System Version 10.3.8 (7U16)
Physical RAM 512 MB
Model PowerMac7,2
Processor PowerPC 970x2 @ 1.80 GHz
L1 Cache 64K (instruction), 32K (data)
L2 Cache 512K @ 1.80 GHz
Bus Frequency 900 MHz
Video Card GeForce FX 5200
Drive Type ST3160023AS

CPU Test 174.21
GCD Loop 106.09 4.14 Mops/sec
Floating Point Basic 285.81 1.03 Gflop/sec
AltiVec Basic 123.51 3.59 Gflop/sec
vecLib FFT 198.59 3.08 Gflop/sec
Floating Point Library 378.21 15.14 Mops/sec

Thread Test 180.94
Computation 132.01 1.78 Mops/sec, 4 threads
Lock Contention 287.49 3.61 Mlocks/sec, 4 threads

Memory Test 302.07
System 334.21
Allocate 648.85 423.25 Kalloc/sec
Fill 269.40 2144.44 MB/sec
Copy 268.59 1342.94 MB/sec
Stream 275.57
Copy 240.06 1754.87 MB/sec [G5]
Scale 238.39 1759.29 MB/sec [G5]
Add 313.40 2005.76 MB/sec [G5]
Triad 337.36 2061.25 MB/sec [G5]

Quartz Graphics Test 216.01
Line 234.62 5.97 Klines/sec [50% alpha]
Rectangle 154.37 10.86 Krects/sec [50% alpha]
Circle 195.19 4.50 Kcircles/sec [50% alpha]
Bezier 207.43 2.25 Kbeziers/sec [50% alpha]
Text 406.01 6.62 Kchars/sec

OpenGL Graphics Test 180.56
Spinning Squares 180.56 126.35 frames/sec

User Interface Test 274.66
Elements 274.66 88.34 refresh/sec

Disk Test 83.46
Sequential 70.42
Uncached Write 34.96 14.57 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 124.00 50.78 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 82.87 13.12 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 124.05 50.12 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 102.42
Uncached Write 93.94 1.41 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 103.17 23.27 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 99.85 0.66 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 114.88 23.64 MB/sec [256K blocks]

Greetings,

My processor settings are on Automatic. Other than adding a Raptor drive, the system is as I ordered it and running great!

Results 240.54
System Info
Xbench Version 1.1.3
System Version 10.3.8 (7U16)
Physical RAM 1024 MB
Model PowerMac7,3
Processor PowerPC G5x2 @ 2.50 GHz
L1 Cache 64K (instruction), 32K (data)
L2 Cache 512K @ 2.50 GHz
Bus Frequency 1 GHz (should be 1.25GHz)
Video Card ATY,R360 ATI 9800XT 256MB VRAM
Drive Type WDC WD740GD-00FLA1 Raptor

CPU Test 200.98
GCD Loop 130.08 5.08 Mops/sec
Floating Point Basic 316.68 1.15 Gflop/sec
AltiVec Basic 137.24 3.99 Gflop/sec
vecLib FFT 222.94 3.46 Gflop/sec
Floating Point Library 442.41 17.71 Mops/sec

Thread Test 240.34
Computation 169.24 2.28 Mops/sec, 4 threads
Lock Contention 414.47 5.20 Mlocks/sec, 4 threads

Memory Test 348.62
System 400.54
Allocate 903.79 589.54 Kalloc/sec
Fill 388.62 3093.40 MB/sec
Copy 262.45 1312.26 MB/sec
Stream 308.62
Copy 253.86 1855.71 MB/sec [G5]
Scale 275.48 2033.05 MB/sec [G5]
Add 363.07 2323.66 MB/sec [G5]
Triad 379.15 2316.60 MB/sec [G5]

Quartz Graphics Test 307.46
Line 307.09 7.82 Klines/sec [50% alpha]
Rectangle 278.30 19.58 Krects/sec [50% alpha]
Circle 285.07 6.57 Kcircles/sec [50% alpha]
Bezier 281.11 3.05 Kbeziers/sec [50% alpha]
Text 425.99 6.94 Kchars/sec

OpenGL Graphics Test 223.61
Spinning Squares 223.61 156.48 frames/sec

User Interface Test 366.37
Elements 366.37 117.84 refresh/sec

Disk Test 150.54
Sequential 152.24
Uncached Write 205.53 85.67 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 161.48 66.13 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 169.07 26.76 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 107.51 43.44 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 148.89
Uncached Write 138.11 2.07 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 172.21 38.84 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 136.94 0.90 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 153.47 31.58 MB/sec [256K blocks

Results 171.45
System Info
Xbench Version 1.1.3
System Version 10.3.9 (7W98)
Physical RAM 2048 MB
Model PowerMac9,1
Processor PowerPC G5 @ 1.80 GHz
L1 Cache 64K (instruction), 32K (data)
L2 Cache 512K @ 1.15 GHz
Bus Frequency 600 MHz
Video Card ATY,R350
Drive Type Maxtor 6Y080M0
CPU Test 170.64
GCD Loop 102.76 4.01 Mops/sec
Floating Point Basic 286.32 1.04 Gflop/sec
AltiVec Basic 123.24 3.58 Gflop/sec
vecLib FFT 197.69 3.07 Gflop/sec
Floating Point Library 344.18 13.78 Mops/sec
Thread Test 103.38
Computation 69.13 933.30 Kops/sec, 4 threads
Lock Contention 204.86 2.57 Mlocks/sec, 4 threads
Memory Test 267.18
System 295.35
Allocate 647.50 422.36 Kalloc/sec
Fill 255.99 2037.69 MB/sec
Copy 212.47 1062.36 MB/sec
Stream 243.92
Copy 216.25 1580.78 MB/sec [G5]
Scale 215.71 1591.97 MB/sec [G5]
Add 272.93 1746.73 MB/sec [G5]
Triad 287.78 1758.36 MB/sec [G5]
Quartz Graphics Test 212.10
Line 204.38 5.20 Klines/sec [50% alpha]
Rectangle 209.21 14.72 Krects/sec [50% alpha]
Circle 215.79 4.97 Kcircles/sec [50% alpha]
Bezier 198.37 2.16 Kbeziers/sec [50% alpha]
Text 236.66 3.86 Kchars/sec
OpenGL Graphics Test 167.08
Spinning Squares 167.08 116.92 frames/sec
User Interface Test 251.48
Elements 251.48 80.89 refresh/sec
Disk Test 130.41
Sequential 144.74
Uncached Write 152.24 63.46 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 135.51 55.49 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 162.01 25.65 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 133.08 53.77 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 118.65
Uncached Write 129.43 1.94 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 167.84 37.85 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 93.98 0.62 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 106.52 21.92 MB/sec [256K blocks]

Virginia Tech (N0362) Dual 2GHz G5 Rev. A
4GB Kingston RAM - KTA-G5400/1G - 8x512MB
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro SE - 256MB
2x160GB Seagate Barracuda - ST160023AS - Internal Apple Software RAID 0

22" Apple Cinema Display - ADC - 1600x1024 @ Millions
Processor Performance - Highest

Results 228.30

System Info
Xbench Version 1.1.3
System Version 10.3.9 (7W98)
Physical RAM 4096 MB
Model PowerMac7,2
Processor PowerPC 970x2 @ 2.00 GHz
L1 Cache 64K (instruction), 32K (data)
L2 Cache 512K @ 2.00 GHz
Bus Frequency 1 GHz
Video Card ATY,R350
Drive Type VT N0362

CPU Test 191.34
GCD Loop 116.26 4.54 Mops/sec
Floating Point Basic 319.23 1.15 Gflop/sec
AltiVec Basic 137.70 4.00 Gflop/sec
vecLib FFT 215.06 3.34 Gflop/sec
Floating Point Library 402.36 16.11 Mops/sec

Thread Test 206.85
Computation 152.44 2.06 Mops/sec, 4 threads
Lock Contention 321.67 4.04 Mlocks/sec, 4 threads

Memory Test 326.63
System 368.91
Allocate 689.94 450.05 Kalloc/sec
Fill 307.82 2450.22 MB/sec
Copy 291.22 1456.08 MB/sec
Stream 293.05
Copy 255.17 1865.33 MB/sec [G5]
Scale 253.72 1872.43 MB/sec [G5]
Add 334.35 2139.81 MB/sec [G5]
Triad 357.35 2183.42 MB/sec [G5]

Quartz Graphics Test 351.81
Line 297.43 7.57 Klines/sec [50% alpha]
Rectangle 450.57 31.70 Krects/sec [50% alpha]
Circle 388.21 8.95 Kcircles/sec [50% alpha]
Bezier 247.05 2.68 Kbeziers/sec [50% alpha]
Text 498.24 8.12 Kchars/sec

OpenGL Graphics Test 184.43
Spinning Squares 184.43 129.06 frames/sec

User Interface Test 398.46
Elements 398.46 128.16 refresh/sec

Disk Test 147.82
Sequential 164.17
Uncached Write 298.27 124.33 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 253.09 103.64 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 78.21 12.38 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 233.96 94.53 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 134.44
Uncached Write 200.28 3.00 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 135.99 30.67 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 106.51 0.70 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 124.71 25.67 MB/sec [256K blocks]

PMG5 1.6
OS X 10.4
2GB RAM
Raptor RAID 0 Boot drive


Results 181.63
System Info
Xbench Version 1.1.3
System Version 10.4 (8A428)
Physical RAM 2048 MB
Model PowerMac7,2
Processor PowerPC 970 @ 1.60 GHz
L1 Cache 64K (instruction), 32K (data)
L2 Cache 512K @ 1.60 GHz
Bus Frequency 800 MHz
Video Card GeForce FX 5200
Drive Type Quicksilver

CPU Test 150.67
GCD Loop 91.83 3.59 Mops/sec
Floating Point Basic 254.33 919.74 Mflop/sec
AltiVec Basic 105.00 3.05 Gflop/sec
vecLib FFT 179.02 2.78 Gflop/sec
Floating Point Library 307.35 12.30 Mops/sec
Thread Test 90.45
Computation 61.74 833.45 Kops/sec, 4 threads
Lock Contention 169.12 2.12 Mlocks/sec, 4 threads

Memory Test 296.66
System 378.93
Allocate 564.41 368.17 Kalloc/sec
Fill 548.51 4366.15 MB/sec
Copy 231.37 1156.85 MB/sec
Stream 243.74
Copy 209.08 1528.38 MB/sec [G5]
Scale 211.45 1560.53 MB/sec [G5]
Add 280.99 1798.36 MB/sec [G5]
Triad 299.41 1829.41 MB/sec [G5]

Quartz Graphics Test 190.14
Line 170.87 4.35 Klines/sec [50% alpha]
Rectangle 172.34 12.12 Krects/sec [50% alpha]
Circle 187.06 4.31 Kcircles/sec [50% alpha]
Bezier 187.70 2.04 Kbeziers/sec [50% alpha]
Text 252.04 4.11 Kchars/sec

OpenGL Graphics Test 190.45
Spinning Squares 190.45 133.28 frames/sec

User Interface Test 371.62
Elements 371.62 119.53 refresh/sec

Disk Test 233.85
Sequential 293.69
Uncached Write 452.01 188.42 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 369.18 151.18 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 175.22 27.74 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 334.28 135.06 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 194.27
Uncached Write 239.59 3.59 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 302.79 68.29 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 135.39 0.89 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 174.59 35.93 MB/sec [256K blocks]

2.5Ghz Model

Results 295.63
System Info
Xbench Version 1.1.3
System Version 10.4 (8A428)
Physical RAM 1536 MB
Model PowerMac7,3
Processor PowerPC G5x2 @ 2.50 GHz
L1 Cache 64K (instruction), 32K (data)
L2 Cache 512K @ 2.50 GHz
Bus Frequency 1 GHz
Video Card ATY,R360
Drive Type WDC WD740GD-00FLA2

CPU Test 223.90
GCD Loop 138.42 5.41 Mops/sec
Floating Point Basic 395.06 1.43 Gflop/sec
AltiVec Basic 171.65 4.99 Gflop/sec
vecLib FFT 217.72 3.38 Gflop/sec
Floating Point Library 463.59 18.56 Mops/sec
Thread Test 268.00
Computation 192.31 2.60 Mops/sec, 4 threads
Lock Contention 441.96 5.55 Mlocks/sec, 4 threads

Memory Test 392.19
System 512.82
Allocate 762.50 497.38 Kalloc/sec
Fill 760.04 6049.89 MB/sec
Copy 310.29 1551.47 MB/sec
Stream 317.50
Copy 278.63 2036.81 MB/sec [G5]
Scale 274.57 2026.36 MB/sec [G5]
Add 360.04 2304.25 MB/sec [G5]
Triad 386.12 2359.17 MB/sec [G5]

Quartz Graphics Test 283.05
Line 256.71 6.53 Klines/sec [50% alpha]
Rectangle 249.28 17.54 Krects/sec [50% alpha]
Circle 268.23 6.18 Kcircles/sec [50% alpha]
Bezier 281.26 3.06 Kbeziers/sec [50% alpha]
Text 404.22 6.59 Kchars/sec

OpenGL Graphics Test 253.49
Spinning Squares 253.49 177.39 frames/sec

User Interface Test 435.70
Elements 435.70 140.14 refresh/sec

Disk Test 164.18
Sequential 182.72
Uncached Write 216.52 90.26 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 155.84 63.82 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 207.36 32.83 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 165.73 66.96 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 149.05
Uncached Write 133.36 2.00 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 182.10 41.07 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 134.15 0.89 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 156.44 32.20 MB/sec [256K blocks]

^ damn! ^

2.5GHz Model

Results 331.39
System Info
Xbench Version 1.1.3
System Version 10.4 (8A428)
Physical RAM 4608 MB
Model PowerMac7,3
Processor PowerPC G5x2 @ 2.50 GHz
L1 Cache 64K (instruction), 32K (data)
L2 Cache 512K @ 2.50 GHz
Bus Frequency 1.25 GHz
Video Card ATY,RV360
Drive Type Apple read/write

CPU Test 225.72
GCD Loop 142.02 5.55 Mops/sec
Floating Point Basic 397.98 1.44 Gflop/sec
AltiVec Basic 172.04 5.00 Gflop/sec
vecLib FFT 221.17 3.43 Gflop/sec
Floating Point Library 441.82 17.68 Mops/sec

Thread Test 268.20
Computation 192.83 2.60 Mops/sec, 4 threads
Lock Contention 440.30 5.53 Mlocks/sec, 4 threads

Memory Test 357.79
System 479.77
Allocate 786.54 513.06 Kalloc/sec
Fill 788.01 6272.55 MB/sec
Copy 269.36 1346.79 MB/sec
Stream 285.26
Copy 241.15 1762.80 MB/sec [G5]
Scale 251.40 1855.30 MB/sec [G5]
Add 328.99 2105.53 MB/sec [G5]
Triad 349.90 2137.91 MB/sec [G5]

Quartz Graphics Test 292.18
Line 269.03 6.85 Klines/sec [50% alpha]
Rectangle 247.59 17.42 Krects/sec [50% alpha]
Circle 271.06 6.25 Kcircles/sec [50% alpha]
Bezier 285.97 3.11 Kbeziers/sec [50% alpha]
Text 460.65 7.51 Kchars/sec

OpenGL Graphics Test 274.12
Spinning Squares 274.12 191.83 frames/sec

User Interface Test 426.07
Elements 426.07 137.04 refresh/sec

Disk Test 1329.85
Sequential 803.98
Uncached Write 509.34 212.31 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 1411.03 577.82 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 639.77 101.28 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 1350.28 545.57 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 3845.96
Uncached Write 5041.21 75.63 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 2430.61 548.17 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 14825.79 97.85 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 2756.21 567.24 MB/sec [256K blocks]

Dual 1.8GHz Rev. A - Running Tiger OS 10.4

Dual 1.8GHz Rev. A - Running Panther OS 10.3 >>

Results 213.84
System Info
Xbench Version 1.1.3
System Version 10.4 (8A428)
Physical RAM 3072 MB
Model PowerMac7,2
Processor PowerPC 970x2 @ 1.80 GHz
L1 Cache 64K (instruction), 32K (data)
L2 Cache 512K @ 1.80 GHz
Bus Frequency 900 MHz
Video Card GeForce FX 5200
Drive Type WDC WD740GD-00FLA1

CPU Test 172.55
GCD Loop 106.28 4.15 Mops/sec
Floating Point Basic 284.31 1.03 Gflop/sec
AltiVec Basic 122.22 3.55 Gflop/sec
vecLib FFT 196.69 3.05 Gflop/sec
Floating Point Library 359.16 14.38 Mops/sec

Thread Test 186.42
Computation 134.97 1.82 Mops/sec, 4 threads
Lock Contention 301.25 3.78 Mlocks/sec, 4 threads

Memory Test 339.30
System 408.36
Allocate 470.56 306.95 Kalloc/sec
Fill 584.18 4650.03 MB/sec
Copy 284.94 1424.69 MB/sec
Stream 290.22
Copy 254.83 1862.84 MB/sec [G5]
Scale 251.83 1858.53 MB/sec [G5]
Add 327.72 2097.44 MB/sec [G5]
Triad 352.57 2154.22 MB/sec [G5]

Quartz Graphics Test 233.94
Line 206.26 5.25 Klines/sec [50% alpha]
Rectangle 181.33 12.76 Krects/sec [50% alpha]
Circle 201.73 4.65 Kcircles/sec [50% alpha]
Bezier 207.92 2.26 Kbeziers/sec [50% alpha]
Text 804.70 13.12 Kchars/sec

OpenGL Graphics Test 216.28
Spinning Squares 216.28 151.35 frames/sec

User Interface Test 356.81
Elements 356.81 114.77 refresh/sec

Disk Test 144.37
Sequential 146.35
Uncached Write 192.46 80.22 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 145.80 59.71 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 180.43 28.56 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 102.73 41.51 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 142.43
Uncached Write 126.00 1.89 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 169.06 38.13 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 133.97 0.88 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 147.76 30.41 MB/sec [256K blocks]

I'm curious how you get all that from one Raptor...

RAM DISK BABY!!!!

Curious minds would like to know how you tricked X-Bench to see the RAM disk as a boot drive.

Unless your running a very tiny boot setup? and of course how can one boot from RAM disk anyhow?

What's your scores without the RAM disk?

G5 Desktop SP 1.6GHZ, 1GB RAM

Results 145.78
System Info
Xbench Version 1.1.3
System Version 10.4 (8A428)
Physical RAM 1024 MB
Model PowerMac7,2
Processor PowerPC 970 @ 1.60 GHz
L1 Cache 64K (instruction), 32K (data)
L2 Cache 512K @ 1.60 GHz
Bus Frequency 800 MHz
Video Card GeForce FX 5200
Drive Type ST380013AS

CPU Test 130.53
GCD Loop 81.33 3.18 Mops/sec
Floating Point Basic 251.62 909.94 Mflop/sec
AltiVec Basic 88.00 2.56 Gflop/sec
vecLib FFT 145.33 2.26 Gflop/sec
Floating Point Library 263.77 10.56 Mops/sec

Thread Test 83.64
Computation 56.58 763.89 Kops/sec, 4 threads
Lock Contention 160.25 2.01 Mlocks/sec, 4 threads

Memory Test 284.03
System 335.25
Allocate 503.52 328.44 Kalloc/sec
Fill 442.30 3520.69 MB/sec
Copy 212.70 1063.49 MB/sec
Stream 246.39
Copy 214.41 1567.32 MB/sec [G5]
Scale 214.01 1579.39 MB/sec [G5]
Add 279.54 1789.04 MB/sec [G5]
Triad 301.14 1839.99 MB/sec [G5]

Quartz Graphics Test 184.12
Line 173.96 4.43 Klines/sec [50% alpha]
Rectangle 169.01 11.89 Krects/sec [50% alpha]
Circle 182.21 4.20 Kcircles/sec [50% alpha]
Bezier 176.90 1.92 Kbeziers/sec [50% alpha]
Text 229.87 3.75 Kchars/sec

OpenGL Graphics Test 167.35
Spinning Squares 167.35 117.11 frames/sec

User Interface Test 307.20
Elements 307.20 98.81 refresh/sec

Disk Test 97.88
Sequential 101.00
Uncached Write 142.99 59.60 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 115.75 47.40 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 63.05 9.98 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 123.29 49.81 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 94.95
Uncached Write 80.01 1.20 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 101.82 22.96 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 94.12 0.62 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 108.88 22.41 MB/sec [256K blocks]

I've seen it come out to an overall result as high as 157.x on this 1.6GHZ machine, but I didn't want to reboot nor did I want to stop HTTPD, the SQL database, or my FTP download.

I'm not much of a benchmark guy. I see a lot of apples-to-oranges comparisons that just don't make any sense. There are, however, places where benchmarking makes sense, like the performance of two operating systems on a single machine, or the performance of a single operating system on two different hard drives. I wanted to know several things:

1. How much performance difference is there between a 74GB 10000 RPM Raptor and the stock Seagate 160 GB 7200 RPM drive in my Power Mac?

2. In what specific areas does the performance of Panther and Tiger differ significantly?

3. Is there a performance difference between a system that has been upgraded from Panther to Tiger and a system that has a clean install of Tiger?

4. How much performance gain is there when running the CPUs in Highest power mode instead of Automatic. Does it justify the fan noise and higher processor temps?

If you think I've gone around the bend a little to far, please feel free to skip to the next article. I've learned a couple of things that some might be interested in. Some may even take a few minutes to tell me how to improve my methodology :)

To begin with, I am testing a dual 2.5GHz Power Mac with 1.5GB of RAM and a Radeon 9800XT video card. I used Seagate 160GB and Western Digital Raptor 74GB drives. All tests were done with Apple Bluetooth keyboard and mouse as the only peripherals. Panther was updated via online Software Update to the newest configuration as of this writing. When the Panther tests were complete, I upgraded to Tiger. When the tests were complete on the upgraded system, I erased the drive and installed Tiger from scratch for the final set of tests.

1st Lesson Learned: Though Panther will not install without a USB keyboard and mouse, the Tiger installer searches for discoverable Bluetooth devices and configures them at the beginning of the installation. This is quite handy for anyone who does not have several sets of keyboard/mouse available in the junk closet. I still think that all users should have a USB keyboard and mouse, but Tiger found and connected to my Bluetooth models without any real problem each time.

2nd Lesson Learned: Benchmarking is not for dummies. I had great difficulty achieving consistent results. I tested each configuration three times and found some significant performance differences even running the tests one right after another. I had at least two runs of each setup where the numbers were only slightly different, but only the clean installs of Tiger provided three sets of results that are probably within a standard deviation of each other.

3rd Lesson Learned: If you want to learn how big the performance hit is for running the CPUs in "Automatic" mode, you need to do a lot more than three test runs. I got fairly consistent aggregate Xbench scores running with the CPUs set on Automatic, but the performance in individual sections of the test varied widely. There may be a better test for this than Xbench, but this is an Xbench thread and that's what I have available at the moment.


Panther vs. Tiger, hitting the high spots.

OpenGL Graphics Test: Tiger runs approx. 23% faster frames/second on the Highest CPU setting and 26% faster on Automatic. The difference between the CPU modes may be statistically insignificant. I assume the difference here is Core Graphics in Tiger.

User Interface Test: Tiger runs approx. 13% faster on the Highest CPU setting and 18% faster on Automatic. Again, I assume this is Core Graphics at work in Tiger.

Memory Test: This test shows the greatest gain for Tiger. Tiger consistently tested 120% faster than Panther on the Memory Fill test. I don't know what, if any, impact this has on real world applications, but there is a significant difference in this area.

CPU Thread Computation Test With the CPUs set on Automatic, Tiger shows a comfortable 10% advantage over Panther in Mops/sec. There is no difference between the two operating sytems when the CPUs are set for Highest performance.

Disk Tests: There is no significant disk performance between Panther and Tiger. I really wanted to quantify the difference between the stock Seagate drive and my new Raptor. I don't think that Xbench is a comprehensive disk testing program, but the seat-of-the-pants difference that I see in everyday use is borne out by the numbers. The Raptor is an average of 24% faster in the Sequential disk tests and 52% faster on the Random tests. If you are a multi-tasking maniac or large database user, the Raptor is probably your cup of tea. It seems like just the thing for an Xserve RAID setup.

Dual 2.7, 2GB, 400GB, 9650, Super, BT, AP

Results 259.36

System Info
Xbench Version 1.1.3
System Version 10.4 (8A428)
Physical RAM 2048 MB
Model PowerMac7,3
Processor PowerPC G5x2 @ 2.70 GHz
L1 Cache 64K (instruction), 32K (data)
L2 Cache 512K @ 2.70 GHz
Bus Frequency 1 GHz
Video Card ATY,RV351
Drive Type Hitachi HDS724040KLSA80

CPU Test 238.81
GCD Loop 151.45 5.91 Mops/sec
Floating Point Basic 430.44 1.56 Gflop/sec
AltiVec Basic 183.48 5.33 Gflop/sec
vecLib FFT 224.97 3.49 Gflop/sec
Floating Point Library 472.63 18.92 Mops/sec

Thread Test 291.06
Computation 208.41 2.81 Mops/sec, 4 threads
Lock Contention 482.30 6.06 Mlocks/sec, 4 threads
Memory Test 376.69
System 492.88
Allocate 778.02 507.50 Kalloc/sec
Fill 797.99 6352.02 MB/sec
Copy 281.83 1409.15 MB/sec
Stream 304.82
Copy 262.21 1916.77 MB/sec [G5]
Scale 264.85 1954.56 MB/sec [G5]
Add 350.47 2242.99 MB/sec [G5]
Triad 373.21 2280.29 MB/sec [G5]

Quartz Graphics Test 303.89
Line 275.08 7.00 Klines/sec [50% alpha]
Rectangle 257.82 18.14 Krects/sec [50% alpha]
Circle 280.43 6.46 Kcircles/sec [50% alpha]
Bezier 295.90 3.22 Kbeziers/sec [50% alpha]
Text 501.56 8.18 Kchars/sec

OpenGL Graphics Test 288.17
Spinning Squares 288.17 201.66 frames/sec

User Interface Test 450.00
Elements 450.00 144.74 refresh/sec

Disk Test 129.40
Sequential 146.83
Uncached Write 157.85 65.80 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 141.30 57.86 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 144.37 22.85 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 144.86 58.53 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Random 115.66
Uncached Write 110.72 1.66 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Write 128.19 28.91 MB/sec [256K blocks]
Uncached Read 100.98 0.67 MB/sec [4K blocks]
Uncached Read 127.43 26.23 MB/sec [256K blocks]