ZDNet UK / News and Analysis / Workspace IT / Processors

AMD on the attack in processor performance row

By Matthew Broersma, ZDNet.co.uk, 30 August, 2002 13:53

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

Topics

Intel, AMD, Processor, Speed, Benchmarks, BapCo, SySmark

NEWS
Chipmaker AMD has levelled criticisms against a widely used benchmarking suite, calling it biased in the favour of its arch-enemy Intel. The move steps up AMD's efforts to ensure that its processors compare favourably with Intel's in the public eye, but some observers say both companies' rhetoric should be taken with a large pinch of salt. In a presentation circulated to several hardware-oriented Web sites, AMD alleges that a recently released version of the Sysmark benchmarking tool, from industry consortium BAPCo, has been revised to downplay the strengths of AMD's Athlon XP processors, while emphasising tests that portray Intel's Pentium 4 in a favourable light. AMD also confirmed that it joined BAPCo earlier this year, with the aim of influencing the way next year's Sysmark is formulated. Benchmarks create statistics that are supposed to make it easier to compare one processor's performance against another. Sysmark figures indicate a chip's performance in running particular applications, such as office suites, 3D rendering tools and Web applications. Since last year, AMD has been on a renewed crusade to convince users to pay attention to performance measures such as benchmarks, which are supposedly more accurate than clock speed. Athlon chips generally sport lower clock speeds than Pentiums, even if they offer the same real performance. In its presentation, AMD claims that the way tasks within Sysmark 2002 have been chosen clearly favours Intel's chip architecture. Fourteen tasks that most favoured AMD chips were taken out, AMD claims. "Those accounted for most of our advantage over the Pentium 4," an AMD spokesman said. The most dramatic change was the way scores for Internet content creation were calculated, AMD said. Compared with scores from Sysmark 2001, Intel chips scored slightly higher, while the score of AMD chips plummeted 20 percent. An AMD spokesman said that the company had joined BAPCo (or the Business Applications Performance Corporation) in order to have "a more direct interest" in the way the software was formulated. "We want to look at the reasons behind what they did when discussing Sysmark 2003, and have our say as well," he said. BAPCo was formed in 1995 by Intel, Compaq, Dell, IBM and several trade publishers. CNET Networks, the publisher of ZDNet UK, is a member of BAPCo. BAPCo, for its part, says that it ensures objectivity by building its benchmarks around retail software and focusing on actual PC users' level of usage. Each participating company receives one vote on the benchmark once it is developed. Intel said that other benchmarks besides Sysmark have confirmed the Pentium 4's performance. "The vast majority have said that the Pentium 4 2.8GHz is the highest-performing processor," said an Intel spokesman. Some observers have suggested that AMD may be exaggerating its portrayal of the changes to Sysmark 2002. Thomas Pabst, creator of the influential Tom's Hardware Guide Web site, said this week that laboratory tests did not show conclusively that the benchmarks had been changed to favour Intel. Some industry analysts say that the argument is practically academic, because there is no universally agreed-upon standard for measuring real-world performance. "Benchmark standards are supposed to be objective, so it shouldn't matter who's in bed with whom. It should be irrelevant, but it's not," said analyst Andy Brown of IDC. Benchmarks could be more convincing if all of the important parties involved agreed to a set of rules, Brown said. "If there were independent benchmarks, conforming to certain criteria, I think perhaps it would be a bit easier for the industry to plead its case," he said.
See Chips Central for the latest headlines on processors and semiconductors. To find out more about the computers and hardware that these chips are being used in, see ZDNet UK's Hardware News Section. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the Chips Central Forum. Let the Chips Central editor know what you think by email. And sign up for the weekly Chips Central newsletter.

Related stories

AMD working on new PC rating method

AMD's Athlon plays catch-up with Intel

AMD and Intel war over benchmarks

AMD looks to ARM itself for low-power tablets

Apple tops list of semiconductor buyers

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

7 minutes ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

36 minutes ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

41 minutes ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Moley

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

1 hour ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
ramwellian

Your comments would seem pretty naive and immature. Your 'solution' appears to be, "gee, let's all just give in to the hackers and give them...

2 hours ago by ramwellian on Cloud computing security: no more oxymoron?
BugStalker

"Interesting thought ... If you installed Win7 as a dual boot on a machine that previously only had Linux, and it wrecked your Linux installation,...

2 hours ago by BugStalker on Windows 7 Declares War on GRUB
whs001

This is an excellent summary of Ubuntu and Mint and the interface differences between them. Most such articles take a very partisan position for...

2 hours ago by whs001 on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Moley

@ewallace. Not so clear. Anyone can obtain the text, for example from here http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2379. I support ACTA so long as it and...

2 hours ago by Moley on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
45283

I think WinRT is fantastic. I just wish it was an option for people that didn't want to go through Microsoft's App Store with its attendant...

5 hours ago by 45283 on Why Windows 8 needs architectural hygiene for WOA
Burn-IT

Nine people? £30m? Who's back pocket is that lot going in? And IF they say it is for new buildings, what about all the ones the government has...

7 hours ago by Burn-IT on Police set to launch three £30m e-crime hubs
ewallace

Just to be clear, nobody knows what is in the text of ACTA, here is a photograph of the text of ACTA http://twitpic.com/8h9iju as submitted to the...

7 hours ago by ewallace on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
fgvrg56

Unfortunately main issue is that ASUS is refusing to accept that they make some mistake on this version of asus Transformer prime. 1 - GPS sensor...

8 hours ago by fgvrg56 on Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Wi-Fi & GPS problems?
Ben Woods

@Marcus A fair question. Just talked with Archos which said it was working on an announcement for next week....

9 hours ago by Ben Woods on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule
Marcus Karlsson

Any update on this, considering the claimed "first week of February"?

10 hours ago by Marcus Karlsson via Facebook on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule
apexwm

Bill Goodrich : Just as al_langevin pointed out, with Windows Server 2008 there is no Services for Macintosh anymore. It's gone, not available....

18 hours ago by apexwm on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility
txtrainguy

Replying to an old topic that I'm currently facing with my CEO (who is on a Mac). Our servers are primarily Windows Servers, office is about...

1 day ago by txtrainguy on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility
k0tcs3

Sure, that makes perfect sense. Pay wrong-doers money and thank them for breaching your security and pointing out your flaws, that would surely...

1 day ago by k0tcs3 on US indicts Romanian over NASA climate change hack
Random_Error

I think he's referring specifically to Android apps, as Apple do regulate their App Store, but Google seem to let any old crap onto the Android store!

1 day ago by Random_Error on RIM: BlackBerry will keep 'garbage' apps out of store
Paul Fezziwig

Keep the crap apps out?! How will they compete with Android and Apple's claim to fame of having so many life changing apps? I wonder if the media...

1 day ago by Paul Fezziwig via Facebook on RIM: BlackBerry will keep 'garbage' apps out of store
Aigars Mahinovs

It has been shown time after time that if there is an author store that sells the songs at even 1$ per song and gives you a high-quality digital...

1 day ago by Aigars Mahinovs via Facebook on Copyright isn't working, says European Commission

Latest in Processors

AMD looks to ARM itself for low-power tablets

Apple tops list of semiconductor buyers

Featured white papers

Tech breakthroughs to watch in 2012

ZDNet UK

Tech breakthroughs to watch in 2012

From invisibility cloaks to virtual atom smashing, from Cern to Nasa, this ZDNet UK guide presents the discoveries to watch in... Read more

10 must-read silicon.com Cheat Sheets

silicon.com

10 must-read silicon.com Cheat Sheets

This exclusive e-book covers 10 of the most important issues facing business and technology professionals today, from cloud computing to... Read more

The virtual presenter's handbook

Citrix Online

The virtual presenter's handbook

Web seminars or webinars can be interactive and engaging, just like having every person in the same room, and this white paper outlines how they can benefit your... Read more

Inside ZDNet UK

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

BlackBerry Bold 9790

BlackBerry Bold 9790

Case study: How cloud enables growth

Case study: How cloud enables growth

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault