Knowing how to benchmark a CPU is going to be necessary so you know exactly how fast your system is going to be. One of the problems of new computer users is that they don’t know how fast their computer is and don’t know much about the specs. But knowing how CPU benchmarking works will help you make the right choice.

3DMark Benchmarking Test

This is one of the most popular benchmarking systems used today by online gaming review sites. What is does is test the graphics and CPU of a computer, and the tests will also assess its other features. The 3DMark test is composed of videos that are produced by the application and frames per second that it can record while the video is playing.

The fact is that your eyes cannot see fluctuations beyond 30 fps (frames per second), so if the results are in that range, the power of the CPU is regarded as average. Computers with frame rates better than 30 are superior and suited for demanding games.

What is the CPU Anyway?

The CPU (central processing unit) is that part of the computer that performs all the instructions that are assigned to it. These instructions are done by a CPU in order and it does fundamental system input / output operations. What a benchmark does is to assess how well a CPU performs this task. With benchmarking, you will be able to compare the performance and capacity of one computer with another. This is possible because benchmark tests use numerical-value and / or score-based systems during the tests.

These tests are called CPU tests because the focus is on the central processing unit, but the fact is that it will also assess other components in your computer. But these benchmarking tests only examine the components related to the CPU and the motherboard and not peripheral devices like your printer, scanner and other devices.

Apart from determining what kind of power your computer has, a CPU benchmark test allows you to check for any problems or bottlenecks on your system. Checking for bottlenecks is crucial not just for games but also great if you are running CPU intensive applications like photo editors and 3D software. But the effect is minimal when it comes to Net surfing.

Other Information

The most common type of CPU benchmarks come with an internal database so your system can be compared with other units. Then you can you submit the findings on the web so it can be matched with others. Thanks to online comparisons, users will have an easier time checking which components are weakest and need to be replaced or upgraded.

Internet based comparisons also provide marketing boosts for computer manufacturers. If their computer does well then there is a good chance that more people will buy it. On the other hand, a system that performs poorly in a benchmarking test is likely to suffer from poor sales and reviews.

Numerous factors will come into play in these tests but one of the most important apart from the CPU is the graphics card. As anyone who is studying how to benchmark a CPU will tell you, a low end graphics card can drag the performance of your computer even if the other components are powerful. That is why you need to understand just what benchmarking is about.

John loves to write article for cpubenchmark.org/ and he also shares the knowledge on CPU benchmarking.