The Source for Mac Performance News and Reviews

Review: OWC's Mercury ZIFs 350MHz and 400MHz Models Published: 10/17/99

MacBench 5.0 and ByteMark DR/3 Test Results

Intro | Benchmarks  | Appl. Tests | Software Controls  | Docs/Installation | Specs/Design | Summary

Benchmark Tests

Benchmark tests were run with MacBench 5.0 as it is the accepted Mac standard. I also included ByteMark tests although I am not a fan of that benchmark as it is not an indicator of other important system performance areas like disk, memory and graphics card. Throughout this review I used the convention of showing CPU, Cache and Bus speeds (in MHz) in the format of CPU Speed/Cache speed/Bus speed, so 400/200/50 would mean a CPU speed of 400 MHz, a backside cache speed of 200 MHz and a Bus speed of 50MHz. Remember, your pre-Apple G3 Mac may not be able to run the same bus speeds as my Genesis and since each CPU may have a different amount of 'headroom', don't assume the maximum frequency test results shown here will be repeatable with another sample. In some cases, OWC sells ZIF models that are guaranteed to run at a specific speed over the rated speed. Inquire with them for more information on these models. MacBench 5.0 was run on both systems used for the review - a Genesis (based on a 9500 motherboard) and a Beige G3 revision 2 (w/ATI RagePro onboard video). I've separated the Genesis and Beige G3 results to better illustrate the upgrade boost compared to other CPU speeds in each of these models. Remember that Macbench Graphics scores will vary depending on graphics mode and the installed video card or onboard graphics chip. Since the test Macs have graphics chips of widely differing performance capability, this is not a reflection on the CPU upgrade under review. The 1000 normalized score in Macbench 5 is from an Apple Beige G3/300 running millions colors, 1152x870, so consider this when evaluating the scores at lower resolutions and color depths. In most cases a CPU upgrade has little effect on Macbench disk scores since the disk itself is usually the bottleneck even before the upgrade. Note that Disk Cache settings in the Memory Control Panel does boost Macbench scores up to a point (about 6MB or so) - see the Disk Cache Study from 1998 for details. Be aware that each card and system has some tolerance variation, so these speeds may not be attainable with every card/system/hardware combination. The specific CPU chip on each card, your motherboard components/installed hardware and RAM mix can affect maximum reliable speeds. MacBench 5.0 Performance Note: The Formac Proformance 3 card is far faster than the onboard ATI chip in the Beige G3. Genesis used UW SCSI Cheetah 4.5GB drive with 4MB disk cache. Notes: Some explanation of the MacBench graph. Video Scores: Keep in mind the Macbench 5.0 standard 1000 baseline score is based on a Beige G3/300 with onboard ATI chip at 1152x870 mode, millions colors. The LCD display used in these tests had a maximum resolution of 1024x768 so that mode was used. Disk Scores: I did not show disk scores for the Beige G3 since its stock 6GB hard drive was nearly full and fragmented. Macbench scores typically don't gain much from a CPU upgrade (disk cache size does affect scores, as does the amount of free space and fragmentation of free space on the drive). The Genesis hard drive as noted is a Seagate 10,000 RPM Ultra-Wide SCSI drive connected to an ATTO UW SCSI card. The same disk was used in both Genesis Macbench scores. For more on Mac storage (IDE/SCSI/Hard Drives/Controllers) - see my SCSI/IDE reviews and articles page. ByteMark Tests: I ran the ByteMark DR/3 test on the Mercury ZIFs while installed in the Genesis and Beige G3. I include results here for curiosity only, as I consider ByteMark the least indicative of all benchmarks as far as actual OS/end user performance. ByteMark is a pure benchmark and is highly affected by compiler optimizations (some tests on the PC with VisualC++ compiled versions show the PII scoring higher than the G3 for instance). Scores from a stock B&W G3/400 are included for comparison. Results are rounded off to two decimal places. Speculative Processing was disabled for all tests except the B&W G3 (which cannot be disabled). Note that ByteMark DR/3 Integer scores are typically appx. 15% higher than with previous versions used in many of my earlier G3 CPU upgrade card reviews. (Note: OS 8.6 was used on the B&W G3. The many more extensions and 8.6 vs 8.1 changes seems to affect even Bytemark scores. As I noted in the past, the B&W G3 lost a small bit of application performance after I updated it from OS 8.5 to 8.6.) ByteMark DR/3 SCORES Card/System Speed: Integer Score: FPU Score: Mercury 400 ZIF @434/217/66 *Overclocked* (Beige G3) 14.45 9.52 Mercury 350/CarrierZIF @400/200/50 *Overclocked* (Genesis/9500) 13.70 9.04 Mercury 350/CarrierZIF 350/175/50 Running at rated speed (Genesis/9500) 11.31 7.50 Blue &White G3/400 400/200/100 12.90 8.71

For comparisons to other CPU Card upgrades and systems see my site list of CPU Card Reviews.

The next page has results from real world applications. Or you may use the links below to jump to a specific page.

Index of OWC Mercury ZIF Review Pages Intro | Benchmarks  | Appl. Tests | Software Controls  | Docs/Installation | Specs/Design | Summary - or - Back to WWW.XLR8YOURMAC.COM

Copyright © Mike, 1999. No part of this sites content or images are to be reproduced or distributed in any form without written permission. All brand or product names mentioned here are properties of their respective companies. Users of the web site must read and are bound by the terms and conditions of use.