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OS 8.5 vs OS 8.1 MacBench 5 Scores |
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Several readers commented on net posts citing possible problems with OS 8.5 and PCI SCSI cards. Based on a verified OS 8.5 install and test on a 9600/400 with Jackhammer card this rumor is probably not a concern for most SCSI card owners. Apple seems to have done a great job and the rumors of hardware compatibility issues on PCI SCSI cards seems unfounded so far (Adaptec 2940/3940UW cards also passed).
Performance between the test system running OS 8.1 and OS 8.5 was almost identical according to Macbench 5.0. Possibly OS 8.5 had more extensions installed and active than the OS 8.1 configuration accounting for the scores.
Test System (config prior to OS 8.5 install):
The system was booted from the stock Apple/IBM 4GB disk under OS 8.1 and then OS 8.5 was installed on the disk attached to the Jackhammer PCI SCSI card. The Jackhammer drive was then selected as the startup disk and the system booted normally under 8.5.
Prior to installing OS 8.5, Macbench 5.0 tests were run under OS 8.1.
After the OS 8.5 install and reboot, the disk cache was set to 4MB (same as it was under OS 8.1) and virtual memory was disabled (OS 8.5 enables it by default it seems, regardless of the installed RAM as this machine had 256MB of RAM and OS 8.5 still enabled virtual memory). The same Macbench 5.0 tests were then run
under OS 8.5. The saved set of scores from OS 8.1 were then loaded for a comparison graph as shown below:
 OS 8.1 vs 8.5 MacBench 5.0 Scores As noted above video mode was 1024x768, thousands colors. Disk cache was 4MB for each test and virtual memory was off. Libmoto was not used for these tests. Also note the Adaptec 2940UW and 3940UW cards seem fine under OS 8.5 as well. Althought others have reported major speed boosts in graphics card and CPU performance this configuration did not show any real change, at least in MacBench 5.0's scripted application graphics and CPU/Disk tests. Here are some quotes from a reader on OS 8.5 performance compared to OS 8.0 (not 8.1) in a PowerCenter Pro 240: " I also ran a benchmark and the speeds are a bit disappointing. I see only a 4-5% increase of speed from 8.0 (I can't use 8.1, unstable on my computer) unlike the 17% increase I saw in 8.5f7. Yeah, same setup between f7 & GM. I'm not sure why the 9600/400 showed none of the boosts he's mentions but possibly it's due to the different configurations and the fact he has less RAM (64MB). Maybe OS 8.5 performs better in systems with less RAM than previous versions. For more information on his configuration see his full email. Other reader comments on the beta versions of OS 8.5 are linked below. I can't wait to buy OS 8.5 as soon as it's released (around the middle of this month). The verified compatibility of the Jackhammer and Thunder 3D cards are great news for me.
Other Site Links of Interest:
Last Revised: 10/8/98 Your Source for the best in CPU/SCSI/VIDEO card reviews, daily news, and more! |
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