SYSmark* 2004 SE: Real Applications in a Human Usage Model

The office usage model is well understood in the PC industry, and a standardized performance benchmark already exists to evaluate PC platforms: BAPCo*’s SYSmark* 2004 SE. This benchmark is based on extensive research into emerging usage models and computing trends, and its expert-designed workloads represent activities that an office productivity or Internet content creation worker will typically perform during the course of their job. Unlike previous script-driven, application-based benchmarks, SYSmark* 2004 SE includes “think-time,” where the benchmark pauses to factor in the time users spend between operations. In fact, from a system energy-draw perspective, SYSmark* 2004 SE spends about half of its run-time in a state that is at or very near system idle.

Here is a graph that shows the system power draw of a SYSmark* 2004 SE run over time. Note the amount time spent at or very near system idle (as denoted by green line).

SYSmark* 2004 SE run System Power Draw During Benchmark Run. See final page for system configuration details. Performance tests and ratings are measured using specific computer systems and/or components. Actual results may vary.

SYSmark* 2004 SE was built to measure performance, but not necessarily energy efficiency. But because energy efficiency and performance measurement have the same overall goal – to mirror real-world activities so as to predict a platform’s effectiveness at executing them – SYSmark* 2004 SE is a good workload for this proposed energy-efficient performance measurement methodology.