Monday, September 11, 2017
Geekbench 4 Cross Platform Testing Analysis
Geekbench 4 Cross Platform Testing Analysis
Overview
Geekbench 4 was released at the end of August and has proved to be a welcome improvement over the previous revision 3, having been praised for accurately reflecting the industry standard SPEC results through a benchmark suite that is readily available on different platforms and is easy and quick to run.
As Geekbench 4 is comparable across platforms and is available for Windows, Android, iOS and others, I thought it would be interesting to test my server, desktop, laptop, tablet and phone to see how they perform relative to each other.
I am also interested in how different processors compare across platforms, so compare the scores of the fastest processors available in different platforms and segments, including the fastest Core i7, Core M, Apple A10 and Exynos 8890 / Snapdragon 820 on Android.
Single vs Multi-core scores
Before getting to the results of my test, it is worthwhile discussing the two results that are returned from the benchmark - the Single and Multi-core values
The Single-Core result provides a ranking of which processor has the fastest CPU core in a single threaded situation. Having a fast core indicates that an application will perform well in single-threaded situations. Writing well-threaded applications is more long winded and complex than writing a traditional single-threaded application, so developers are unlikely to put in the extra effort required unless a performance issue crops up in their testing, or their application is particularly suited to multi-threading.
The Multi-Core result shows what can be achieved if an application is both suited to, and optimised for, a multi-threaded environment. The Operating system itself and many core applications are generally well threaded and will take advantage of multi-core processors. Applications and Services running in the background also make good use of multiple cores.
Which result, therefore, is the most reflective of real world performance? Generally speaking, having a high single core score will ensure that all applications perform well, no matter how they are coded. Conversely, having more, slower cores may perform better in some situations but will also perform worse in others.
I would suggest, therefore, that having a high single core score will ensure performance consistency, and having a high multi-core score will show the maximum performance you can expect in ideal circumstances.
The operating system design also plays a part in this - the higher degree of true multi-tasking the OS provides, the more important the multi core score and the less important the single core. In terms of todays common platforms, the multi core score is most important in Windows, important in Android and less important in iOS.
In conclusion, neither the single or multi-core scores provide the whole picture - the real answer lies somewhere in the middle, with the bias being dependant on the host OS and the suite of applications you frequently use.
My Results
Below is a table of my main computing devices in the house - an older desktop PC, a modern Server and Laptop, an iPad Pro and a recent phone.
The results below are ordered by their Single Core result from lowest performance to highest.
| Device | Platform | CPU | Single-Core | Multi-Core |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HP xw6400 (Desktop) | Windows 10 | 2 x Xeon E5345 | 1362 | 5802 |
| Xiaomi Mi Max (Phone) | Android 6.0.1 | Snapdragon 652 | 1467 | 3304 |
| HP Microserver Gen 8 (Server) | Windows Server 2012 R2 | Core i3-3220T | 2399 | 5118 |
| iPad Pro 12.9" (Tablet) | iOS 9.3.5 | Apple A9X | 3019 | 4915 |
| Dell Inspiron 13 7000 (Laptop) | Windows 10 | Core i5 6200U | 3053 | 5836 |
The table shows just how quickly mobile SoCs have caught up with older and lower power Intel Core processors.
To the layman, my desktop PC would appear to be the fastest compute device in the house - it certainly looks the part, being a hefty HP Workstation. It is a 2 processor, 8 core Xeon Workstation. However, its age is showing and the single core performance (Core 2 era Clovertown) is below even my mobile phone. Of course, having 8 cores means it is still a workable machine even today.
The iPad Pros Apple A9X, featuring 2 x 2.25Ghz Twister cores, is on a par with my 9 month old Ultrabook in terms of single core performance, and not too far off in terms of its multi-core score.
Here I have chosen a set of the top-performing processors in terms of Desktop, Laptop, Fanless laptop, iOS and Android to see how they compare.
| Processor | Cores | Platform | Single-Core | Multi-Core |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Core i7-6700K | 4 x 4Ghz Skylake | Windows (Desktop) | 5329 | 17023 |
| Intel Core i7-6950X | 10 x 3Ghz Skylake | Windows (Desktop) | 4462 | 29797 |
| Intel Core i7-6650U | 2 x 2.2Ghz Skylake | Windows (Laptop) | 3792 | 7357 |
| Apple A10 | 2 x ? + 2 x ? | iPhone 7 | 3379 | 5495 |
| Apple A9X | 2 x 2.25Ghz Twister | iPad Pro | 3019 | 4915 |
| Intel Core m7-6Y75 | 2 x 1.3Ghz Skylake Y | Windows (Fanless) | 2854 | 6030 |
| Samsung Exynos 8890 | 4 x M1 2.6Ghz + 4 x A53 1.6Ghz | Galaxy S7 / Note 7 | 1809 | 5232 |
| Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 | 2 x 1.8Ghz Kryo + 2 x 1.36Ghz Kryo | Multiple | 1660 | 4015 |
It is also interesting to see that it is faster than the fastest Android SoC, as found in Samsungs S7 & Note 7 phones, in the multi-core score as well as being faster, as expected, in the single core benchmark.
This Anandtech article provides a great overview of how well used multi-core SoCs are on Android
This XDA article provides an overview of the changes between Geekbench 3 and 4 and provides some analysis on how scores have changed between common Android SoC cores in the process.
This XDA article is an interview with the Geekbench CEO about the new benchmark & the rationale behind the changes from version 3.
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