Lenovo ThinkCentre M90z Review

Name: Lenovo ThinkCentre M90z Review - Page 5
Brand: Lenovo

by Ray Willington — Thursday, August 19, 2010, 12:00 PM EDT

Futuremark PCMark Vantage & 3DMark 06

Page 5: Futuremark PCMark Vantage & 3DMark 06

Performance Comparisons with 3DMark06

Details: http://www.futuremark.com/products/3dmark06/

The Futuremark 3DMark06 CPU benchmark consists of tests that use the CPU to render 3D scenes, rather than the GPU. It runs several threads simultaneously and is designed to utilize multiple processor cores.

We haven't had too many all-in-one PCs run through the labs here, particularly not with Windows 7. This is our first all-in-one to be tested with 3DMark06, so we're starting a new baseline. You can look at a Lenovo Workstation review for an idea of how stronger machines (in terms of graphics power) stacked up last year as a comparison measure. The results here aren't surprising; the machine did well in CPU intensive tasks, but it lagged behind in GPU intensive tasks. Some would say it's a feat of its own for an integrated graphics solution to even complete this benchmark, but these numbers make it clear that no hardcore gaming will go down on the M90z.

Performance Comparisons with Futuremark PCMark Vantage

Details: http://www.futuremark.com/benchmarks/pcmarkvantage/introduction/

We ran the test rig through Futuremark’s latest system performance metric PCMark Vantage as well. This benchmark suite creates a host of different usage scenarios to simulate different types of workloads including High Definition TV and movie playback and manipulation, gaming, image editing and manipulation, music compression, communications, and productivity. We like the fact that most of the tests are multi-threaded as well, in order to exploit the additional resources offered by multi-core processors.

There's no doubt about the benchmarks: the M90z stacks up very well against the competition. The Core i5 is a very strong performer, helping to boost its overall scores well above those established by the same-class TouchSmart 600. Of course this is a more expensive machine, so we'd expect it to fare better. You'll notice below that the multi-media marks are quite low in comparison; that's where the integrated graphics come in to bite.