Lenovo ThinkPad W540: Who Needs A Desktop?
PCMark 7 and PCMark 8
 |
|
Futuremark’s PCMark 7 is a good, generalized well-known benchmark tool that runs the system through ordinary computing tasks, including word processing and multimedia playback and editing. Graphics and processor power figure prominently in this benchmark, but graphics power doesn’t play as big a role here as it does in another Futuremark benchmark, 3DMark (which is designed for testing the system’s gaming capabilities). This test also weighs heavily on the performance of the storage subsystem of a given device.
Interestingly, the ThinkPad W540 wasn't the fastest system on this general benchmark, which we suspect might be the result of its slightly slower memory (which isn't dual-channel) and, perhaps, its SSD configuration. That's not to say that we were disappointed with the laptop's score, which put it in fifth place on our benchmark charts. We just expected a bit more of a blowout.
|
|
Futuremark's PCMark 8 has several built-in benchmark tests. The Home test measures a system's ability to handle basic tasks such as web browsing, writing, gaming, photo editing, and video chat. The Creative test offers similar types of tasks, but has more demanding requirements than the Home benchmark and is meant for mid-range and higher-end PCs. The Work test measures the performance of typical office PC systems that lack media capabilities. Finally, the Storage benchmark tests the performance of SSDs, HDDs and hybrid drives with traces recorded from Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office and a selection of popular games.
Well, rule out the storage considerations. Lenovo's laptop performed among the best of laptops we've tested for PCMark 8's Storage test, but it still wasn't quite as speedy for its Work Accelerated test. On the Home Accelerated test, however, Lenovo's laptop cruised to top honors—presumably because its integrated Nvidia Quadro card adds significant performance to the graphics related tests.
