14. Office Applications: SYSmark 2004 SE

The SYSmark 2004 SE benchmarks concentrate exclusively on performance; battery life is irrelevant. These tests are conducted when the test computer is plugged into a wall socket. As with MobileMark 2005, SYSmark 2004 SE also uses real and often multitasked applications in its test suite. Scripts that emulate typical user behavior run automatically and continuously to spur system activity throughout each individual test.

Tests in the SYSmark 2004 SE suite are divided into two distinct scenarios: Internet content development and office productivity. The Internet content development scenario involves three groups of tests: 3D content, 2D content and Web publication. The office productivity scenario likewise includes three groups of tests as well: communication (e-mail, calendar, and Web browsing), document creation and data analysis.

Similar to the MobileMark 2005 benchmark test, all SYSmark 2004 SE measurements are based on average response times and are automatically compared to a standard reference system equipped with average components to which a 100-point score is assigned. That said, office productivity values from MobileMark 2005 and SYSmark 2004 SE are by no means comparable.

While conducting these tests, we took measurements from a Centrino system based on a 915GM chipset using three differently clocked Pentium M CPUs. The Centrino Duo system with the 945GM chipset we tested also included a Core Duo T2400 CPU.