It is critical to select the right benchmarks to accurately evaluate computer and processor performance across real-world workloads. While many popular benchmarks are easy to install and run, they don’t always accurately reflect actual user scenarios, which can lead to misleading or confusing results. In this technical research study, commissioned by Intel, Prowess Consulting investigated which benchmarks best represent real-world performance and which might not be as representative of the applications and workloads your users tend to run.
Our analysis found that synthetic benchmarks like PCMark10® and PassMark® offer limited insight into everyday usage. In contrast, tools such as UL Procyon® office productivity and WebXPRT™ provide more relevant data by running common tasks in Microsoft Office® and modern web applications. Another benchmark, CrossMark®, measures real-world workloads such as frame rendering and video/image colorization, mimicking what users do in applications like Adobe® Lightroom® or Adobe® Premiere® Pro. For AI workloads, the UL Procyon AI benchmarks and MLPerf® Client offer early but promising options for evaluating inference performance across CPUs, GPUs, and neural processing units (NPUs).
We recommend evaluators prioritize benchmarks that align with their users’ actual workflows and avoid those that favor convenience over relevance. For the most accurate performance insights, use a combination of real-world benchmarks tailored to your users’ specific use cases.