PCMark 8 version 2.0 is here!

We're starting 2014 with a major update for PCMark 8. This update improves the Home, Creative and Work benchmarks with new tests using popular open source applications for image processing, video editing and spreadsheets. We've added a wider variety of workloads to the Work benchmark to better reflect the way PCs are used in enterprise environments. And for Professional Edition users, the Storage benchmark has been expanded with two new options that enable specialist analysis of drive performance. 

What's new in PCMark 8 v 2.0.191

This is a major update that adds new tests and workloads. Scores from the Home, Creative and Work benchmarks in PCMark 8 v2.0 are not comparable with scores from v1.2.157 or other previous versions. This update adds a new Compatibility Mode setting to the Professional and Advanced Editions that enables you to run older versions of each test for times when you need to compare scores with historical benchmark results. 

These notes are a summary of the changes in this update. Please read the PCMark 8 Technical Guide for detailed descriptions of the new tests and workloads.

Home benchmark

• Home updated to version 3.0. Scores should not be compared with previous versions.
• New Photo Editing test using the open source ImageMagick library and a wider variety of image processing operations.
• Video Chat test now features improved face detection and performance. The test has been updated to use OpenCV 2.4.7.

Creative benchmark

• Creative updated to version 3.0. Scores should not be compared with previous versions.
• Photo Editing test using the open source ImageMagick library and a wider variety of image processing operations.
• Video Editing part 2 now uses source material in 4K UHD resolution (3840x2160).
• Video Group Chat test now features improved face detection and performance. The test has been updated to use OpenCV 2.4.7.

Work benchmark

• Work updated to version 2.0. Scores should not be compared with previous versions.
• Work version 2.0 adds a new Spreadsheet test and includes the Video Chat test to provide a more varied and representative benchmark of office productivity use. 
• New Spreadsheet test using LibreOffice Calc, a part of the open-source productivity suite from The Document Foundation.
• Added Video Chat test to the benchmark.

Storage benchmark

• Storage updated to version 1.1. Scores are comparable with previous versions.
• Added Expanded Storage tests for specialist analysis of drive performance, (PCMark 8 Professional Edition only).

Compatibility Mode

Compatibility Mode enables you to run the Home, Creative and Work benchmarks from version 1.2.157 for instances when you need to compare scores against historical result data,  (PCMark 8 Professional and Advanced Editions only).

Download PCMark 8