The Lenovo ThinkStation P900 Workstation Review: Design 101
by Ian Cutress on May 6, 2015 7:00 AM ESTOffice Performance
Video Conversion – Handbrake v0.9.9: link
Handbrake is a media conversion tool that was initially designed to help DVD ISOs and Video CDs into more common video formats. The principle today is still the same, primarily as an output for H.264 + AAC/MP3 audio within an MKV container. In our test we use the same videos as in the Xilisoft test, and results are given in frames per second.
The single thread frequency on a high core-count processor is usually lower than a similar TDP low-core count one, and as a result the low quality conversion performance is down on a good Haswell quad core. On the other hand, moving to double UHD sized frames allows the P900 to stretch its legs. Performance isn't exactly 3x the 5820K here based on core count, but it does take an extra chunk of performance.
Point Calculations – 3D Movement Algorithm Test: link
3DPM is a self-penned benchmark, taking basic 3D movement algorithms used in Brownian Motion simulations and testing them for speed. High floating point performance, MHz and IPC wins in the single thread version, whereas the multithread version has to handle the threads and loves more cores.
Similar results to HandBrake here, but the multi-threaded version of the benchmark is memory independent, allowing the 20 cores / 40 threads to stretch its legs.
Compression – WinRAR 5.0.1: link
Our WinRAR test from 2013 is updated to the latest version of WinRAR at the start of 2014. We compress a set of 2867 files across 320 folders totaling 1.52 GB in size – 95% of these files are small typical website files, and the rest (90% of the size) are small 30 second 720p videos.
Despite the semi-threaded nature of WinRAR, having 40 threads helps in compression here.
Image Manipulation – FastStone Image Viewer 4.9: link
Similarly to WinRAR, the FastStone test us updated for 2014 to the latest version. FastStone is the program I use to perform quick or bulk actions on images, such as resizing, adjusting for color and cropping. In our test we take a series of 170 images in various sizes and formats and convert them all into 640x480 .gif files, maintaining the aspect ratio. FastStone does not use multithreading for this test, and thus single threaded performance is often the winner.
FastStone relies on single thread performance, so we see it further down the charts.
Rendering – PovRay 3.7: link
The Persistence of Vision RayTracer, or PovRay, is a freeware package for as the name suggests, ray tracing. It is a pure renderer, rather than modeling software, but the latest beta version contains a handy benchmark for stressing all processing threads on a platform. We have been using this test in motherboard reviews to test memory stability at various CPU speeds to good effect – if it passes the test, the IMC in the CPU is stable for a given CPU speed. As a CPU test, it runs for approximately 2-3 minutes on high end platforms.
POV-Ray is also heavily multithreaded, allowing any big cores to push through.
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mapesdhs - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Not sure what ads you're referring to; are you using Adblock Plus? I use A.P. and the viewing is just fine. Who doesn't use Adblock or something similar these days? :)vFunct - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Most people don't use AdBlock because they're unnecessary add ons to a web browser.The less add-ons you have, the faster your web experience.
pablo906 - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
If you think that browsing the web without adblock and noscript is faster I've got a bridge in Brooklyn for sale.MobiusPizza - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
I agree on the annoying Seasonic ad on the left. I use Adblock Plus but I whitelisted Anandtech just to show my support. Anandtech gets ad revenue from my visit even if I don't click on it (sites get revenue based on views not clicks), adblock will deny them of the revenue.centhar - Thursday, May 7, 2015 - link
I could care less as I block every site I can. If I want to research and/or buy something, I know where to look. I hate ads and logos on everything.Flunk - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
You'll find that more and more people are ignoring ads now. The company I work for keeps tabs on it and the number of non-adblock users is shrinking fast.GTVic - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
Or Firefox plus NoScript. Keeps you safe from Javascript attacks and cuts out most of the advertising.bigboxes - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
FF + AdBlock Plus = winShadowmaster625 - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
What is the point in buying a 2P system when there is obviously a huge bottleneck between the two processors resulting in reduced performance, especially when compared to a 1P system with the same TDP?BillyONeal - Wednesday, May 6, 2015 - link
What 1P system are you aware of that had a 300+ W TDP for the processor?