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/ The Perfect PC - Ultimate Utilities / The Perfect PC - The Multimedia Compliment to PC Magazine - Ultimate Utilities (Ziff-Davis)(Volume 4 Number 2)(1996).ISO / zdbench / docs / ws32 / ws32faq.txt

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Text File | 1996-05-22 | 16KB | 352 lines

WINSTONE(R) 32 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ========================================= Winstone 32 is a benchmark that runs test suites of Windows(R)-based 32-bit business applications under Windows 95 and Windows NT(TM). This file provides answers to some commonly asked questions about Winstone 32. General questions about the software ------------------------------------ Q. How can I get a copy of Winstone 32 and other Ziff-Davis benchmark programs? A. Winstone 32 is available free of charge from the Ziff-Davis Benchmark Operation (ZDBOp) on CD-ROM only. (It isn't available for download because of its size.) The PC Benchmarks CD-ROM includes the industry-standard benchmarks Winstone 96 and WinBench(R) 96. You can send us your request in a variety of ways, though we can process your order more easily if you send it to us via email. Here's how to get the PC Benchmarks CD-ROM: * Send email to zdbop_distribution@zd.com * Fax your request to 919-380-2879 * Send a postcard to: Ziff-Davis Benchmark Operation 1001 Aviation Parkway, Suite 400 Morrisville, N.C. 27560 ATTN: Distribution If you request a CD-ROM, allow four to six weeks for it to arrive. If you want to receive it sooner and you have a Federal Express account, include your Federal Express account number and shipping instructions. ZDBOp will send the benchmark to you via Federal Express and charge the shipping cost to your account. Q: Are Ziff-Davis benchmarks "freeware" or "shareware"? A: Our benchmarks are licensed software we distribute for free. You must license and register your copy of the software before you can use it. (Winstone 32 will display its license agreement the first time you run it.) Q: Does Winstone 32 include 16-bit applications like other Windows 95/Windows NT benchmarks? A: No. Winstone 32 uses only 32-bit applications for its tests. To fully test a computer's 32-bit performance on a 32-bit operating system, Winstone 32 uses leading 32-bit applications and our research on how typical people use applications. The result is an accurate and repeatable benchmark you can use to determine a PC's overall performance when running today's top-selling Windows-based 32-bit applications. Q: Can I run Winstone 32 on my Windows 3.1x or OS/2(R) system? A: No. Winstone 32 only runs on Windows 95 and Windows NT 3.51 and later systems. If you want a benchmark that can test 16-bit Windows performance, you should use Winstone 96. Winstone 96 runs 16-bit applications on Windows 3.1x and Windows 95 systems and tests a system in much the same way as Winstone 32. Q: What applications does Winstone 32 run? A: To determine which applications to use in Winstone 32, we consulted with Computer Intelligence/Infocorp (CII), a leading market research company. We chose eight business applications that were 32-bit market leaders and were available as of January 1, 1996. The result was the the following applications in three categories: Business Graphics/DTP: Adobe(R) PageMaker(R) 6.0 Corel Systems CorelDRAW!(TM) 6.0 Microsoft(R) PowerPoint(R) 7.0 Database: Borland(R) Paradox(R) 7.0 Microsoft Access 7.0 Word Processing/Spreadsheet: Microsoft Excel Lotus(R) Word Pro(TM) 96 Microsoft Word 7.0 Winstone 96 had separate Word Processing and Spreadsheet categories. Winstone 32 instead has a combined Word processing/Spreadsheet category because few of the leading applications in these categories were available in 32-bit versions as of the Winstone 32 deadline. Q: I just found a bug. What do I do? A: No software is completely bug-free, but we've done extensive testing to make the benchmarks as bug-free as possible. Read the benchmark's documentation to make sure the PC meets the minimum requirements to run the benchmark and that you're running the benchmark correctly. If you're still having trouble, send a Problem Report Form to Winstone 32 Technical Support at ZDBOp. You can find this form on ZDBOp's web site (http://www.zdnet.com/zdbop), in ZD Net(TM)/CompuServe(R) Edition (GO ZDBENCH), and in the benchmark's documentation. You can send the Problem Report Form to us in a variety of ways, though we can answer your questions more quickly if you use email. Fill out the form and send it via: * Email to zdbopwebmaster@zd.com * Fax to 919-380-2879 * Mail to: Ziff-Davis Benchmark Operation 1001 Aviation Parkway, Suite 400 Morrisville, N.C. 27560 ATTN: Tech Support Q: I see a Winstone 32 Tester's Handbook but not a Winstone 32 reference manual, only the Winstone 96 reference manual. Am I missing something? A: Winstone 32 and Winstone 96 share the same reference manual, "Understanding and Using Winstone(R) 96 Version 1.0." The reference manual contains complete information on running the Winstone tests, saving results, using the Winstone results database, the methodology behind the tests, and so on. Winstone 32-specific information is in the "Winstone 32 Tester's Handbook" and a new Winstone 32 on-line help file. Also be sure to read the README.TXT file for late-breaking information on the benchmark. Q: Winstone 32 sometimes beeps when it runs. Should I be concerned? A: The beeps you sometimes hear are a result of an application's (such as Access) normal behvior. The beeps don't affect Winstone 32's operation or scores. In our testing at the ZDBOp Research Center, we've noticed that slower machines will issue a single beep during the Winstone 32 Excel script and display a warning about a circular reference. If you see this warning during the Excel script, you don't need to do anything. Winstone 96 will automatically continue running the test. The message does not affect Winstone 32's scores. We will, however, fix the script in Winstone 97. Q: Why doesn't Winstone 32 accept the long path name I type in? A: Winstone 32 doesn't support long file names. You'll need to use the 8.3 file-naming convention when specifying your directories. Winstone 97 will fix this problem. Questions about a PC's scores ----------------------------- Q: What units does Winstone 32 use to report its scores? A: Winstone 32 reports its results in arbitrary units, because they are relative scores: the scores are meaningful only when you compare them to other Winstone 32 scores. The scores aren't pixels per second, or bytes per second, or any other type of measurement. NOTE: You should never compare Winstone 32 scores with scores from previous versions of Winstone. Q: Can I compare Winstone 32 scores to Winstone 96 scores? A: No. The differences between the two benchmarks prohibit comparing scores between Winstone 32 and Winstone 96. Although they look and operate the same, there are substantial differences between them: their base machines are different, they run different applications, and the applications' market share weights are different (Winstone uses each application's market-share weight in the final score calculation). For more information on each of these points, read the Winstone 32 Tester's Handbook. However, you can use Winstone 96 to gauge a PC's 16-bit Windows performance and Winstone 32 to gauge the same PC's 32-bit Windows performance; such measurements are the purposes of the benchmarks. Q: What is Winstone 32's base machine? A: The base machine for Winstone 32 is a Dell(R) PC with a 25-MHz Intel(R) 486SX CPU running Microsoft Windows 95. For further configuration information about the base machine, see the Winstone 32 Tester's Handbook. Q: What do the Winstone 32 scores mean about a PC's performance? A: Winstone 32 aims to measure the performance typical users see while performing common operations with leading 32-bit business applications. The base machine provides a basis for understanding a PC's performance at a glance. Faster PCs have larger Winstone 32 scores than the base machine, while slower PCs have smaller scores than the base machine. Before you begin to compare results, you may also want to read the following chapters in the "Understanding and Using Winstone 96 Version 1.0" reference manual for a clearer understanding of what Winstone 32's results mean about a PC's performance and how a PC's configuration affects overall system performance. * Chapter 14, "What Do All These Numbers Mean?" * Chapter 15, "What Can Affect Results" Q: Why are my Winstone 32 scores not the same as those of another machine that seems otherwise comparable (for example, a machine in a Ziff-Davis magazine product review)? A: If you're trying to determine which of two PCs outperforms the other, keep in mind that a PC's hardware and software setup affects its overall performance. To find out about a PC's system information at the time you ran Winstone 32, you can view its Disclosure information. Q: My scores vary from run to run. What's up? A: Probably nothing. You need to make sure you're testing exactly the same combination of hardware and software starting from exactly the same initial state every time. If you do so, our research shows you won't see much variance in benchmark results. If you're positive you've done so, however, and you still see variance higher than a few percent, let us know. Q: Where are some comparison results? A: The current releases of the benchmarks all contain sample results. We don't, however, intend those results to be more than useful reference points. The best source of benchmark results continues to be the Ziff-Davis publications. Questions about ZDBOp --------------------- Q: How do I get copies of Ziff-Davis' benchmarks? A: For all the benchmarks except Winstone 32 and Winstone 96, the easiest thing to do is just download them. NOTE: For reasons of size, the MacBench(R) 3.0 and WinBench 96 benchmarks you download do not contain the CD-ROM tests. In addition, the version of WinBench 96 you download does not contain the full-motion video tests. To get full versions of these benchmarks, contact ZDBOp. You can also request copies of all our benchmarks on CD-ROM using a Benchmark Request Form. The form is on our web site (http://www.zdnet.com/zdbop), ZD Net/CompuServe Edition (GO ZDBENCH), and in each benchmark's documentation. You can send the request form to us in a variety of ways, though we can process your order more easily if you send it to us via email. Fill out the form and send it via: * Email to zdbop_distribution@zd.com * Fax to 919-380-2879 * Mail to: Ziff-Davis Benchmark Operation 1001 Aviation Parkway, Suite 400 Morrisville, N.C. 27560 ATTN: Distribution If you request a CD-ROM, allow four to six weeks for it to arrive. If you want to receive it sooner and you have a Federal Express account, include your Federal Express account number and shipping instructions. ZDBOp will send the benchmark to you via Federal Express and charge the shipping cost to your account. Q: Which benchmarks that I see in the Ziff-Davis publications are publicly available? How can I get copies of all the other benchmarks and performance tests? A: ZDBOp develops, supports, and distributes only the core, publicly available Ziff-Davis benchmarks. Core benchmarks are those that all Ziff-Davis publications use for performance testing. Currently those benchmarks are the most recent releases of MacBench, NetBench(R), ServerBench(R), WinBench, and Winstone. In addition, however, individual publications also regularly create their own performance tests to cover areas, such as printer performance, that the core benchmarks don't address. The publications typically use those benchmarks for a specific review or for a limited number of reviews, so the publication doesn't invest the considerable time, effort, and expense it takes to turn those benchmarks into distributable products. Q: Where can I get support for the older versions of the benchmarks? A: Ziff-Davis does not support older versions of the benchmarks. Each year we revise the benchmarks to reflect the way the current generation of applications use PCs. All the Ziff-Davis publications then move to the new benchmarks, and we encourage you to do likewise. Q: Could I be involved in beta testing the next releases of the benchmarks? A: Sorry, but we don't use any external beta sites for our benchmarks. Although we welcome input from users and from the vendor community, we are first and foremost journalists and can't, therefore, afford to let some but not all vendors see early releases of the benchmarks. Given our short development schedules (a major new release of each benchmark once a year) and the huge number of vendors in this industry, running a fair beta test program just isn't possible. Q: When will you have a benchmark for my favorite hardware/operating system? A: When we have new products ready for release, we'll let you know. ZDBOp developers are working constantly on new benchmarks and new releases of existing benchmarks. TRADEMARKS ---------- MacBench(R), NetBench(R), ServerBench(R), WinBench(R), and Winstone(R) are registered trademarks and ZD Net(TM) is a trademark of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. Adobe(R) and PageMaker(R) are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Borland(R) and Paradox(R) are registered trademarks of Borland International, Inc. CompuServe(R) is a registered trademark of CompuServe, Inc. CorelDRAW!(TM) is a trademark of Corel Corporation. Dell(R) is a registered trademark of Dell Computer Corporation. Intel(R) is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. Lotus(R) is a registered trademark and Word Pro(TM) is a trademark of Lotus Development Corporation. Microsoft(R), PowerPoint(R), and Windows(R) are registered trademarks and Windows NT(TM) is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.