benchmark

Apple has touted using the "Power of the GPU" with the OpenCL API, but how does it run in practice? Very few current applications are coded to use Apple's new OpenCL API that is included with Snow Leopard; however, recently there have been several benchmarks that tests some of the OpenCL capabilities, showing the potential for impressive speed gains. While these programs are only demonstration uses of OpenCL, they offer a view into what can be done with the technology.… Read more

Editors' note: This guest column was originally published on Bill Gurley's blog. See his bio below.

Many are speculating that the year 2009 represents a fundamental turning point for the venture capital industry. Some are arguing that the industry is in dire straits after years of poor performance. Others have argued that the math simply does not work for the industry's current size.

Another theory suggests that permanent challenges with the market for initial public offerings call into question the fundamental economics of the VC industry. Lastly, some credible authors have suggested that things are so bad that … Read more

SiSoftware Sandra provides a robust package of diagnostic tools for testing your system and teasing out its problems--or potential headaches.

This download launches a cheerfully designed interface with an array of colorful--one might even say sprightly--icons for each of its tools. Its arrangement of tools was nicely categorized for the user's benefit: Computer Maintenance, Module Types (Benchmarks, Hardware, Software, Support), and Program Maintenance. Across the top of the window are tabs for each category that match the icons, and each tab provides access to a set of focused tools. We were very pleased with SiSoftware Sandra's performance during … Read more

Firefox 3.5 brings the world's second-most popular browser up to speed with current browsing technology and trends, and perhaps nudges it just a bit ahead of the competition. However, it is by no means the leap ahead that its predecessor Firefox 3 was, and it's clear that the competition isn't going away anytime soon.

Available for Windows, Windows Portable, Mac, or Linux, Firefox 3.5 nevertheless represents the best Firefox we've yet seen from Mozilla. This comes as no surprise, and with a testing process that involved four beta builds, three release candidates, and a … Read more

Updated, June 17: The sandboxing of plug-ins, such as Flash, in Safari 4 will be limited to users running Mac OS X 10.6, which will be available this fall. The feature is currently not available, nor will it be available to Windows users. Windows users should also note that changing the default search provider is limited to either Google or Yahoo.

The public version of Safari 4 was released Monday amid all the iPhone noise at WWDC, and Apple confirmed what those who played around with the beta version already knew: Safari is now a serious browser for serious … Read more

Yesterday's introduction of Chrome version 2.0.172.28 was touted by Google as being up to 30 percent faster for handling JavaScript. After using the update to the stable release extensively for the past day and running it through two JavaScript tests on two computers, it's conclusively faster than the previous stable version of Chrome.

The two computers I used were a Windows Vista Service Pack 1 desktop with a Pentium 4 processor running at 3.00 GHz and 2 GB of RAM, and a Windows XP Pro Service Pack 3 laptop with a Core Duo T9400 … Read more

Medium-format digital cameras, which have larger sensors and higher price tags than even high-end SLRs, didn't fare so well in earlier tests of sensor quality by measurement firm DxO Labs, but Phase One's newly tested top-end technology has risen to the top of the DxOMark Sensor test.

Phase One's 60-megapixel P65+ camera scored 89.1 on the test, edging out the Nikon D3X, which scored 88, according to data released Thursday. In addition, the 51.7-megapixel Hasselblad H3DII 50, an older model than Phase One's, scored 78.2. Click here to compare the two models and Nikon's D3X.

The DxOMark sensor test measures a camera sensor's dynamic range, color depth, and low-light performance. DxO Labs cautions that differences of less than 5 points aren't really distinguishable, and of course many other factors including price, lens quality, autofocus, and resolution factor into overall camera quality.

The P65+ features the best color performance yet, but DxO Labs said its comparatively good performance in low-light conditions helped it carry the day. … Read more

We'll admit that we were very intrigued by this free Firefox add-on, which promises a way to see and compare results from multiple search engines. But after we put it to the test, we found some of its features vague and its user interface awkward to navigate.

Right off the bat, we found several issues with SearchAll's user interface. A single search field and a single button are introduced in a completely new toolbar that seemed to take up more space than it needed. A three-panel display is used to show search results, but there wasn't enough … Read more

This free diagnostic program tests your processor speed, but the unreliable readings and error messages left a lot to be desired.

MSC CPU Benchmark 2008's user interface displays a graph that appears to display your CPU usage, along with your system's processor, model, type, and the availability of physical and virtual RAM. There are options along the left side of the interface for testing your processor speed, configuring the settings, and showing past and present test results. The program doesn't include any kind of temperature gauge commonly found in similar tools. From the Configurations menu, you can … Read more