Interpreting Geekbench 3 Scores

Summary

Geekbench 3 scores are calibrated using a Mac mini (Mid 2011) with an Intel Core i5-2520M @ 2.50 GHz processor as a baseline with a score of 2,500 points. Higher scores are better, with double the score indicating double the performance.

Geekbench 3 Workloads

Geekbench 3 uses a number of different tests, or workloads, to measure performance. The workloads are divided into three different sections:

• Integer performance: Integer workloads measure the integer instruction performance of your computer by performing processor-intensive tasks that make heavy use of integer instructions. All software makes heavy use of integer instructions, meaning a high integer score indicates good overall performance.

• Floating point performance: Floating point workloads measure floating point performance by performing a variety of processor-intensive tasks that make heavy use of floating-point operations. While almost all software makes use of floating point instructions, floating point performance is especially important in video games, digital content creation, and high-performance computing applications.

• Memory performance: Memory workloads measure memory bandwidth. Geekbench 3 uses tests based on the STREAM benchmarks developed by John D. McCalpin. Software working with large amounts of data (e.g., digital content creation) relies on good memory bandwidth performance to keep the processor busy.

A complete description of the individual Geekbench workloads can be found on the Primate Labs website.

Geekbench 3 Scores

Each workload's performance is compared against a baseline to determine a score. These scores are averaged together to determine an overall, or Geekbench, score for the system.

Geekbench 3 uses a Mac mini (Mid 2011) with an Intel Core i5-2520M @ 2.50 GHz processor as the baseline with a score of 2,500 points.

Geekbench 3 provides three different kinds of scores:

• Workload Scores Each time a workload is executed Geekbench calculates a score based on the computer's performance compared to the baseline performance. There are two workload scores for the same workload as Geekbench executes each workload in single-threaded mode and in multi-threaded mode.

• Section Scores A section score is the geometric mean of all the workload scores for workloads that are part of the section. These scores are useful for determining the performance of the computer in a particular area. See the section descriptions above for a summary on what each section measures.

• Geekbench Score The Geekbench score is the weighted arithmetic mean of the three section scores. The Geekbench score provides a way to quickly compare performance across different computers and different platforms without getting bogged down in details

When comparing scores, remember that higher scores are better, and double the score indicates double the performance.