Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!well!stevef From: stevef@well.UUCP (Steven Robert Fordyce) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Accelerator Benchmarks Keywords: CMI, accelerators, benchmarks Message-ID: <12662@well.UUCP> Date: 12 Jul 89 07:32:21 GMT Reply-To: stevef@well.UUCP (Steven Robert Fordyce) Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, Sausalito, CA Lines: 96 Since there has been so much interest lately in the barrage of accelerator choices that have suddenly come to the ST market, we thought that a comparison of them all, side by side, was in order. Here are the results! SOFTWARE: The software that was used is QuickIndex 1.4. The Mandelbrot test of the FPU was one distributed on Atari's FPU004 development disk. HARDWARE: Atari-8: Atari ST Mega2, unmodified, hi-res monochrome, no blitter JATO-16: Atari ST 1040, JATO-16, med-res color, no blitter FAST-T16: Atari ST Mega4, FAST-T16, hi-res monochrome, no blitter CMI: Atari ST 520, CMI Processor Accelerator: blitter; 16 MHz Math FPU; FastROM, hi-res monochrome RESULTS: The table below contains the tests of the different accelerators. The tests of the JATO and FAST boards were as submitted to GEnie by two different posters. All values are represented as percentages. The tables between the results -------------| are the difference between the CMI Accelerator and the system | results listed in the column to the left. The tests are | listed in the approximate order they would be used in a normal | application. The number in parentheses next to the test name is | an importance value that is used to obtain the weighted average | of each test. | CMI Proc Accel Atari-8 V JATO-16 FAST-T16 Price($U.S.) $299 $339 $99 $399/299? (Blitter) CPU memory (3) 101 101 100 100 130 GEM draw (3) 220 279 158 151 187 BIOS text (3) 201 210 143 162 177 GEMDOS I/O (2) 112 112 112 112 75 DMA read (2) 161 161 161 161 161 CPU divide (1) 183 183 100 183 202 CPU shifts (1) 180 180 100 179 205 Mandelbrot (FPU,1) 153 976 100 111 ** --- --- --- --- --- Weighted Average: 164 228 128 141 157 * The numbers for the stock ST are not all 100% because of the difference in speed between 1.1 and 1.2 of the operating system. ** Speed for the FAST board was not available, but it's speed is probably about the same as our board without the FPU or less, and wouldn't appreciably affect it's weighted average. COMPARISON: (CMI vs Atari) (CMI vs JATO) (CMI vs FAST) Weighted Avg: 28% 14% 4% Weighted Average (blitter): 38% 26% 13% Weighted Avg (FPU & blitter): 78% 62% 45% ^ |___ CMI is this much faster than the competition. FEATURES: CMI Proc Accel Atari JATO-16 FAST-T16 Blitter support !! YES !! Mega only NO NO Math FPU support !! YES !! NO NO NO FastROM mode !! YES !! NO NO NO Toggle 8/16 !! YES !! NO YES YES Total Compatibility !! YES !! YES NO ??? (Cache On/Off) Expansion connector !! YES !! Mega only NO NO Cache RAM NO NO NO YES Since we were not able to test all products at the same time with the same equipment these results will have to be labeled "unofficial". Some people may argue with the manner or purpose of the weighted average. We feel very strongly that this was chosen in a fair manner. If the results are not weighted, a person will not be able to get a realistic picture of OVERALL system performance. Some people may question the "obvious bias" that this test has, leaning towards the CMI Processor Accelerator. Quite frankly, we don't give a damn. We think that without question the CMI Processor Accelerator is by far the most superior product that you can purchase to enhance your ST. Richard N. Rodgers, President Creative Microsystems Inc. 11952 SW 90th Court Tualatin, OR 97062 (503) 691-2552 If you don't like my test, give me a call and tell me why. Or better yet, do your own test and post the results. If you want to place an order, or get product information: Lilliane Carter, (Customer Service & Support / ST Dealer & End User sales)