Category: HDXPRT

The HDXPRT 4 Community Preview is now available!

on January 17, 2019

Today we’re releasing the HDXPRT 4 Community Preview (CP). Just like previous versions of HDXPRT, HDXPRT 4 uses trial versions of commercial applications to complete workload tasks. For some of those programs, such as Audacity and HandBrake, HDXPRT 4 includes installers in the HDXPRT installation package. For other programs, such as Adobe Photoshop Elements 2018 and CyberLink Media Espresso 7.5, users need to download the necessary installers prior to testing by using the links and instructions in the HDXPRT 4 User Manual.

In addition to the editing photos, editing music, and converting videos workloads from prior versions of the benchmark, HDXPRT 4 includes two new Photoshop Elements scenarios. The first utilizes an AI tool that corrects closed eyes in photos, and the second creates a single panoramic photo from seven separate photos.

HDXPRT 4 is compatible with systems running Windows 10, and the installation package is slightly smaller than previous versions at just over 4.7 GB.

Because this is a community preview, it is available only to community members, who may download the preview from the HDXPRT tab in the Members’ Area. Because we expect results from CP testing to be comparable to results from the general release, members may publish their CP test results.

After you try the CP, please send us your comments. If you send information that’s relevant to the entire community, we may post an anonymous version of your comments to the forum. Thanks for your participation!

Justin

Posted in AI, Application-based benchmarks, Benchmark metrics, BenchmarkXPRT, BenchmarkXPRT development community, Collaborative benchmark development, Community Preview, Future of performance evaluation, HDXPRT, HDXPRT 4, HDXPRT release cycle, Performance benchmarking, Windows 10 |

New XPRTs for the new year

By Justin Greene

on January 3, 2019

Happy 2019! January is already a busy time for the XPRTs, so we want to share a quick preview of what community members can expect in the coming months.

The MobileXPRT 3 community preview (CP) is still open, but draws to a close on January 18^th. If you are not familiar with the updates and changes we implemented in the newest version of MobileXPRT, you can read more in the blog. Members can access this APK on the MobileXPRT tab in the Members’ Area. We also posted an installation guide that provides both a general overview of the app and detailed instructions for each step. The entire process takes about five minutes on most devices. If you haven’t already, give it a try!

We also recently published the first AIXPRT Request for Comments (RFC) preview build, an early version of one of the tools we’re developing to evaluate machine learning performance. You can find more details in Bill’s most recent blog post and on AIXPRT.com. Only BenchmarkXPRT Development Community members have access to our RFCs and the opportunity to provide feedback. However, because we’re seeking broad input from experts in this field, we’ll gladly make anyone interested in participating a member. To gain access to the AIXPRT repository, please send us a request.

Work on the HDXPRT 4 CP candidate build continues, and we hope to publish the preview for community members this month. We appreciate everyone’s patience as we work to get this right. We think it will be worth the wait.

On a general note, I’ll be travelling to CES 2019 in Las Vegas next week. CES is a great opportunity for us to survey emerging tech and industry trends, and I look forward to sharing my thoughts from the show. If you’ll be there and would like to discuss any aspect of the XPRTs in person, let me know.

Justin

Posted in AI, AIXPRT, Benchmarking, BenchmarkXPRT, BenchmarkXPRT development community, CES, Collaborative benchmark development, Community Preview, Future of performance evaluation, HDXPRT, HDXPRT 4, HDXPRT development process, Machine learning, MobileXPRT, MobileXPRT 3, Performance benchmarking, Trade Shows | Tagged AIXPRT, CES, Community, HDXPRT, HDXPRT 4, MobileXPRT, MobileXPRT 3 |

Notes from the lab: Updates on HDXPRT 4, MobileXPRT 3, and AIXPRT

By Justin Greene

on November 29, 2018

The next couple of months will be very busy with XPRT activity, so we want to update readers on what to expect. Depending on a number of factors, we expect to release HDXPRT 4 and MobileXPRT 3 community previews (CPs) within the next four to six weeks. We’re also hoping to publish an early AIXPRT request-for-comment (RFC) build on GitHub within the same time frame. Here’s a little more detail about each of these developments.

HDXPRT 4: We originally planned to release the HDXPRT 4 CP several weeks ago. As we recently discussed in the blog, a lot has changed in the Windows 10 development world within a short period of time, and Microsoft has released a number of new Redstone 5/October 2018 Update builds in quick succession. While our HDXPRT 4 CP candidate testing went well overall, we observed some inconsistent workload scores when testing on some of the new Windows builds. Since then, we believe we’ve narrowed down the list of possible causes to a few specific graphics driver versions, but we’re still testing to make sure there are no other immediate issues. As soon as we’re confident in that assessment, we’ll release the CP along with any relevant information about the affected graphics drivers.

MobileXPRT 3: MobileXPRT 3 development is progressing nicely, and we’re close to completing a CP candidate build. We’ll test that build extensively on our library of Android phones and tablets, and barring any unforeseen issues, we plan to release the CP in the next few weeks.

AIXPRT: AIXPRT is the umbrella name for a set of tools we’re developing to help evaluate machine learning performance. After a great deal of research, we’re getting closer to releasing a build – tentatively called the AIXPRT RFC – for community members and other interested parties to download and review. For a number of reasons, the AIXPRT RFC process will be a little different than our normal XPRT RFC and CP process. We’ll be offering more information on the AIXPRT RFC build over the next several weeks.

We’re grateful to everyone who’s contributed in any way to each of these projects, and we look forward to sharing the benchmarks with the world. If you have any questions about the XPRTs, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Justin

Posted in AI, AIXPRT, Android, BenchmarkXPRT development community, HDXPRT, HDXPRT 4, HDXPRT development process, HDXPRT release cycle, MobileXPRT, MobileXPRT 3, Windows 10 |

The XPRT Spotlight Black Friday Showcase helps you shop with confidence

By Justin Greene

on November 15, 2018

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are almost here, and you may be feeling overwhelmed by the sea of tech gifts to choose from. The XPRTs are here to help. We’ve gathered the product specs and performance facts for some of the hottest tech devices in one convenient place—the XPRT Spotlight Black Friday Showcase. The Showcase is a free shopping tool that provides side-by-side comparisons of some of the season’s most popular smartphones, laptops, Chromebooks, tablets, and PCs. It helps you make informed buying decisions so you can shop with confidence this holiday season.

Want to know how the Google Pixel 3 stacks up against the Apple iPhone XS or Samsung Galaxy Note9 in web browsing performance or screen size? Simply select any two devices in the Showcase and click Compare. You can also search by device type if you’re interested in a specific form factor such as consoles or tablets.

The Showcase doesn’t go away after Black Friday. We’ll rename it the XPRT Holiday Buying Showcase and continue to add devices throughout the shopping season. So be sure to check back in and see how your tech gifts measure up.

If this is the first you’ve heard about the XPRT Weekly Tech Spotlight, here’s a little background. Our hands-on testing process equips consumers with accurate information about how devices function in the real world. We test devices using our industry-standard BenchmarkXPRT tools: WebXPRT, MobileXPRT, TouchXPRT, CrXPRT, BatteryXPRT, and HDXPRT. In addition to benchmark results, we include photographs, specs, and prices for all products. New devices come online weekly, and you can browse the full list of almost 150 that we’ve featured to date on the Spotlight page.

If you represent a device vendor and want us to feature your product in the XPRT Weekly Tech Spotlight, please visit the website for more details.

Do you have suggestions for the Spotlight page or device recommendations? Let us know!

Justin

Posted in Chromebooks, CrXPRT, HDXPRT, Interactive tools, Laptops, Mobile devices, MobileXPRT, PCs, TouchXPRT, WebXPRT, XPRT Weekly Tech Spotlight | Tagged 2-in-1, Apple, BatteryXPRT, Black Friday, Chromebook, convertible, CrXPRT, Cyber Monday, desktop, Galaxy Note9, Google, Holidays, iPhone XS, laptop, MobileXPRT, phone, Pixel 3, Samsung, shopping, Spotlight, tablet, tech, Thanksgiving, TouchXPRT, WebXPRT |

HDXPRT 4: Getting it right

By Justin Greene

on November 8, 2018

For BenchmarkXPRT Development Community members anticipating the HDXPRT 4 Community Preview (CP), we want to thank you for your patience and explain where we are in the release process.

This past month has brought a flurry of activity in the Windows 10 development world. We’ve been testing HDXPRT 4 extensively on each of the new prerelease builds available through the Windows Insider Program. While testing on a recent Windows 10 Redstone 5 preview build, we began to see inconsistent HDXPRT 4 workload scores on some systems. The difference between those workload scores and scores on the same systems with previous Windows 10 builds was significant enough for us to decide that the best course of action is to hold off on the CP until we understand the issue. We don’t want to release a CP only to run into serious problems with an imminent Windows release. We want to take the time to figure out what’s going on and get it right.

We hope to resolve these issues and publish the HDXPRT 4 CP as soon as possible. Thanks again for your patience. We’ll update the community soon with more information on the anticipated release schedule.

Justin

Posted in Application-based benchmarks, Benchmarking, BenchmarkXPRT, BenchmarkXPRT development community, Collaborative benchmark development, Community Preview, HDXPRT, HDXPRT 4, HDXPRT development process, HDXPRT release cycle, Performance benchmarking, Windows 10 | Tagged BenchmarkXPRT Development Community, Community Preview, HDXPRT, HDXPRT 4, Windows, Windows 10 |

Updates on HDXPRT 4 and MobileXPRT 3

By Justin Greene

on October 11, 2018

There’s a lot going on with the XPRTs, so we want to offer a quick update.

On the HDXPRT 4 front, we’re currently testing community preview candidate builds across a variety of laptops and desktops. Testing is going well, but as is often the case prior to a release, we’re still tweaking the code as necessary when we run into bugs. We’re excited about HDXPRT 4 and look forward to the community seeing how much faster and easier to use it is than previous versions. You can read more about what’s to come in HDXPRT 4 here.

On the MobileXPRT 3 front, proof-of-concept testing for the new and updated workloads went well, and we’re now working to implement the new UI. Below, you can see a mockup of the new MobileXPRT 3 start screen for phones. The aesthetic is completely different than MobileXPRT 2015, and is in line with the clean, bright look we used for WebXPRT 3 and HDXPRT 4. We’ve made it easy to select and deselect individual workloads by tapping the workload name (deselected workloads are grayed out), and we’ve consolidated common menu items into an Android-style taskbar at the bottom of the screen. Please note that this is an early view and some aspects of the screen will change. For instance, we’re certain that the final receipt-scanning workload won’t be called “Optical character recognition.”

We’ll share more information about HDXPRT 4 and MobileXPRT 3 in the coming weeks. If you have any questions about HDXPRT or MobileXPRT, or would like to share your ideas, please get in touch!

Justin

Posted in Android, Benchmarking, BenchmarkXPRT, BenchmarkXPRT development community, Collaborative benchmark development, Community Preview, HDXPRT, HDXPRT 4, HDXPRT development process, HDXPRT release cycle, MobileXPRT, MobileXPRT 2015, MobileXPRT 3, Performance benchmarking, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 3 | Tagged Android, Community, HDXPRT, laptops, mobile devices, MobileXPRT, phones |

Category: HDXPRT

The HDXPRT 4 Community Preview is now available!

New XPRTs for the new year

Notes from the lab: Updates on HDXPRT 4, MobileXPRT 3, and AIXPRT

The XPRT Spotlight Black Friday Showcase helps you shop with confidence

HDXPRT 4: Getting it right

Updates on HDXPRT 4 and MobileXPRT 3

Check out the other XPRTs: