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Q & A : Benchmarks : Performance vs. Cost (aka Cost Efficiency) |
What is it?
A chart, available in all benchmarks that compares the performance of the device with it purchasing cost. It allows us to view how performance varies with cost (i.e. how much performance you get for your money) for different models of the same product as well as competing devices and which one is the most cost effective.
Why do we measure it?
This is generally the primary metric that is used to choose between different devices. The most cost efficient design is generally considered to be “the best value” / “bang per buck”, unless another characteristic (e.g. higher performance, lowest power) is the over-riding factor.
For storage devices (memory, hard disks, etc.) another important metric is Capacity vs. Price (aka Size Efficiency), i.e. how much capacity you get for your money. It is up to you to decide whether performance or capacity (or both) are important you and in what proportion.
What do the results mean?
- The result is a ratio of performance (MIPS, MFLOPS, GB/s, MB/s, etc.) over cost (currency)
- Where higher indexes mean better performance (MIPS, MFLOPS, GB/s, MB/s, etc.) the higher the ratio of performance over cost the better the Cost Efficiency.
- For timing indexes, e.g. latencies (ns, us, etc.) where lower indexes mean better performance, again, the higher the ratio of timing over speed the better the Cost Efficiency.
Typical Results from Processors on the Market
Note: Prices fluctuate all the time; the below table was correct as of December 2010, for US market, in USD, via JustRelevant and is provided as an example only. Please check prices in your own region.
| Rank | CPU Name | Performance / Cost | Cost Efficiency | Commentary | |
| #5 |  |
AMD Phenom X3 720 | 28164 MOPS : 148$ | 190.3 MOPS/$ | Not a very good combination of performance and price, that puts it on a lower place. |
| #4 | |
AMD Phenom X4 970 | 47463 MOPS : 185$ | 256.6 MOPS/$ | A slighly higher price keeps this quad core from AMD in the middle on the list. |
| #1 | |
AMD Phenom X6 1055 | 56713 MOPS : 180$ | 315.1 MOPS/$ | Although average on performance the excellent price makes it a clear Best Buy. |
| #2 |  |
Intel Core i3 550 | 38807 MOPS : 130$ | 298.5 MOPS/$ | This entry level model from Intel has a correct price |
| #3 | |
Intel Core i5 760 | 54388 MOPS : 205$ | 265.3 MOPS/$ | This quad core almost matches the X6’s performance, unfortunately regarding cost is not on par. |
| #6 | |
Intel Core i7 975 | 96463 MOPS : 1040$ | 92.8 MOPS/$ | Get it cheaper and maybe it will worth the performance, untill then, forget it! |
You can check your own processor’s Cost Efficiency or view how other processors measure up using the Performance vs Cost tab in Sandra’s benchmarks.
Most Popular Processors, Chipsets & Memories
| Most popular Processors as benchmarked by users (past 30 days): | Most popular Chipsets (and thus Mainboards) as benchmarked by users (past 30 days): | ||||||||||||||||
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| For a complete list of statistics, check out the Most Popular Hardware page. For a list of more products, see SiSoftware Shopping. | |||||||||||||||||
Typical Results from Chipsets & Memories
Note: Prices fluctuate all the time; the below table was correct as of December 2010, for US market, in USD, via JustRelevant and is provided as an example only. Please check prices in your own region.
| Rank | Chipset / Memory / Processor | Performance / Cost | Cost Efficiency | Commentary | |
| #4 | |
AMD 870 / 2x 2GB DDR3 PC3-8500 / AMD Phenom X4 970 |
12800 MB/s @ 145$ (mainboard+memory cost only) | 88.3 MB/s/$ | Gone are the days when AMD’s integrated memory controller gave an astounding performance; here the results speak for themselves. |
| #5 | |
AMD 890FX / 2x 2GB DDR3 PC3-10600 / AMD Phenom X6 1055 |
13100 MB/s @ 202$ (mainboard+memory cost only) | 64.9 MB/s/$ | This high-end chipset, unfortunately, offers the lowest index considering its price. |
| #3 | |
Intel P55 / 2x 2GB DDR3 PC3-10600 / Intel Core i5 760 |
15700 MB/s @ 172$ (mainboard+memory cost only) | 91.3 MB/s/$ | A slightly higher priced chipset gives an average result in this particular comparation. |
| #1 | |
Intel X58 / 3x 2GB DDR3 PC3-12800 / Intel Core i7 975 |
26300 MB/s @ 246$ (mainboard+memory cost only) | 106.9 MB/s/$ | QuickPath’s performance helps this although expensive combination to stay on top. |
| #2 | |
Intel H55 / 2x 2GB DDR3 PC3-8500 / Intel Core i3 550 |
13000 MB/s @ 140$ (mainboard+memory cost only) | 92.9 MB/s/$ | Being reasonably priced the entry level chipset from Intel has a very good result here. |
You can check your own chipset/memory’s Cost Efficiency or view how other chipsets/memory measure up using the Performance vs Cost tab in Sandra’s benchmarks.
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