Benchmark Tests for Android Devices: Quadrant, Linpack, Nenamark and Sunspider Javascript

A few days ago, we got to know the basics of benchmark tests. Let's see what they are in detail:

Quadrant

'Quadrant' is a product of 'Aurora Softworks'. It is nothing but a series of tests performed on a mobile device which benchmark the CPU, Memory, I/O and 2D/3D graphics. The 'Standard Quadrant' is free for Android Users who can download the application from the 'Android Market' and run it on their devices. The benchmark provides an overall score which can be compared with the benchmark scores from the other devices. If you overclock your CPU, this will obviously get reflected in the benchmark test in a better score. If you want a reference point for your device, the 'Samsung Galaxy Note' has one of the highest, or probably, the highest Quadrant score of 3624 (without overclocking).

Linpack

The Linpack benchmark is a measure of the system's floating point computing power. Introduced by Jack Dongarra, it measures how fast a device can solve a dense N by N system of linear equations. This benchmark was originally designed to run on supercomputers in the 1970's. So, you can imagine how advanced the device in your hand is today. You can download this application from the 'Android Market' and check the strength of the CPU in your device. The results are designated in MFLOPS (Millions of Floating Point Operations per Second).

Nenamark 1

The first iteration of the 'Nenamark' benchmark test was designed to test the strength of the GPU (The above two tests, Quadrant and Linpack, measure the strength of the CPU). Nenamark 1, designed to run around 10-15 fps (frames per second), uses programmable shaders for graphical effects such as reflections, dynamic shadows, parametric surfaces, particles and different light models to push the GPU to the limits. Results are designated in FPS.

Nenamark 2

Nenamark 1 had been released an year ago and since then, the smartphones have become a lot more capable with refresh rates of their screens crossing 60 fps. So, the Nenamark 1 was not deemed very effective to test such devices and hence Nenamark 2 had been conceptualized. Results are designated in FPS.

JavaScript

'Sunspider JavaScript' is a benchmark that aims to measure the JavaScript performance on tasks relevant to the current and near future use of JavaScript in the real world, such as encryption and text manipulation. In other words, the test simulates real-world usage of JavaScript on Websites. The results are reported in milliseconds (ms). If you want a reference point for your device, the 'Samsung Galaxy Nexus' has one of the best scores: 1879 ms.

Just remember that the more you score on 'Quadrant', 'Linpack', 'Nenamark 1' and 'Nenamark 2', the better. The lesser you score on 'JavaScript', the better.

We'll talk about the rest of the benchmark tests in future post. Stay Tuned..!!