Creative Graphics Benchmarks (Photoshop, Video Editing, Motion Graphics, 3D Modeling, CAD)

There are not many benchmarks which focus on performance in creative applications and the few I've found tend to ignore mobile hardware.

However, many of us rely on our laptops to earn a living, complete school assignments or simply express our ideas with projects that make use of Photoshop, video editing, motion graphics, 3D modeling or CAD applications.

When shopping for a new laptop, wouldn't it be nice to have a clearer idea of how the 970M or 980M cards compare to FirePro and Quadro mobile cards for specific tasks? Or how much CPU throttling in a particular laptop might hurt performance in video editing, etc?

We put together a list of a few benchmarks with links to the test files below - I'd like to invite everyone to try these if you have time!

Even if you are not a heavy user of Adobe apps, for example, you can download a free trial of Adobe Creative Cloud. It would be great to have a wide range of results on different laptops, or even run them on your desktop if you have one.

I will be posting a more detailed guide on how to install and use these test files, in the meantime here is a link to a shared google doc to record your results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ouENq7CUMy2GYvx0kC6ZXDSEluE6p4sFrsgUYsN7HAg/edit#gid=0


SPECviewperf 12

SPECviewperf 12 download (30 tests in six categories: media and entertainment (3D animation, rendering), product development (CAD/CAM/CAE), life sciences (medical, molecular), financial services, energy and general operations)
SPECapc for 3DSMax 2015
SPECapc for Maya 2012
SPECapc for Solidworks 2013
SPECapc for PTC Creo 3.0
SPECapc for Siemens NX 8.5​

Adobe Premiere

PPBM7 benchmark
​

After Effects

AE Raytrace/CUDA Benchmark Test
Teddygage Raytrace Benchmark​

Photoshop

KitGuru Photoshop Benchmark
Photoshop Speed Test
​

Encoding

x264 Encoding Benchmark
​

Cinebench

MAXON | 3D FOR THE REAL WORLD: Overview​

PCMark8

Creative Test
Applications Test​

AutoCAD

Cadalyst Benchmark​

Blender

BMW Test Scene
Blender Render Benchmark
Blenchmark
​

 

I remember that bigspin has done some these benchmarks in his P751ZM.. See the owners lounge for it or dig it out.. It was literally a few days back..

 

doing graphic stuff is always a real challenge for me.
I think I need to buy a new computer )

 

It can certainly be challenging with weaker PCs, but there are workarounds. For example, you can work with a low resolution version of your footage and when you are finished editing, just swap out the low res version for the original native res clips for your color grading, final render and export.

 

OK, so how do I run the Adobe Premier, After Effects, and Photo Shop tests? I downloaded and installed the trial "Creative Cloud" with those three apps, but I have no idea what's being tested or how to test it. I am happy to do this on the 970m and 980m, but need a little help.

And I can't find the Kitguru benchmark download. There's an article and no link to download. (edit: NM, found it page 3 of article), and I don't think I'll have much issue running the Photo Shop tests.


Thanks.

 

Wow, you are the best HT - thanks so much for trying these!

Adobe Premiere - PPBM7
The Premiere benchmark is basically testing how long it takes to complete certain tasks on a specific project file. When you unzip the download (I'd suggest to put these files on the SSD), there should be a file called "PPBM7-DE.prproj" - this is the one for Creative Cloud version.

1. Open up the project
2. double click on "Disk Test" timeline in the top left panel.
3. Some instructions for Disk Test timeline should be visible in the preview window, if they are not, navigate to the beginning of the timeline. These instructions should read as follows:

Spoiler

1. This is Step 1 "Disk Test" timeline
2. press "CTRL M" to open export menu
3. select format "AVI"
4. select preset "PAL DV"
5. browse to find the correct path for exporting "Disk test.avi" (should be folder for "encoded files")
6. remove check mark for Audio
7. make sure three options at bottom ("Maximum Render Quality," "Use Previews," "Frame Blending") are not checked
8. select "Export"

After the export finishes for "Disk Test" timeline, double click on the "MPEG2-DVD test" timeline in the project window and follow the instructions in the preview window

Spoiler

1. This is step 2 "MPEG2-DVD test" Timeline
2. "CTRL M" to open Export menu
3. select format "MPEG2-DVD"
4. Preset "NTSC 23.976 Widescreen High Quality"
5. Check to verify correct path for exporting "MPEG2-DVD test.m2v" (should be folder for encoded files)
6. make sure "Audio" is unchecked
7. Maximum Render Quality should be checked, but "Use Previews" and "Frame Blending" should not be checked
8. Check Estimated File Size, should be 94MB
9. select "Export"

After the Export completes, keep the "MPEG2-DVD test" timeline open, but advance forward two frames in the timeline to see the next step. (Simple way to do this is make sure you are at beginning of timeline, click on preview window then hit your right cursor twice)

Next steps:

Spoiler

1. This is part 3 "MPEG-DVD test" timeline without GPU rendering
2. select Project->Project Settings->General and change the Renderer option to "Mercury Playback Engine Software Only" and delete Previews
3. "CTRL M" to open export menu
4. select "Format" "MPEG2-DVD"
5. Preset "NTSC 23.976 Widescreen High Quality"
6. check path for exporting "MPEG2-DVD test_1.m2v" (should be in Encoded files folder)
7. Maximum Render Quality should be checked, but "Use Previews" and "Frame Blending" should not be checked
8. Check Estimated File Size, should be 94MB
9. Export - this one should take a long time

After export process completes, open the "H.264 test" timeline and make sure you are at first frame in timeline to view next instructions:

Spoiler

1. This is part 4 "H.264 test" timeline
2. select Project->Project Settings->General and change the Renderer option back to "Mercury Playback Engine GPU acceleration" and delete Previews
3. "CTRL M" to open export menu
4. select "Format" "H.264 blu-ray"
5. Preset "HD 1080i 29.97"
6. check path for exporting "H.264.m4v" (should be in Encoded files folder)
7. Make sure "Audio" is unchecked
7. Maximum Render Quality should be checked, but "Use Previews" and "Frame Blending" should not be checked
9. Export

After exporting close the project without saving. Then run 'Statistics PPBM7-v3.vbs' for CC by double clicking on this file.

The folks who put this benchmark together are also collecting the results to compare with everyone else doing this benchmark, you can submit yours here: http://ppbm7.com/index.php/homepage/submit

Photoshop Speed Test
1. Open Photoshop
2. Go to Edit->Preferences->General
3. Select "Performance" tab
4. Set History States to "1"
5. Set Cache Levels to "4"
6. Adjust Memory Usage, Let Photoshop Use 100% Available RAM
7. Select OK
8. Double click the action found in the action folder, this will install into the Photoshop Actions Palette.
9. Restart your system
10. Log back onto Windows and open Photoshop. It is important that no
other applications/programs are running.
11. In Photoshop Go to file>open> then navigate to the speed test folder and open the test image
12. On the top right corner of actions window, there is a small icon which opens a context menu. Open this menu and select "Button Mode"
13. Click on the button labeled "Speed Test" and a dialog box will pop up (read it), get your stopwatch or timing device ready and start at the same time as you click the continue button
13. Stop the clock when the test finishes, this is when the next dialog box pops up saying, “STOP”.

Kit Guru Photoshop Benchmark
1. Exit Photoshop
2. Download test file here: http://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2010/05/KitGuruPSBENCHV1.zip
3. double click on the file "KitGuru Photoshop Benchmark V1 (4).atn" - this should launch Photoshop and install the actions palette
4. Go to Window->Actions - this will make the actions window appear
5. On the top right corner of actions window, there is a small icon which opens a context menu. Open this menu and select "Button Mode"
6. Go to File->Open and navigate to open draconians.jpg
7. Below the image, to the left of the image slider bar, you should see a tiny right arrow icon. if you click this, it will open a context menu allowing you to select "Timing" in order to display the time for various tasks

Spoiler

8. on the actions window in button mod, click on "KitGuru.net Bench" button and follow the instructions to write down time elapsed for various tasks.


After Effects - Teddy Gage Raytrace CUDA Test
1. Download "CS6 11.1 RAYTRACE BENCHMARK.aep" from here: http://www.teddygage.com/AEBENCHCS6/CS6 11.1 RAYTRACE BENCHMARK.aep
2. Open After Effects
3. Go to Open->Projects-> select "CS6 11.1 RAYTRACE BENCHMARK.aep"
4. Highlight composition window
5. Go to Composition->Add to Render Queue
6. The Render Queue menu should appear below. Click on the filename to select output destination. Should be Best quality, lossless setting.
7. Click Render. It will show estimated and final elapsed time.
8. Comparison with other systems using Nvidia GeForce desktop and Quadro cards:
http://www.teddygage.com/AEBENCHCS6/CS6 Benchmarks.ods
http://www.teddygage.com/AEBENCHCS6/CS6 Benchmarks 4.pdf
https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/2/1019120
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1587574

After Effects - AE Raytrace CUDA Test (Robots4JS.aep)
1. Download robots4JS.aep from here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/6704122/robot4JS.aep
2. Open After Effects
3. Go to Open->Projects-> select robots4sj.aep
4. When you open this file, it should automatically add a new job to the Render Queue.(Note that this Render Queue is going to show some previous render data from 2012. Just ignore that and scroll down to find your new render job at the bottom of the queue) Click on the filename to select output destination. Should be Best settings, Quicktime.
7. Click Render. It will show estimated and final elapsed time.
8. Comparison with other systems using Nvidia GeForce desktop and Quadro cards:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuE_AZZfskx3dHotTzVGamhiUkIySTUteGlzeG9xMEE#gid=2
http://www.loopoutcontinue.com/cuda/
(To submit results you can email rendernyc @ gmail)

 

I did read those instructions, but for Photoshop that whole #12 is where I'm struggling. Where is the Retouch Artists action? I don't use Photoshop and there's no indication of that anywhere.

And with the Adobe Premier test it has to convert the file to the latest version and there's three tests: PPBM6-DE, PPBM7-DE, PPBM8-DE

 

Sorry, I think they labeled it "Retouch Artists" in a previous version of the test, but in this version it is labeled "Speed Test"

Easiest way to access it is once you have the action palette installed and you have opened the test image in Photoshop, then on the Actions window click the top right corner to enable "Button mode" - then you will see a button in the Actions window labeled "Speed Test," which starts the test script.

Unfortunately I don't have Adobe CC, as I'm still using CS5. You got that error message from the PPBM7-DE file? Did you try PPBM8-DE? The instructions indicate PPBM7-DE is supposed to be the one for AdobeCC, but maybe PPBM8 is for the most recent version of CC.

In any case, hopefully it will still work even if it has to convert the file.

EDIT: OK, I just upgraded to Adobe CC, will check these again once the new apps have downloaded

Also, note if AE or Premiere don't recognize the 980M for CUDA acceleration, you can try using GPUSniffer to unlock it locally

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/adobe-cs5-cuda-64-bit,2770-3.html
http://www.studio1productions.com/Articles/AfterEffects.htm

 

Unfortunately I don't see anything like this. It is all foreign to me. I don't even know what or where the "Action" window is. A screenshot or two will help me rub a couple brain cells together.

Thanks.

 

Ah, OK on the menu at the top of the screen select Window -> Actions


Then the Actions window will appear. On this you want to click on a very tiny icon in the top right corner of the Actions Window, that will open a context menu and you can select "Button mode"


Once your Actions window is in button mode, it will look like this and you can select the "Speed Test" button to start the test.

 

Ok, I did this. I clicked "Speed Test" and it completed in like 10 seconds. Then I started the test again, and it went through a number of operations that took about 3 minutes. Doesn't make sense.

See here:

 

I've ran a few of those with 6970m, M8900 and 7970m, links in my signature. I don't have time right now to run the rest, which is sad because I'll have the 7970m for another month or so (in my brother's M18x which is in my possession, and it's like an hour job to get it in my 8740w). Not really cotemporarry hardware, but not everyone can get top of the line, you know

 

OK, your first time (10 seconds) is the correct one. In this case, part of this particular test involves resizing this image and duplicating layers, so when you ran it again on the modified image it was taking a lot longer than the first time on the original image.

And for comparison my hp envy takes about 37.25 seconds, also with 16GB RAM and SSD, so 10 seconds is a great result!

 

Great thread for us that uses our laptop for work purposes as well.
I use AutoCAD and Sketchup for interior designs. Recently using the trial version of Shaderlight for photo realistic renderings.
Autocad/sketchup can basically run on any machine. The Shaderlight program is a huge performance hog.
To do a full HD 1080p render of a scene, it can take up to 3-4 hours to render (on my P650SE). And my CPU runs at 100% with heat up to 100 degrees on all 4 cores.
It's a shame there is no GPU utilization. I also like to note that I read on the Shaderlight forums that more RAM will help decrease rendering times (I have 8GB).

 

Published a shared Google doc to record your results here (thanks for the formatting @Lendari ): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ouENq7CUMy2GYvx0kC6ZXDSEluE6p4sFrsgUYsN7HAg/edit#gid=0

 

I have an unholy question for you guys...
How bad (or good) is AutoCAD 2015 and Solidworks 2015 on Asus T100. Need it for simple shapes and such, and for 2D drawings. Too lazy to carry my M60J to uni.

 

I can't imagine the experience would be fun in any way, shape, or form. The 2GB RAM is the real limiting factor here even for basic stuff. Even SolidWorks recommends 8GB as minimum RAM. I was hoping for something better with the 2015 Asus Transformer Chi T100 but it's still the same darn Atom Z3775, 2GB RAM, 64GB storage for $399, but it does get thinner and lighter, has 1920x1200 IPS LCD, and adds AC wireless. You would have to bump up to a Chi T300 which can be configured with 8GB RAM, 128GB storage and a slightly faster CPU but it's 12.5" and $699.

I think the Atom Z3775 CPU is actually quite capable, and can support up to 4GB RAM but for some reason Asus only offers it with 2GB.

 

Yeah, I too wish original T100 came with 4GBs of RAM (and a second full sized USB port). But it is as it is, and it was ideal machine for me when I bought it.

Talking about AutoCAD, I installed the 2015 version on T100. It runs okay. Takes a bit of time to startup, and isn't as fluid as on proper machine, but for some small tasks it's OK.

 

Care to try Cadalyst on this machine? Would be interesting for comparison: http://www.cadalyst.com/benchmark-test

 

I may, when I have the time.

 

Do you guys think I will benefit from a 4K External monitor for AutoCAD and Sketchup? I know it would be good for photo and video editting, but for 2D/3D Model, I can't think of how it may improve it.

 

I must be doing something wrong with these too. The Teddy Gage RayTrace test shows estimate 28 minutes to complete. Most results are well under 10 minutes. What gives? Is there a way to make sure it's using the CPU and GPU properly?

 

They really need to improve on these benchmark instructions. I can't run "Blenchmark" because even after following their instructions there is no "Start Benchmark" button. I can't figure it out.

 

It's great that you started this thread. Me personally just recently bought p750zm with 4790k/k3100m/24GbRAM

I was thinking to get a 980m after i watched HTWingNut's review on his p750zm laptop running cadalyst 3 times faster than my laptop (was). In the end i bought k3100m because i decided to game less.

It's a very informative for people who game and doing CAD 3D works. Because i know it's really frustrating when you have to choose sacrifice either gaming or working experience.

And believe me, I really do struggle a lot to choose between 980m and k3100m.

So keep up the good work. And wish someday there is a graphic card for the best of both world.

 

There could be, easily, if Nvidia wasn't so damn greedy