computer science

WorldBench

WorldBench is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand WorldBench rather than just read about it. In short: WorldBench is a Windows benchmark tool offered by PC World Labs since 2000. The PC World Test Center uses this same tool every month to test contenders for PC World's Top Desktop PCs and Top Notebook PCs charts.

Key takeaways

WorldBench belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect WorldBench to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of WorldBench from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

WorldBench is a Windows benchmark tool offered by PC World Labs since 2000. The PC World Test Center uses this same tool every month to test contenders for PC World's Top Desktop PCs and Top Notebook PCs charts. WorldBench is also used in conjunction with other tests to evaluate Top Graphics Boards, Top Hard Drives, and other product categories. The PC World Test Center is currently on WorldBench 6, which specializes in tests for the 32 and 64-bit platforms of the Windows Operating System from Windows XP on. Ongoing beta testing for a power-consumption analysis tool that will be incorporated into the next version of WorldBench, along with several other new additions, is currently taking place in the PCWorld Lab. WorldBench is no longer available to the public, and the test suite is now exclusively used by the PCWorld Lab in their benchmarks.

How It Works WorldBench uses popular desktop applications to perform realistic tasks, making it easier to accurately gauge how fast a computer runs applications routinely used, rather than just listing abstract measures of individual components. The application-based tests tell exactly what is needed—how fast the computer runs real applications. WorldBench installs special versions of each application tested, enabling the automated test scripts to perform every test. It also ensures that the software configuration and version are identical for every computer evaluated. The setup program installs the user interface, testing scripts, and all documents necessary to complete the tasks. It also unpacks and installs each application as needed during testing. Once a test is completed, the program removes the unpacked application from the hard drive. For security reasons, none of the test applications can be installed from the WorldBench CD. When a test is started from WorldBench, the benchmark manager begins running the test script. This script is a series of commands—menu requests, keystrokes, and mouse clicks—that cause the application to step through typical tasks. For example, in Microsoft Office, the script starts by unpacking the version of Office embedded on the WorldBench CD. Then it opens the included test documents, copies and pastes text, changes the documents’ formatting, checks spelling, and undertakes other tasks that are likely to be performed using Office. When Office has finished all the steps in the script, the benchmark closes Office. The following process is the testing sequence supported by each test:

Setup system files needed by each application. Run system tools such as defragmenter. Unpack the application files and update the Registry. Clear idle tasks and flush file buffers Run the script that launches the application and performs the test. Restart the system. Remove the application files. Unpack the next application, and so on. After each test, the computer is shut down and restarted to release all memory and ready the system for the next test. The computer is also restarted after the initial system setup and final clean-up processes, which prepare it for testing and restore it to its original state. Worldbench is no longer being sold, and support for existing customers ends mid-2012.

References

External links "Official WorldBench" [1] "WorldBench 2000" [2] "PC World's World Bench 6: Behind The Scenes" [3] "WorldBench 5 Frequently Asked Questions" [4] "PC World How We Test Laptops" [5]

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with WorldBench

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what WorldBench claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to WorldBench before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about WorldBench ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of WorldBench

In research: WorldBench appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses WorldBench in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: WorldBench is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Benchmarks (computing), Utility software for Windows, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for WorldBench outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study WorldBench in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what WorldBench means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain WorldBench out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is WorldBench in simple terms?

Why does WorldBench matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study WorldBench?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on WorldBench.