One of the most common requests I get about my HTC Shift X9500 is to post its CrystalMark results. CrystalMark 2004R3 is the newest version of the benchmark suite and one that is commonly used by UMPC owners to "score" their devices. It’s fast and free, so I decided to run it three times: one each for the default power plans in Vista. The results may surprise you.
Known as power schemes in XP, power plans are hardware and system settings that dictate how a computer uses power. They can be customized to meet the needs of anyone, but the default plans offer enough variation to be sufficient for most users.
These default plans as defined by Windows Vista Help are:
- Balanced. Offers full performance when you need it and saves power during periods of inactivity.
- Power saver. Saves power by reducing system performance. This plan can help mobile PC users get the most from a single battery charge.
- High performance. Maximizes system performance and responsiveness. Mobile PC users might notice that their battery doesn’t last as long when using this plan.
Here are the results from the HTC Shift (800MHz Intel A110, 1GB RAM, Vista Business, interpolated 1024 x 600 resolution):
Balanced Power Plan
Power Saver Power Plan
High Performance Power Plan
I’ve never claimed to be anything but clueless about benchmarks, but shouldn’t the results yielded from the Balanced power plan be . . . you know, in between the Power saver and High performance scores?
