The Amiga 4000 Tower: Performance Numbers
Benchmark information from several programs on several Amigas
By Michael Webb, Editor-in-Chief, MikeWebb@CompuServe.COM
The following performance information was obtained using several Amiga systems, as indicated in the first table. In each case, I attempted to optimize each system for performance, by remapping ROM into fast RAM where possible, activating CPU caches, etc. Most, if not all, of the tests performed probably took place with multitasking and interrupts disabled.
For a discussion of these tests and their results, see this page of the review.
First, I must make a few notes about the software used in this performance evaluation:
Also, the software used in this evaluation (as much the benchmarkers as the actual applications) is not to be considered absolute and/or empirical in its results. Like anything that can be used in the same general manner (for performance analysis), by definition, its accuracy is limited by the methods it uses for examination. Probably the most striking example of this is the large differences between SysInfo's and SysSpeed's MIPS measurements. Despite using the same units, they produce very different results. Therefore, take all of these numbers with a grain of salt. But for relative comparisons of the same software on different Amigas, the results are probably fairly trustworthy.
System Information
Name | CPU | FPU | MMU | CPU Clock | Chipset | Chip RAM | Fast RAM | OS | Device Interface |
A500 | 68000 | None | None | 7.14 MHz | ECS | 2 MB | None | AmigaOS 3.1 | None |
A1200 | 68020 | None | None | 14.28 MHz | AGA | 2 MB | None | AmigaOS 3.0 | 16-bit IDE |
A500/A530 | 68030 | 68882 | 68030 | 40 MHz | ECS | 2 MB | 8 MB | AmigaOS 3.1 | 16-bit SCSI |
A4000T | 68060 | 68060 | 68060 | 50 MHz | AGA | 2 MB | 48 MB | AmigaOS 3.1 | 32-bit SCSI |
SysInfo
Test Name | A500 | A1200 | A500/A530 | A4000T |
Dhrystones | 525 | 1287 | 6025 | 37333 |
A600 68000 7MHz | 0.89 | 2.43 | 10.26 | 63.59 |
B2000 68000 7MHz | 0.75 | 1.84 | 8.61 | 53.40 |
A1200 EC020 14MHz | 0.40 | 1.05 | 4.65 | 28.82 |
A2500 68020 14MHz | 0.25 | 0.62 | 2.93 | 18.15 |
A3000 68030 25MHz | 0.11 | 0.27 | 1.30 | 8.06 |
A4000 68040 25MHz | 0.02 | 0.07 | 0.33 | 2.04 |
CPU Mips | 0.54 | 1.34 | 6.28 | 38.96 |
FPU MFlops | N/A | N/A | 1.14 | 27.94 |
Chip Speed vs A600 | 0.87 | 3.48 | 1.63 | 6.33 |
Comment | What can I say! | Excellent! | Smell the Rubber? | Phone Me NOW!!! |
HD Speed in BYTES/SEC | N/A | 956,729 | 1,131,556 | 5,386,520 |
SysSpeed
(NTSC Low Res 320x200 used for display tests)
(Results of Intuition "SwapScreen" test sometimes determined by screen refresh rate)
"N/A" indicates that the hardware needed for the given test was not present in the given system, or that the test could not be performed for unknown reasons
Test Type and Name | A500 | A1200 | A500/A530 | A4000T |
MEMORY TESTS (MB/S) |
Cache Read | N/A | 7.00 | 24.97 | 190.79 |
ReadROMb | 0.25 | 0.87 | 2.93 | 23.65 |
ReadROMw | 0.55 | 1.98 | 5.55 | 31.28 |
ReadROMl | 1.12 | 3.70 | 9.97 | 37.76 |
ReadFastb | N/A | N/A | 2.93 | 17.56 |
ReadFastw | N/A | N/A | 5.55 | 26.80 |
ReadFastl | N/A | N/A | 9.97 | 31.37 |
WriteFastb | N/A | N/A | 3.69 | 20.31 |
WriteFastw | N/A | N/A | 7.90 | 21.97 |
WriteFastl | N/A | N/A | 17.31 | 21.96 |
Fast2Fastb | N/A | N/A | 2.58 | 9.86 |
Fast2Fastw | N/A | N/A | 4.98 | 13.36 |
Fast2Fastl | N/A | N/A | 9.33 | 13.58 |
Fast2Fastm | N/A | N/A | 9.74 | 12.85 |
Fast2Fast16 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 17.11 |
ReadChipb | 0.25 | 0.65 | 0.18 | 0.90 |
ReadChipw | 0.55 | 1.37 | 0.36 | 1.81 |
ReadChipl | 1.12 | 2.94 | 0.40 | 3.63 |
WriteChipb | 0.25 | 1.36 | 0.22 | 1.69 |
WriteChipw | 0.55 | 2.68 | 0.44 | 3.39 |
WriteChipl | 0.89 | 4.99 | 0.44 | 6.78 |
Chip2Chipb | 0.22 | 0.66 | 0.11 | 0.59 |
Chip2Chipw | 0.47 | 1.37 | 0.22 | 1.18 |
Chip2Chipl | 0.83 | 2.96 | 0.22 | 2.36 |
Chip2Chipm | 1.29 | 2.86 | 0.22 | 2.36 |
Chip2Chip16 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 3.02 |
Fast2Chipb | N/A | N/A | 0.22 | 1.60 |
Fast2Chipw | N/A | N/A | 0.44 | 3.04 |
Fast2Chipl | N/A | N/A | 0.44 | 5.61 |
Fast2Chipm | N/A | N/A | 0.43 | 5.76 |
Fast2Chip16 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 5.54 |
DRIVE TESTS (OP/S) |
Create | N/A | N/A | 25 | 411 |
Open | N/A | N/A | 88 | 523 |
DirScan | N/A | N/A | 218 | 6074 |
Delete | N/A | N/A | 197 | 1449 |
Seek/Read | N/A | N/A | 472 | 3178 |
DRIVE TESTS (MB/S) |
CreateFile | N/A | N/A | 1.04 | 4.17 |
WriteFile | N/A | N/A | 0.95 | 2.94 |
ReadFile | N/A | N/A | 0.96 | 3.08 |
RawRead | N/A | N/A | 1.07 | N/A |
INTUITION TESTS (OP/S) |
OpenWin16 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 10 |
OpenWin256 | N/A | 4 | N/A | 5 |
WinLayer16 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 9 |
WinLayer256 | N/A | 3 | N/A | 4 |
SizeWin16 | 8 | 16 | 17 | 64 |
SizeWin256 | N/A | 7 | N/A | 53 |
MoveWin16 | 11 | 21 | 16 | 36 |
MoveWin256 | N/A | 20 | N/A | 37 |
ConOutP16 | 36 | 70 | 93 | 162 |
ConOutP256 | N/A | 61 | N/A | 141 |
OpenScr16 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 20 |
OpenScr256 | N/A | 2 | N/A | 15 |
SwapScr16 | 26 | 30 | 70 | 60 |
SwapScr256 | N/A | 19 | N/A | 60 |
GRAPHIC TESTS (OP/S) |
ScrollX_16 | 37 | 48 | 28 | 49 |
ScrollX_256 | N/A | 22 | N/A | 22 |
ScrollY_16 | 39 | 50 | 29 | 51 |
ScrollY_256 | N/A | 22 | N/A | 23 |
PrintTxt16 | 246 | 553 | 518 | 939 |
PrintTxt256 | N/A | 329 | N/A | 456 |
RectFill16 | 359 | 522 | 344 | 536 |
RectFill256 | N/A | 232 | N/A | 235 |
DrwElpse16 | 31 | 65 | 164 | 566 |
DrwElpse256 | N/A | 46 | N/A | 304 |
DrwCircle16 | 29 | 62 | 157 | 542 |
DrwCircle256 | N/A | 44 | N/A | 291 |
WrtPixel16 | 3315 | 7804 | 18539 | 72401 |
WrtPixel256 | N/A | 6031 | N/A | 46406 |
HorLines16 | 419 | 583 | 349 | 607 |
HorLines256 | N/A | 262 | N/A | 268 |
VerLines16 | 620 | 963 | 650 | 1013 |
VerLines256 | N/A | 432 | N/A | 448 |
DiaLines16 | 502 | 734 | 462 | 759 |
DiaLines256 | N/A | 336 | N/A | 344 |
AreaElps16 | 21 | 43 | 97 | 264 |
AreaElps256 | N/A | 36 | N/A | 163 |
AreaCir16 | 20 | 42 | 90 | 237 |
AreaCir256 | N/A | 34 | N/A | 143 |
AreaFill16 | 131 | 194 | 134 | 206 |
AreaFill256 | N/A | 109 | N/A | 113 |
CPU/FPU TESTS (MILLION OP/S) |
MIPS | 1.03 | 4.65 | 13.11 | 66.35 |
MFLOPS | N/A | N/A | 0.88 | 26.53 |
XOpa
("WritePixel" results given for Graphic Tests; "OpenWindow, MoveWindow" results given for Intuition Tests; all are "per second")
"N/A" indicates that the hardware needed for the given test was not present in the given system
Test Name | A500 | A1200 | A500/A530 | A4000T |
Graphic Test NTSC Low Res 320x200x1-bit | 7393.1 | 14201.8 | 42168.7 | 211566.8 |
Graphic Test NTSC Low Res 320x200x5-bit | 4766.6 | 10675.9 | 26530.4 | 88950.9 |
Graphic Test NTSC Low Res 320x200x8-bit | N/A | 8182.6 | N/A | 57212.8 |
Graphic Test NTSC High Res 640x200x2-bit | 6678.5 | 13061.9 | 37304.1 | 157550.9 |
Graphic Test NTSC High Res Laced 640x400x4-bit | 2275.4 | 11394.7 | 18591.1 | 103509.6 |
Graphic Test NTSC High Res Laced 640x400x8-bit | N/A | 6968.9 | N/A | 51748.5 |
Graphic Test DblNTSC Low Res 320x200x1-bit | N/A | 14130.7 | N/A | 209032.1 |
Graphic Test DblNTSC Low Res 320x200x5-bit | N/A | 10202.4 | N/A | 84512.0 |
Graphic Test DblNTSC Low Res 320x200x8-bit | N/A | 6857.9 | N/A | 50369.5 |
Graphic Test DblNTSC High Res 640x200x2-bit | N/A | 12748.2 | N/A | 153428.8 |
Graphic Test DblNTSC High Res No Flicker 640x400x2-bit | 2712.8 | 12747.7 | 30654.8 | 153428.8 |
Graphic Test DblNTSC High Res No Flicker 640x400x4-bit | N/A | 11073.0 | N/A | 99020.7 |
Graphic Test DblNTSC High Res No Flicker 640x400x8-bit | N/A | 3883.4 | N/A | 27996.4 |
Intuition Test NTSC High Res 640x200x2-bit | 8.4, 22.1 | 17.0, 46.5 | 36.2, 52.4 | 62.4, 83.6 |
Intuition Test NTSC High Res Laced 640x400x4-bit | 3.2, 6.8 | 13.3, 22.6 | 14.8, 14.2 | 32.5, 31.3 |
Intuition Test NTSC High Res Laced 640x400x8-bit | N/A | 7.6, 10.1 | N/A | 13.3, 13.9 |
Intuition Test DblNTSC High Res 640x200x2-bit | N/A | 16.4, 43.9 | N/A | 61.0, 77.7 |
Intuition Test DblNTSC High Res No Flicker 640x400x2-bit | 3.5, 9.3 | 16.3, 37.3 | 23.7, 24.2 | 61.2, 60.5 |
Intuition Test DblNTSC High Res No Flicker 640x400x4-bit | N/A | 12.3, 19.2 | N/A | 27.2, 25.2 |
Intuition Test DblNTSC High Res No Flicker 640x400x8-bit | N/A | 4.2, 5.8 | N/A | 7.8, 7.7 |
Chip RAM Memory-Test (MB/s) | 3.044 | 6.594 | 1.693 | 6.638 |
Fast RAM Memory-Test (MB/s) | N/A | N/A | 23.617 | 29.508 |
Integer Add (results*1000) /s | 323.8 | 583.1 | 4997.5 | 16891.9 |
Integer Multiply (results*1000) /s | 99.3 | 218.6 | 1095.5 | 12722.6 |
Integer Divide (results*1000) /s | 33.4 | 138.5 | 536.3 | 1926.8 |
Integer Bit-Shift (results*1000) /s | 242.2 | 512.3 | 3692.8 | 25906.7 |
Floating-Point Add (results*1000) /s | 22.3 | 52.4 | 147.5 | 944.7 |
Floating-Point Multiply (results*1000) /s | 24.1 | 35.3 | 174.6 | 972.8 |
Floating-Point Divide (results*1000) /s | 30.9 | 51.0 | 219.1 | 1126.1 |
Floating-Point Sin/Cos (results*1000) /s | 1.4 | 2.0 | 12.2 | 34.2 |
Floating-Point Sqrt (results*1000) /s | 2.9 | 9.4 | 30.5 | 182.9 |
Scenery Animator 68000
Test render of Mount Saint Helens; results are time in hours:minutes:seconds; time includes time for HAM conversion and/or display, where appropriate
"N/A" indicates that the test was not performed for lack of memory
Render Mode | A500 | A1200 | A500/A530 | A4000T | A4000T/CyberPatcher |
Low Res 320x200x5-bit | 0:23:53 | 0:10:52 | 0:2:47 | 0:0:35 | 0:0:33 |
Low Res Laced 320x400x6-bit HAM | N/A | N/A | 0:3:31 | 0:0:32 | 0:0:34 |
High Res Laced 640x400x4-bit | 2:20:43 | 0:29:03 | 0:9:19 | 0:1:32 | 0:1:33 |
High Res Laced 640x400x8-bit | N/A | N/A | 0:8:07 | 0:1:34 | 0:1:30 |
Super High Res Laced 1280x400x8-bit HAM | N/A | N/A | 0:22:24 | 0:3:18 | 0:3:14 |
Scenery Animator 68020/68881
Test render of Mount Saint Helens; results are time in hours:minutes:seconds; time includes time for HAM conversion and/or display, where appropriate
"N/A" indicates that the hardware needed for the given test was not present in the given system
Render Mode | A500 | A1200 | A500/A530 | A4000T | A4000T/CyberPatcher |
Low Res 320x200x5-bit | N/A | N/A | 0:2:20 | 0:0:58 | 0:0:38 |
Low Res Laced 320x400x6-bit HAM | N/A | N/A | 0:2:38 | 0:0:57 | 0:0:37 |
High Res Laced 640x400x4-bit | N/A | N/A | 0:7:46 | 0:2:27 | 0:1:39 |
High Res Laced 640x400x8-bit | N/A | N/A | 0:6:11 | 0:2:18 | 0:1:31 |
Super High Res Laced 1280x400x8-bit HAM | N/A | N/A | 0:17:41 | 0:5:55 | 0:3:40 |
CygnusEd
Global Search/Replace on 7865-line document (16023 occurrences of letter "i" changed to letter "a") run in NTSC Low Res 640x200 (autoscroll); results are time in minutes:seconds
Test Name | A500 | A1200 | A500/A530 | A4000T |
Global Search/Replace | 13:45 | 6:43 | 4:12 | 2:49 |