Alex/AT Blog

The userbenchmark.com site, pretty popular to compare relative CPU performance, have made a significant change, rendering their overall CPU 'relative index' meaningless to compare CPUs that have more than 4 cores.

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Faq/What-is-the-effective-CPU-speed-index/55

Basically, what they done is shifting multi-core performance tests significance in their overall rating from 10% to 2%, basically up to or even below the error margin, given the test results distribution. This means full multi-core performance of the specific CPU is now not reflected in their rating properly (if not to say at all) and only single to quad core performance matters.

As more and more general consumer CPUs are starting to have more than 4 cores during last years, this decision can be considered ridiculous. Even more so with CPUs that have 12+ cores, because their multicore performance is tremendous. Seeing they are not much faster than 4 core CPUs in the general rating is not much helpful. Even worse, people can even think like 6-core or 8-core CPUs could be faster looking at rating assembled that way and make a totally wrong decision on their purchases.

So, if using userbenchmark.com earlier to compare different stuff you have or not or planning to have, it's now better to either look at detailed test results instead of using the 'calculated' rating or to resort to other benchmarking points around there.

It's a pity though. Userbenchmark offered pretty good 'quick' rating that actually reflected the situation in more or less unique way suitable for both browser-gaming users and even power users. Now it's offering solely browser and low end gaming oriented rating that cannot be trusted in terms of general CPU comparison.

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Everything written in this blog is solely a personal opinion or experience. You don't have to agree with it, more than that: always take it with a good grain of salt.