How to specify PC performance with
vendor-neutral benchmarks

What is a benchmark?

The only way to guarantee savings in procurement processes is with fair and open competition.

But writing vendor-neutral tenders for IT systems is not easy. Precisely defining the required system performance is a major challenge to purchasers in public offices.

The best approach for describing and comparing the performance of computer systems uses programs called benchmarks. A benchmarking program runs a series of well-defined tests on the system and generates a score that represents the system's performance.

Benchmarks provide a specific, comparable and reproducible method of objectively measuring the performance of a computer system. Evaluating complete systems using performance-based benchmarks leads to more informed decisions.

Benchmarks for procurement

PCMark 10 is the ideal benchmark for governments and other public bodies seeking a vendor-neutral solution. It provides accurate, relevant, impartial and practical benchmark tests for specifying and comparing the performance of Windows PCs, notebooks, and tablets.

PCMark benchmarks are used by the governments of France, Germany, Northern Ireland, and Brazil as well as the European Commission.

UL has a long history of working with governments and other public procurement agencies. In addition to complimentary licenses and advice, we offer source code access and priority technical support at no cost to qualifying organisations.

If you work for a government agency or other public body and would like to know more about using benchmarks developed by UL Solutions, please contact us by clicking the button in the next section.

Vendor-neutral process

UL Solutions' benchmarks, previously known as Futuremark benchmarks, have been the industry standard by following a strict code of neutrality since 1997. We make the world’s most widely-used performance tests for PCs, laptops, notebooks, tablets, and smartphones.

UL Solutions creates benchmarks in cooperation with the world's leading technology companies using an open and transparent process that guarantees fair and neutral benchmark results.

UL is a global safety science company with more than a century of expertise and innovation in the fields of product safety testing, inspection and verification services.

UL Solutions partners with governments, regulators, businesses, manufacturers, and trade associations to play a key role in the development and harmonization of national and international standards.

Step 1: Licensing


Complimentary Government License

We support governments, public procurement agencies, and other qualifying organisations with complimentary licenses, source code access, and priority technical support and advice at no cost. Contact us to discuss your requirements.

Contact us

Single-Seat License from $1595 per year

Vendors bidding for a tender should purchase a PCMark 10 Professional Edition Single-Seat License. To run PCMark 10 on more than one system simultaneously, you will need an equivalent number of Professional Edition licenses or a Site License.

Contact us for a quote

Step 2: Download PCMark 10


Which version should I use?

PCMark 10 is updated regularly with new features and to ensure compatibility with the latest hardware. We recommend using the latest version. Some governments require the use of a previous version in their tenders.

UL Solutions guarantees that results are comparable across application versions provided that the benchmark version number is the same. For example, PCMark 10 Extended benchmark scores from the latest version are comparable with PCMark 10 Extended benchmark scores from v2.1.2153.

Benchmark version numbers change rarely, and only when absolutely necessary to accommodate changes in third party applications or from other unavoidable bug fixes.

Latest version

PCMark 10 v2.1.2662 | November 13, 2023

  • PCMark 10 benchmark
  • PCMark 10 Express
  • PCMark 10 Extended
  • PCMark 10 Applications
  • PCMark 10 Battery Life tests
  • PCMark 10 Storage benchmarks
Download

Step 3: Choose a suitable benchmark test


PCMark 10 features a set of tests that cover a wide variety of tasks performed in the modern workplace from everyday essentials like web browsing and video conferencing, to common office productivity tasks like working with documents and spreadsheets, and on to more demanding work with digital content such as photo and video editing. You should choose the test that best matches the intended audience for the device being tested.

Each benchmark produces a score that you can use to compare systems. A higher score indicates better performance. You'll also get detailed results and monitoring charts that provide a deeper understanding of performance during each workload.

There is no overall PCMark score. When testing systems or components, be sure to use the most appropriate benchmark for the hardware's capabilities and report your results using the full name of the test.

PCMark benchmarks measure complete system performance using tests based on real-world apps and activities. In PCMark 10, these tests reflect common tasks performed in the modern workplace.

PCMark 10 benchmark is developed in partnership with the world's leading technology companies through an open process that guarantees fair results. The accurate and impartial results make PCMark 10 ideal for vendor-neutral procurement.

PCMark 10 Benchmark

The ideal benchmark for organizations evaluating PCs for a workforce with a range of performance needs. It covers a wide range of activities from everyday productivity tasks to demanding work with digital media content.

PCMark 10 Express

A shorter benchmark ideal when tendering for PCs for general office use. It measures system performance for typical office tasks such as writing documents, browsing websites, creating spreadsheets, and video conferencing.

PCMark 10 Extended

A longer benchmark that provides a complete assessment of system performance beyond typical office work tasks. It expands the PCMark 10 benchmark with demanding graphics and physics tests that focus on GPU and CPU performance.

PCMark 10 Applications

This benchmark measures PC performance with tests based on Microsoft Office applications: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Edge. You must have the relevant applications installed in order to run this benchmark.

Battery Life Profile

Battery life depends on how a device is used. Instead of producing a single number, PCMark 10 Battery Life Profile determines a device's battery life across five common scenarios: Modern Office, Applications, Video, Gaming, and Idle.

Storage benchmarks

A set of four storage benchmarks that use relevant real-world traces from popular applications and common tasks. Idea for testing and comparing the performance of the latest internal and external storage devices for desktop and laptop PCs.

Step 4: Follow benchmarking best practice


How to get accurate and precise results

In general, you should benchmark every system under the same conditions. For example, you should test every system in the same location, at room temperature, and away from direct sunlight and other heat sources.

To get accurate and consistent benchmark results you should test clean systems without third party software installed. If this is not possible, close as many background tasks as possible, especially automatic updates and notifications.

Running PCMark 10 repeatedly on a consistently performing system in a well-controlled environment will usually produce scores that fall within a 3% range.

A score may occasionally fall outside the margin of error since there are factors that cannot be completely controlled in a modern, multitasking operating system. There are also devices that simply do not offer consistent performance due to their design. In these cases, it is necessary to run the benchmark multiple times, and take an average of the results.

How to set up a PC for testing

Before you start, check that the system meets the minimum or recommended requirements for PCMark 10 at the bottom of this page. Official tenders may specify additional or alternative configuration requirements and test procedures.

  1. Install all critical updates to ensure the operating system is up to date.
  2. Install the latest stable drivers for the hardware.
  3. Restart the computer.
  4. Wait 2 minutes for startup to complete.
  5. Close other programs, including those that may be running in the background.
  6. Wait for 15 minutes.
  7. Run the benchmark.
  8. Repeat from step 3 at least three times to verify your results.

Good testing guide

  • Running other programs and tasks during the benchmark can affect the results.
  • Avoid touching the mouse, keyboard or touchscreen while tests are running.
  • Do not change the window focus while the benchmark is running.
  • Press the ESC key if you want to stop the test.

PCMark 10 System requirements


Minimum system requirements

OS: Windows 7, 64-bit
Processor Dual-core CPU
Memory 4 GB
Graphics DirectX 11
Display 1920 × 1080
Storage 6 GB free hard disk space

PCMark 10 Express needs only 2 GB of system memory and a display with
1280 × 720 resolution.

Applications system requirements

OS: Windows 10
Processor Dual-core CPU
Memory 2 GB
Graphics DirectX 11
Display 1280 × 720
Storage 2 GB free hard disk space

To run the PCMark 10 Applications benchmark, you must have the relevant applications from Microsoft Office 2013 or later installed on the system.