Sony VAIO Tap 21 Multitouch Mobile Desktop Review
PCMark & 3DMark Tests
First, we fired up some benchmarks by Futuremark. The company, which is based just outside of Helsinki, Finland, started publishing benchmarks in 1998. Since then, Futuremark has developed tests for evaluating standard PCs and mobile devices as well.
Futuremark’s PCMark 7 benchmark includes a suite of tests designed to measure the way your computer would perform during typical tasks. It includes an Entertainment Suite, which offers gaming scenarios and tests its media playback capabilities. The benchmark also has a Creativity Suite, in which the system processes images and video. Other tools include the Computation Suite and the Storage Suite. The latter is capable of measuring SSD and hard drive performance, either individually, or as a whole.
As a gaming benchmark, 3DMark 11 puts extra emphasis on your system’s handling of DirectX 11. But it measures more than the graphics card’s performance (the processor can make a big difference to a score, for example) and is a good way to get a feel for a system both as a gaming PC and as a general-use computer. Futuremark recently updated 3DMark 11 to support Windows 8, so if you plan to run this test on your own Windows 8 system, be sure to get the latest version.
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Futuremark’s PCMark 7 benchmark includes a suite of tests designed to measure the way your computer would perform during typical tasks. It includes an Entertainment Suite, which offers gaming scenarios and tests its media playback capabilities. The benchmark also has a Creativity Suite, in which the system processes images and video. Other tools include the Computation Suite and the Storage Suite. The latter is capable of measuring SSD and hard drive performance, either individually, or as a whole.
The Sony Tap 21 performed admirable in PCMark 7, considering the machine is outfitted with only a hybrid storage solution, a dual-core processor, and integrated graphics. It couldn't quite catch the more powerful all-in-ones we've recently tested, which feature discrete graphics and more processor cores, but it hung right up there with a few of them.
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As a gaming benchmark, 3DMark 11 puts extra emphasis on your system’s handling of DirectX 11. But it measures more than the graphics card’s performance (the processor can make a big difference to a score, for example) and is a good way to get a feel for a system both as a gaming PC and as a general-use computer. Futuremark recently updated 3DMark 11 to support Windows 8, so if you plan to run this test on your own Windows 8 system, be sure to get the latest version.
The Sony VAIO Tap 21 features Intel's mid-range integrated graphics solution, the HD 4400. As such, the Tap 21 was able to outrun the other machines with older discrete GPUs or integrated graphics, but the systems with built-in GeForces or Quadros finished well ahead.
