PCMark 8 logo - The Complete Benchmark for Windows 8

Support for this benchmark will end on January 14, 2021

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The Complete Benchmark for Windows

PCMark 8 is an industry standard PC benchmarking tool. With PCMark 8 you can test the performance of all types of PC, from tablets to desktops. With five separate benchmark tests plus battery life testing, PCMark 8 helps you find the devices that offer the perfect combination of efficiency and performance. It's the complete PC benchmark for home and business.

  • The industry standard PC benchmark test for Windows 8 and Windows 7.
  • Combines performance testing with battery life measurement tools.
  • Includes tests using popular applications from Microsoft and Adobe.
  • Ideal for testing the performance of SSDs and hybrid storage devices.

Created with industry expertise

We create PCMark in cooperation with the world's leading technology companies using an open process that guarantees fair and neutral benchmark results.

Our PCMark Benchmark Development Program™ includes the widest range of OEMs, hardware manufactures, and software developers in the industry.

With every member having an equal voice we ensure that benchmarks developed by UL Solutions deliver relevant results that reflect the latest developments in hardware and software. And with UL Solutions having the final say in all development decisions, we ensure that our benchmarks are impartial and free from bias.

Real-world relevance

What makes PCMark 8 different from other benchmarks? Real-world relevance.

With PCMark 8 you measure and compare PC performance using real-world tasks and applications. We've grouped these applications into scenarios that reflect typical PC use in the home and at the office.

This approach highlights practical differences in system performance that end users will appreciate.

Home test

Common home computing tests


PCMark 8 Home test screenshot

The PCMark 8 Home benchmark includes tests that reflect common tasks for a typical home user. These workloads have low computational requirements making PCMark 8 Home a suitable test for low-cost tablets, notebooks and desktops. Home includes workloads for web browsing, writing, gaming, photo editing, and video chat. The results are combined to give a PCMark 8 Home score for your system.

Creative test

Tests for experts and professionals


PCMark 8 Creative test screenshot

The PCMark 8 Creative benchmark includes workloads typical of enthusiasts and professionals who work with media and entertainment content. With more demanding requirements than the Home benchmark, this benchmark is suitable for mid-range computer systems. PCMark 8 Creative includes web browsing, photo editing, video editing, group video chat, media transcoding, and gaming workloads.

Work test

Simple office productivity tests


PCMark 8 Work test screenshot

The PCMark 8 Work benchmark test measures your system's ability to perform basic office work tasks, such as writing documents, browsing websites, creating spreadsheets and using video chat. The Work benchmark is suitable for measuring the performance of typical office PC systems that lack media capabilities. The results from each workload are combined to give an overall PCMark 8 Work score for your system.

Storage test

Measure drive performance with real-world traces


PCMark 8 Storage test screenshot

Use the PCMark 8 Storage benchmark to test the performance of SSDs, HDDs and hybrid drives with traces recorded from Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office and a selection of popular games. You can test the system drive and local external drives. Unlike synthetic storage tests, the PCMark 8 Storage benchmark highlights real-world performance differences between storage devices.

Applications test

Benchmark with Adobe and Microsoft applications


PCMark 8 Applications screenshot

The PCMark 8 Applications benchmark measures system performance using popular applications from the Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office. You can choose which tests to run based on the applications installed on your system. Each test automatically steps through a series of actions such as opening, editing and saving a file. The results are used to calculate the PCMark 8 Applications scores for the system.

Battery life testing

Measure battery life with realistic use patterns


PCMark 8 Battery Life screenshot

PCMark 8 improves on previous versions by adding new battery life testing tools for Windows notebooks, laptops and tablets. The Home, Creative, Work and Applications benchmarks can be used for battery life testing. Choose Battery Life mode to loop the benchmark from a full charge until the battery is almost empty to accurately measure battery life under real-world conditions.

"For organisations that buy PCs in large volumes, a dollar saving between two systems with comparable performance could be worth tens of thousands of dollars in total. That's why organisations that value neutrality, independence, and ease of use choose PCMark."

European Union

The Directorate-General for Informatics (DIGIT) defines the IT strategy of the European Commission, providing the EC and, when appropriate, other European institutions and bodies with IT infrastructure solutions and services. One of the main tasks of DIGIT's Procurement and Contracts unit is to acquire computer and telecommunications products and services for the Commission Directorates-General and departments. The unit also issues invitations to tender on behalf of the administration in Brussels.

In 2014, DIGIT issued an invitation to tender for the supply of desktop computers to the European Parliament and more than 50 other European Agencies, Bodies, and Centres located in over 20 member countries. DIGIT used PCMark benchmark scores to define minimum performance requirements for the supply of an estimated 87,100 reference PC configurations and 15,900 specific purpose PCs.

Germany

Bitkom is a German IT trade association that represents over 2,300 international companies in the digital sector. Working with the purchasing authorities of several German ministries and agencies, Bitkom publishes guidelines for the vendor-neutral performance description of desktop PCs. Bitkom's guidelines specify the use of PCMark 8 benchmark scores to define the minimum performance requirement for desktops PCs to be used by office workers for administrative tasks.

France

In France, L'union des groupements d'achat public (UGAP) is the public procurement and purchasing centre responsible for awarding contracts for services and supplies for authorities and entities subject to the public procurement code. When UGAP completed the tendering process for the supply of 60,000 PCs, they used PCMark to specify the minimum acceptable level of system performance.

Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) employs 18,000 administrative staff across 11 departments. IT Assist, the NICS ICT Shared Service Centre, provides common infrastructure and desktop services to NICS staff in the office, at home or when mobile working. IT Assist specified PCMark performance requirements in its tendering process for the contract to supply the Northern Ireland Civil Service with more than 20,000 PCs and laptops.

Brazil

In Brazil, the implementation and monitoring of procurement, tenders and contracts is managed by the Secretaria de Logística e Tecnologia da Informação (SLTI). The SLTI mandated minimum PCMark benchmark scores as a measure of system performance when purchasing computers for the Federal Government of Brazil, a tender covering more than 61,000 desktop PCs and 13,000 notebooks.

PCMark 8 Windows PC benchmark test

Support for this benchmark will end on January 14, 2021

For home use

PCMark 8 Basic Edition

Steam

Free


  • Home benchmark test
  • Creative benchmark test
  • Work benchmark test

Click the "Download Demo" button on the Steam store page to download PCMark 8 Basic Edition.

PCMark 8 Advanced Edition

Buy Steam


  • Home benchmark test
  • Creative benchmark test
  • Work benchmark test
  • Storage benchmark test
  • Applications benchmark test
  • Battery Life benchmark test
  • Hardware monitoring
  • Custom benchmark settings
  • Save results offline

For business use

PCMark 8 Professional Edition

Get quote Public Sector Press

From $1495 per year


  • Home benchmark test
  • Creative benchmark test
  • Work benchmark test
  • Storage benchmark test
  • Expanded Storage benchmark tests
  • Applications benchmark test
  • Battery Life benchmark test
  • Hardware monitoring
  • Custom benchmark settings
  • Save results offline
  • Private, offline results option
  • Command line automation
  • Export results as PDF and XML
  • Licensed for commercial use
  • Compatible with Testdriver®
  • Priority support by email and phone

Heavy user?

Ask us about Testdriver — our easy benchmark automation solution for enterprise IT, production line QA, and PC lifecycle management.

Minimum system requirements

OS: Microsoft Windows 7
Processor Dual core processor
Memory 2 GB
Graphics DirectX 9.0c compatible
Display 1366 × 768 resolution
Storage 30 GB free hard disk space

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 required.
Download it here.

Internet Explorer 10 or later required. IE 11 recommended, Download it here.

Users of Windows N and Windows KN Editions will need to install Windows Media Feature Pack. Download it here.

Recommended system requirements

OS: Windows 8.1 or Windows 10
Processor Dual core processor
Memory 2 GB
Graphics DirectX 11 compatible
Display 1920 × 1080 resolution
Storage 30 GB free hard disk space

PCMark Creative benchmark requires hardware that supports all DirectX 11 features.

You must have the relevant Adobe and Microsoft applications installed in order to run the PCMark 8 Applications benchmark. PCMark 8 is compatible with Adobe Creative Cloud and Microsoft Office 2010 or later.

Internet connection required for some features.

Support

Latest version 2.10.901 | May 31, 2018