Systems testing
The goal of this activity is to develop novel game system testing procedures that combine performance/experience (e.g. FPS) and energy/power (e.g. Watts), into one or more relevant metrics (e.g., FPS/Watt). Given the highly overlapping use cases for VGCs and GPCs, methodologies and metrics for gauging performance will be explored using cross-platform games. We are investigating existing testing protocols, metrics and software benchmarks (synthetic and games with "benchmark" mode) and developing cross-platform tests and metrics, ensuring that our methods are representative and repeatable to the extent possible. We are exploring sensitivity to hardware/software configurations as well as user settings and other behavioral factors (overclocking, BIOS settings, etc.). Differences between nameplate in-use power requirements are documented as well. See online summary of system descriptions, duty cycles, benchmarks and specific games tested, and cloud-gaming framework, together with total cost of ownership results.