The SYSmark 2004 SE benchmark tests concentrate exclusively on performance; battery life is irrelevant. These tests are constructed so that the notebook must be plugged into a wall socket. SYSmark 2004 SE uses real applications in its benchmark tests. In this benchmark suite, scripts run this software automatically to simulate typical application use and user behavior.

The SYSmark 2004 SE tests are divided up into two benchmark scenarios: Internet Content Creation and Office Productivity. There are three groups of tests in the Internet Content scenario, including 3D Content, 2D Content, and Web Publication. The Office Productivity also consists of three groups of tests: Communications (E-mail, Calendar, and Web browsing) plus Document Development and Data Analysis.

All values that SYSmark 2004 SE reports are based on average response time. All these values are likewise scaled by how they relate to a standard reference system configured with average components and capabilities. This reference system is granted a standard point score of 100, to provide a ready point of comparison to the system under test. That said, even though MobileMark 2005 takes the same general approach, office productivity values for MobileMark 2005 and SYSmark 2004 SE are not directly comparable.

Here, you'll find the SYSmark 2004 SE benchmark results diagrams for the Asus Centrino Duo system, as well as for the comparison systems, all of which are based upon the older, second generation Centrino platform. Our discussion and analysis follows these diagrams.