With AMIDuOS advancing to version 2.0, now is a good time to re-examine the performance and functionality of the software. Although there are clear signs of performance improvements, the software also shows greater stability issues than the previous version of AMIDuOS that we tested in February.
Test Setup
The latest AMIDuOS was tested on the same hardware as we used for the AMIDuOS 1.x test. We are also continuing to use Windows 7, and outside of general software updates and Windows updates, there are no significant changes to the system.
| AMIDuOS Test System | |
|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7-3770k @ 4.4 GHz |
| Motherboard | Asus P8Z77-V Pro |
| RAM | 16 GB DDR3 @ 1866 MHzTimings: 10-11-10-28-2T(4 GB allocated to AMIDuOS) |
| GPU | Intel HD Graphics 4000 @ 1300 MHz (1 GB RAM allocated in BIOS) |
| Storage | Primary: 2 x 240 GB SSD RAID 0Secondary: 2 TB Samsung |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Operating System | Windows 7 |
Fighting Google Play
The initial setup of AMIDuOS took only a matter of minutes, but when we went to install the Google Play Store, we ran into some trouble. AMIDuOS still does not have distribution rights for this software, and users wanting to use it need to download it separately. Afterwards, it can be applied to AMIDuOS by right-clicking on the zip file and clicking "Apply to DuOS."
The first time we tried to apply the update to AMIDuOS, however, we received an error message. We restarted the software, tried to apply it again and were able to, but when configuring the software and signing into a Google account, we encountered numerous issues. Once, the software completely crashed. Subsequent attempts had long pauses, and every attempt to sign into the Google account failed.
Therefore, we were resigned to let the software finish its setup process first and skip the sign in process. Several long pauses later, it ultimately succeeded in finishing the setup, after which it promptly froze, and we were forced to use Task Manager to end the process and close out the program. Restarting again, the software was functioning fairly normally, so we proceeded to the settings menu to attempt signing into the Google account again. Several pauses and a few failed attempts later, we were ultimately successful.
We thought at this point that our troubles were behind us, but we were grievously mistaken. We could now open the Google Play Store, which showed that we were signed in, but the main page would not load. Search results would not load either, although by typing the full name of the program we wanted to find (Antutu Benchmark), we were able to get to the app page. We still weren't able to download the app, however, and were ultimately forced to bypass the Play Store entirely by downloading the app using a web browser.
Performance & Gaming
With Antutu finally installed, we ran the benchmark and were pleasantly surprised. With as many bugs as the software appears to have, we presumed that performance would be negatively impacted. Instead, the software reported a score of 114,758. That is a 6.8 percent increase over the score AMIDuOS 1.x achieved (107,457).
Next, we went back to the web browser and found a favorite Android emulator of ours, "ClassicBoy." If you read our previous article on AMIDuOS, you might recall that we mentioned the system had difficulties navigating through folders. At the time, we suspected this might have been caused by our use of a large 2 TB drive, which was almost completely filled. With AMIDuOS 1.x, the system was slow when accessing this drive and would occasionally cause the file explorer to crash. It was usable, but it was certainly not what we would call an ideal situation.
In AMIDuOS 2.x, this problem has been resolved. We didn't experience any slow down or instability when accessing files on the same 2 TB drive used previously. This made finding the games we wanted to emulate with ClassicBoy much easier, and in seconds we were able to load up and start playing. There was a minor issue with the audio: The app uses a soft audible click as it scrolls, and this click continued for some time after we had stopped scrolling.
Trying out The Legend Of Zelda and Destiny Of An Emperor on NES, gaming on AMIDuOS 2.x was working reasonably well. We felt a little more input lag than we are accustomed to, but it wasn't a significant problem. The game was still playable, and the app was responsive and playable.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it seems that AMIDuOS has seen some significant improvements, but a few bugs have also crept into the program. Nearly all of the issues we encountered were in conjunction with the Google Play Store, and we are actually left questioning if we would have encountered any problems during setup (outside of the minor audio issue while file browsing) if the Play Store and associated files were never applied to the system. It doesn't really matter, though, as the Google Play Store is required in order to install the vast majority of Android apps, and not having it drastically limits the system's capabilities.
For developers testing applications they created themselves, this likely will not be a major issue, but for everyone else it is. This is an issue AMIDuOS will need to address in subsequent releases.
Follow Michael Justin Allen Sexton @LordLao74. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.
