Results: File Compression
When we compare this quarter's $1600 machine to my old $2400 PC using 7-Zip, it appears that the utility shows slight favor to the pricier box's higher memory capacity. Then, when we compare my high-end build to Don's previous effort (both of which are $1600 systems), the same piece of software looks like it's punishing lower memory bandwidth from Don's older platform.
WinZip’s various approaches give us a variety of data points to digest. For example, the “EZ” switch, which triggers maximum compression, prefers the faster memory configurations of the new $1600 PC and the old $2400 machine, while its “CPU” switch gives us performance that scales with frequency differences.