VMware Fusion 8 Benchmarks vs. Fusion 7 and Boot Camp

FurMark OpenGL Benchmark

VMware’s introduction of OpenGL 3.3 support in Fusion 8 took us by surprise, so this FurMark OpenGL benchmark is one test that we didn’t perform in our earlier look at Parallels 11. Rest assured, however, that we’ll look deeper into OpenGL performance in both applications as part of our forthcoming 2015 VM Benchmark Showdown.

Turning to the benchmark at hand, FurMark is a demanding OpenGL benchmark and stress test that measures GPU performance and OpenGL compliance. FurMark offers several benchmark presets based on resolution, but due to the nature of our mobile hardware and the limited GPU capabilities in our VMs, we stuck with the 720p and 1080p tests. Results are reported as a proprietary “score” with a higher number equaling better performance.

FurMark is a complex benchmark that’s hard on any system, including our native Boot Camp installation, but Fusion 8 surprisingly holds its own, trailing by only about 5 percent in the 720p test and about 10 percent in the 1080p test.

Table of Contents

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1. Introduction
2. Fusion 8 New Features & Overview
3. Hardware, Software, and Testing Methodology
4. Geekbench
5. 3DMark (2013)
6. 3DMark06
7. FurMark OpenGL Benchmark
8. Cinebench R15
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9. PCMark 8
10. Passmark PerformanceTest 8.0
11. x264 Encoding
12. x265 Encoding
13. File Transfers
14. Virtual Machine Management
15. Conclusions
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