VMware Fusion 8 Benchmarks vs. Fusion 7 and Boot Camp

Cinebench R15

We continue our Fusion 8 benchmarks with a look at the latest version of the Cinebench test. Based on the powerful Cinema 4D animation software, Cinebench R15 is a cross-platform benchmark that tests a computer’s 3D rendering capabilities.

Cinebench looks at three primary categories: multi-thread CPU rendering, single-thread CPU rendering, and OpenGL 3D performance. There’s a problem with that last category, however, as not only is Fusion 7 not compatible with Cinebench’s OpenGL test, there’s also a bug in Fusion 8 that produces abnormally low results in the same test. We’ve asked VMware about this and we’re waiting to hear back. Until then, the number reported by the Cinebench OpenGL test isn’t representative of actual OpenGL performance in Fusion 8, and is therefore omitted. For a better look at Fusion 8’s OpenGL performance, check the FurMark Benchmark tests on the previous page.

The CPU scores in the chart below are based on comparative Cinebench “points,” with a higher number indicating better performance.

The bad news is that Fusion 8 doesn’t offer much improvement over Fusion 7 when it comes to CPU-based rendering. The good news, of course, is that it doesn’t really matter, because both Fusion 7 and Fusion 8 are very close to native performance, with Fusion 8 only about 4 percent slower than Boot Camp in single-core performance, and less than 1 percent slower in multi-core performance.

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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