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The proof is in the processor

At a recent reviewer day at its offices in Austin, AMD expressed not just its displeasure with battery benchmarks, but notebook benchmarking methods in general, saying it hoped to create its own, better benchmarks in the near future (taking a shot at the press, eh?)

Scott Shutter, senior manager of product marketing at AMD, said it was time for a "new metric discussion," as "benchmarking just isn't important to mainstream users."

David Schwarzbach, another senior manager of product marketing, opined that AMD's research had found most consumers held only a very "scattered knowledge about benchmarks," and that it was AMD's goal "to be able to convey that platform goodness in a way people can understand."

Referring to benchmarking as more "benchmarketing," Schwarzbach said it would be a lot better to measure a machine's "fitness for use" in a series of "proof points."

AMD described proof points as "applications and tasks performed on a PC whose experience can be demonstrated," like the time it takes to transcode a film or retrieving huge files.

The firm says proof points would really help to differentiate between one tier and another, whilst providing meaningful information to target users. AMD also said the proof points should be supported by quantifiable data wherever possible.

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