Preliminary Setup

1. Download the SoftMac 2000 demo, the latest free Basilisk II Windows build, and the free Fusion V3.0. If you have the full version of SoftMac, use it instead/as well.
2. Download the documents:

• AppleFractal1024x768.jpg   (405 k)
• RTF Document   (480 k)

3. Boot each emulator with a common 68030/68040 compatible Hard Drive File (HDF), such as System 7.5.x, 7.6.x, or 8.x 
4. Copy the hexed documents into the HDF using HFVExplorer.
5. Set the Mac OS disk cache setting (in the Memory control panel) to a consistent setting and set the Monitors control panel to either 640x480, 800x600, or 1024x728 @ 256 color mode. (Make sure you check these settings after each boot up to verify that they are correct)
6. Set the memory size for each emulator to at least 12 megabytes (The SoftMac 2000 demo has a 14 MB maximum and note that Basilisk II's memory can only be made in increments of 4 MB. Make sure you use a setting that all your emulators can share).
7. Download the Applications needed, install them and set the allocated memory:

• Graphic Converter  was allocated 3000 k. (Or use the latest Graphic Converter available for 68k Macs)
• Corel WordPerfect 3.5e was allocated 5000 k (see Stuffit Expander real world test below before installing WordPerfect)
• Stuffit Expander was allocated 1024 k.
• Apple Personal Diagnostics was allocated 1200 k.
• Speed-o-meter 3.23 was allocated 1024 k.

The "Real World" Bench Tests

Graphic Converter - Decompressing JPEG/JFIF Test

1. Go to the File menu and select open.
2. Navigate to the AppleFractal1024x768.jpg file and start timing the instant you click Open.
3. Stop the time count when the picture is completely drawn on the screen.
4. Write down the time taken for the particular emulator.

Graphic Converter - Laplace 3x3 Filter Test

1. While the picture is open from the test above, choose Plug-in Filter -> Laplace (3x3) from the Effect menu.
2. Start timing immediately after choosing Laplace (3x3)
3. Stop the time count when the picture is completely drawn on the screen.
4. Write down the time taken for the particular emulator.
5. Reboot the emulator and run the two Graphic Converter tests again. This will give you an average time.

Stuffit Expander - Decoding BinHex File Test

1. Reboot the emulator and launch Stuffit Expander.
2. Navigate to the 33 MB Corel WordPerfect BinHex file you downloaded and start timing the instant you click Open.
3. Stop the time count when the Decoding BinHex dialog disappears from the screen.
4. Write down the time taken for the particular emulator.
5. Delete the extracted file.
6. Reboot the emulator and run the Stuffit Expander test again. This will give you an average time.
7. Now you can install Corel WordPerfect. After installing, delete the extracted file from step 6 to make room for when you extract it using the other emulators.

Corel WordPerfect - Importing RTF Document Test*

1. Reboot the emulator and launch Corel WordPerfect.
2. Navigate to the RTF Document file and start timing the instant you click Open.
3. Stop the time count when the document is displayed on the screen.
4. Write down the time taken for the particular emulator.
5. Reboot the emulator and run the Corel WordPerfect test again. This will give you an average time.

*Both Fusion V3.0 and V2.x report that the RTF document is corrupt. This may be a bug in Fusion. Stop the time count when the dialog below pops up and click on No.

The Non "Real World" Bench Tests

Apple Personal Diagnostics Tests*

Part 1 Launch Apple Personal Diagnostics Click on the System Info button Take a screen shot* of your Mac desktop or write down the info.

Part 2 Click on the Benchmark Checks button Click on the "Compare the speed of you computer with a" drop down menu and select a computer. Note: Make sure you use this same setting with each Mac emulator to prevent having to run the test again later. Click on the Run All Checks button. Take a screen shot of your Mac desktop or write down the info. Go to the root of your Mac's boot drive and label the screen shots to something meaningful. Include the emulator's name and version and which test the picture represents. I've used shorthand like this: b102i and b102bc for both the Basilisk II build 102 screen shots (i= info, bc= bench check) Repeat steps 1 through 8 for each emulator tested. Screen shots taken by the Mac OS are in PICT format. You will need to convert these screen shot pictures into something else if you wish to post them somewhere. You can use Graphic Converter's "Convert More" feature to convert all of your pictures to another format like GIFs or JPGs.

* Screen shots of the Mac desktop can be taken in Basilisk II and SoftMac by holding down the Alt, Shift and 3 keys simultaneously. A file will appear in the root of your Mac emulator's boot hdf. Screen shots can be taken in Fusion by holding down the right Ctrl key the Shift key and the 3 key. Note that SoftMac will lock up when taking a screen shot. Use something like the shareware control panel PICTify to get around this.

Speed-o-meter Diagnostics Tests

1. Launch Speed-o-meter
2. From the Tests menu choose Run All Tests
3. Select the folder where you want the 1 MB temp file to be created (just click OK).
4. When the tests are complete, choose Save Text Report from the File menu to save the results in a Simple Text document that can later be reviewed and/or imported into a spreadsheet program like MS Excel.
5. Choose Save Machine Record from the File menu. This will create a Speed-o-meter file that contains the results of the tests. Each time you run the tests on the emulators, you can add the results to this file. Speed-o-meter allows you to graphically compare emulators by choosing System Comparisons from the Analysis menu.

Final Notes:

1. Repeat the benchmark battery of tests for each emulator you plan on testing. The Apple Personal Diagnostics and Speed-o-meter tests need only be ran once.
2. You will end up with 2 sets of timings for each scenarios. Take the average of the two settings.
3. Put your data into a table. If you know how, go crazy and make plots/graphs with the info.
4. Mark the type of CPU and speed of your PC, the versions of DOS and/or Windows you are running, the amount of RAM in your PC, the screen and memory settings of each emulator, the version of Mac OS used, and the versions of each emulator tested.
5. Share your results with a Macintosh emulator group like the various mailing lists and forums listed on my Links page.