Question Geekbench 6 multi core scores much lower than they should be.

[claytonscharf]

I just got a new ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 OLED (i9 13900H with RTX 4060) a few days ago and have been running some benchmarks on it. I've been able to get respectable numbers on all but 1 test. For whatever reason, my laptop can't score very high in the Geekbench 6 CPU multi core test. Supposedly, my laptop can reach around 14000. The highest score I could get is 11719. The single core score is fine, actually it looks to be above average at 2743. The weird part is it seems like my laptop is barely trying. The temperatures don't get to high, the fans are barely spinning, and the CPU is only pulling around 15-30W (I believe in performance mode my CPU can pull up to 120W dropping down to 90W). Anyone have an idea as to why this could be?

 

[Darkbreeze]

I'd start by checking to see if there is a newer BIOS version available through ASUS, and follow that up by checking to see if ASUS has a newer chipset driver for your Zenbook as well.

When you say the temperatures don't get too high, how do you know this? Have you monitored the temps while running that multicore test and if so, what were the core temps?

Are you running the unit on a hard flat surface with nothing at all to possibly block any of the intake or exhaust vents on the bottom of the laptop?

Do you have a bunch of third party applications running that you have installed or that came preinstalled? Keep in mind, almost ALWAYS when those Cinebench and Geekbench benchmarks are achieved by those who run them and gain high scores, they are just about always using a machine that has just had a clean install of Windows done and has no other additional software installed. They are "lab clean" so that nothing is using any system resources except for Windows itself and whatever drivers are required in order for the system to operate properly.

Any other applications or utilities that you've installed, like monitoring software, overlays, mods, plugins, or anything else you've installed will likely have it's own background and tray processes running and those use system resources just like anything else, which will affect scores on top of other factors like potentially having an early BIOS or not having the latest chipset, network adapter or audio controller drivers installed. And you can't rely on Windows in most cases to supply the best drivers as those are generally vanilla universal drivers, not the full features drivers offered by the laptop or motherboard manufacturer, or the CPU manufacturer in some cases.

 

[claytonscharf]

I'd start by checking to see if there is a newer BIOS version available through ASUS, and follow that up by checking to see if ASUS has a newer chipset driver for your Zenbook as well.

When you say the temperatures don't get too high, how do you know this? Have you monitored the temps while running that multicore test and if so, what were the core temps?

Are you running the unit on a hard flat surface with nothing at all to possibly block any of the intake or exhaust vents on the bottom of the laptop?

Do you have a bunch of third party applications running that you have installed or that came preinstalled? Keep in mind, almost ALWAYS when those Cinebench and Geekbench benchmarks are achieved by those who run them and gain high scores, they are just about always using a machine that has just had a clean install of Windows done and has no other additional software installed. They are "lab clean" so that nothing is using any system resources except for Windows itself and whatever drivers are required in order for the system to operate properly.

Any other applications or utilities that you've installed, like monitoring software, overlays, mods, plugins, or anything else you've installed will likely have it's own background and tray processes running and those use system resources just like anything else, which will affect scores on top of other factors like potentially having an early BIOS or not having the latest chipset, network adapter or audio controller drivers installed. And you can't rely on Windows in most cases to supply the best drivers as those are generally vanilla universal drivers, not the full features drivers offered by the laptop or motherboard manufacturer, or the CPU manufacturer in some cases.

Yes I've been monitoring the CPU temps. I've tried to close everything I can. I would boot into diagnostic mode but the free version of Geekbench shows your results in a web browser (can't get online in diagnostic mode). I've been doing some research and I think I have an idea as to why my score is low.

My model with the 4060 only comes with 16 GB of soldered RAM with an empty slot for more. The model most people are testing comes with a 4070 but more importantly 32 GB of RAM (16 soldered and 16 SODIMM DDR5). At first I though RAM would have no impact on CPU benchmarks but at least for Geekbench, I think it does. Here's a link to all of the Geekbench scores I could find under my laptop name (https://browser.geekbench.com/search?q=ASUSTeK+COMPUTER+INC.+Zenbook+UX6404VV_UX6404VV). Every single i9 13900H score around 14000 has 32 GB of RAM while every single i9 13900H score around 11000 only has 16 GB of RAM. That can't be a coincidence. I was planning on upgrading my RAM anyway and it should be coming in the mail tomorrow so we'll see if it makes a difference.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Well, yes. If you're trying to compare your laptop with half the RAM and a full tier lower graphics card, then obviously you're not going to be on the same level. In which case it's likely you have no problem to begin with. Adding more RAM is fine but it's really not going to benefit you except on benchmarks unless you have an actual NEED for it which is possible depending on what you use it for but it's unlikely even today for most people. But I'm totally not against having 32GB at all especially if you are running applications that can utilize it.