SiSoftware Sandra, the latest version of the award-winning utility, includes remote analysis, benchmarking and diagnostic features for PCs, servers, mobile devices and networks.
At SiSoftware from version to version we focus four key areas of software development to make sure we give our users the best software experience. Quite simply our four drivers are:
- Inclusion of new technologies that ensure our tools remain current.
- Increased hardware and software support for existing modules.
- Improving the user interface to make it a richer easier user experience.
- Filling gaps in the product line in response to our customers' needs.
Hardware: Display "real" CPU name where over-written - We recently discovered a system (Samsung Altiv 9 Lite) where the CPU name is specifically over-written to a generic name ("quad-core processor") for reasons best left to your immagination. We still think that is quite a story as we've not come across such "white labelling" before where an OEM has purposely change the CPU name.
Thus this new Sandra version displays the "real" CPU name and is also able to reset it should you wish to do so - the truth will come out
* Hardware: Atom Z3000 Series "BayTrail" fixes - various detection issues were fixed.
* Hardware: AMD F16 "Kaveri" fixes - various detection issues were fixed.
* Software: Fixes for Windows 8.1 RTM
- Display proper version number (6.3 - previous Sandra displayed 6.2)
- Display proper Windows licence keys that contain the new letter "N" (nobody noticed this?)
- Display OEM licence key from BIOS
* Note: Running on Hypervisor / VM and AVX512, AVX2/1, FMA3/4 instruction sets
Latest Hyper-V and some VMs do not enable OS-XSAVE, i.e. does not save/restore eXtended CPU mode - thus it is not possible for applications to use AVX512, AVX2/1, FMA3/4 instructions that use the 512/256-bit SIMD registers. It is done in order to facilitate VM migration across systems.
For less-experienced users, Sandra will also provide the URL of the manufacturer's download page where they can download the above BIOS, firmware or driver update. Sandra will not update them itself though.
Windows 8 Metro-inspired theme* (commercial versions): We have re-skinned controls to give it a Metro-feel and also re-done the icons to match the Metro-theme. You can naturally use this on Windows XP, 2003 or 7 if you so wish, though they may not look best.