EUC Score results are visualized in the HTML5 Sync Player that runs inside a browser, such as Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. The Sync Player client area is divided into two foreground media output tiles at the top, a numerical data visualization area in the center, and a control and status bar at the bottom. The horizontal bar at the top of a screen video tile contains a title on the left and two icons on the right side. A click on the first icon opens a popup with setup details. A click on the second icon zooms into the screen video.
In Single View Mode, the top left tile contains a test run screen video and the top right tile shows animated text representing timely correlated user activities and session runtime details. The numerical data visualization area shows animated telemetry data collected on the host side.
In Comparison or Side-by-Side View Mode, both top tiles include test run screen videos with a yellow border on the left side and a red border on the right side. The numerical data visualization area shows animated telemetry data collected on the host side and color-codeed according to the video border colors.
The reference client device named NUC2 used throughout the test runs below is an Intel NUC 8i7HNK with Windows 11, i7-8705G CPU (3.10GHz, 4 physical cores = 8 threads), 16GB RAM, 500GB Samsung SSD 850 EVO M.2, and AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL GPU with 4GB VRAM. If the Task Manager Performance tab is visible in the bottom right corner of a screen video, it shows the performance data of the client device.
#1: RDP-UDP connection to local remote PC Lancelot
[1.1] SINGLE VIEW: NUC2 reference client connected to physcial host PC Lancelot, RDP-UDP, 0ms RTT. Lancelot: Windows 10, i7-11700K CPU (3.60GHz, 8 cores = 16 threads), 32GB RAM, Crucial MX500 SSD 1TB, NVIDIA Quadro M5000 GPU, 8GB VRAM.
| Simload and Link | Mode and Telemetry Type | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| SL1-BSPBlendingDX11 | Single View - Standard | GPU-accelerated reference session in single view, showing standard telemetry data set. |
| SL1-MSEdgeVideoConf6 | Single View - GPU | GPU-accelerated reference session in single view, showing GPU telemetry data set. |
NOTE: The complete data set of the physical reference machine Lancelot is available on request, including screen videos, activity logs and telemetry files.
#2: On-Premises versus Azure Virtual Desktop
[2.1] COMPARISON: Physical machine Lancelot w/o GPU vs AVD VM type D8ads v5. Left: RDP-UDP, local PC Lancelot, Intel i7-11700K 3.60GHz 16 logical CPUs, no GPU | Right: AVD VM type D8ads v5, AMD EPYC 7763 2.445GHz 8vCPUs, no GPU, ShortPath
| Simload and Link | Mode and Telemetry Type | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| SL1-ChromeAquariumWebGL | SxS View - Standard | Local RDP connection shows higher frame rate, but also higher network bandwidth. |
| SL1-ChromeVideoGrid9 | SxS View - Standard | Almost similar user experience. Local RDP connection uses higher network bandwidth while AVD requires more CPU. |
| SL1-WMPlayer720pMP4 | SxS View - Standard | Different resolutions when video runs with 100% size and both sides freeze when switching to full-screen. |
[2.2] COMPARISON: Physical machine Lancelot with M5000 vs AVD VM type NV4as v4. Left: RDP-UDP, local PC Lancelot, Intel i7-11700K 3.60GHz 16 logical CPUs, NVIDIA M5000 | Right: AVD VM type NV4as v4, AMD EPYC 7V12 (Rome) 2.4GHz 4vCPU, 1/8 AMD Radeon MI25, ShortPath
| Simload and Link | Mode and Telemetry Type | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| SL1-DominoOpenGL | SxS View - GPU | AVD session with app start delay and visible issues, such as rapidly changing frame rates and focus problems. |
| SL1-FurMarkOpenGL | SxS View - GPU | AVD session shows lower frame rates and micros studders due to limited GPU resources. |
| SL1-MSEdgeWaterWebGL | SxS View - GPU | Even though the AVD session uses more CPU and GPU resources, the OpenGL graphics quality is lower. |
[2.3] COMPARISON: Physical machine Lancelot with M5000 vs AVD VM type NV6. Left: RDP-UDP, local PC Lancelot, Intel i7-11700K 3.60GHz 16 logical CPUs, NVIDIA M5000 | Right: AVD VM type NV6, Intel Xeon E5-2690 v3 2.60GHz 6vCPUs, 1/2 NVIDIA M60 (1/2 GPU load = 100%), ShortPath
| Simload and Link | Mode and Telemetry Type | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| SL1-BSPBlendingDX11 | SxS View - GPU | Almost similar user experience. Higher CPU consumption in AVD session, higher network bandwidth required by local RDP connection. |
| SL1-FurMarkOpenGL | SxS View - GPU | AVD session shows slightly lower frame rates and micros stutters due to limited GPU resources. |
| SL1-RollercoasterDX9.html | SxS View - GPU | AVD sessions renders only half the frames on the host side, but user experience is almost similar. |
#3: GPU versus no GPU
[3.1] COMPARISON: RDP-UDP connection to local reference PC Lancelot, 0ms RTT, with and without GPU. Lancelot specs: Windows 10, i7-11700K CPU (3.60GHz, 8 cores = 16 threads), 32GB RAM, Crucial MX500 SSD 1TB, either with or without NVIDIA Quadro M5000 GPU and 8GB VRAM.
| Simload and Link | Mode and Telemetry Type | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| SL1-BSPBlendingDX11 | SxS View - Standard | Lancelot with NVIDIA M5000 vs Lancelot w/o GPU: Massive lag of response time on user interaction when GPU is not present. |
| SL1-ChromeAquariumWebGL | SxS View - Standard | Lancelot with NVIDIA M5000 vs Lancelot w/o GPU: Almost similar user experience, but with high CPU load when GPU is not present. |
| SL1-MSEdgeCarVisualizer | SxS View - Standard | Lancelot with NVIDIA M5000 vs Lancelot w/o GPU: Much faster object rotation when GPU is present. Big difference in CPU load. |
[3.2] SINGLE VIEW: Outstanding performance of the AVD VM type NCasT4 v3 with NVIDIA Tesla T4 GPU. RDP Shortpath connection to AVD VM with AMD EPYC 7V12 64-Core CPU, 2.445Ghz, 8vCPUs available.
| Simload and Link | Mode and Telemetry Type | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| SL1-FurMarkOpenGL | Single View - GPU | Very high frame rate on the host side and on the client side, resulting in great user experience. |
[3.3] SINGLE VIEW: Things that can go wrong without a GPU. RDP-TCP connection to AVD VM type D8ads v5, with 23ms RTT. Specs: Windows 11 Enterprise, AMD EPYC 7763 2.445GHz 8vCPUs, 32GB RAM, HDD 126.45GB, no GPU.
| Simload and Link | Mode and Telemetry Type | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| SL1-CinebenchOpenGL | Single View - Standard | AVD VM type D8ads v5 error: OpenGL application launches, but then terminates without error message due to missing GPU. |
| SL1-FurMarkOpenGL | Single View - Standard | AVD VM type D8ads v5 error: OpenGL application doesn't launch without error message due to missing GPU. |
| SL1-WMPlayer720pMP4 | Single View - Standard | AVD VM type D8ads v5 error: 720p MP4 video freezes when user sets it to full-screen. |
4: Windows 365 Cloud PC, RDP Shortpath
[4.1] COMPARISON: Azure Virtual Desktop on VM type D8ads v5 vs Windows 365 Business Cloud PC. Left: Azure West Europe, RDP ShortPath (15ms), Windows 11 Enterprise, AMD EPYC 7763 2.445GHz 8vCPUs, 32GB RAM, HDD 126.45GB, no GPU | Right: Windows 365 Business Cloud PC, Azure West Europe, RDP ShortPath (19ms), Xeon Platinum 8272CL 2.60GHz 2vCPUs, 8GB RAM, Microsoft Virtual Disk 128.00GB, no GPU
| Simload and Link | Mode and Telemetry Type | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| SL1-ChromeGifScroll | SxS View - Standard | Almost similar user experience, but significantly higher CPU consumption in Cloud PC session. |
| SL1-ChromeAquariumWebGL | SxS View - Standard | The significantly higher CPU capacity in the AVD D8ds v5 VM type results in better user experience and higher frame rates. |
| SL1-ChromeFishbowlHTML5 | SxS View - Standard | In the Cloud PC session, fish are moving in slow-motion due to limited CPU resources. |
| SL1-ChromeVideoGrid9 | SxS View - Standard | In the Cloud PC session, videos are stuttering due to limited CPU resources. |
| SL1-MSEdgeWaterWebGL.html | SxS View - Standard | In the AVD D8ds v5 session, higher frame rate and better rendering quality due to higher CPU capacity. |
[4.2] COMPARISON: Local host PC Lancelot vs Windows 365 Business Cloud PC. Left: Physical machine, RDP-UDP (0ms), Windows 10, i7-11700K CPU (3.60GHz, 8 cores = 16 threads), 32GB RAM, Crucial MX500 SSD 1TB, no GPU | Right: Windows 365 Business Cloud PC, Azure West Europe, RDP ShortPath (19ms), Xeon Platinum 8272CL 2.60GHz 2vCPUs, 8GB RAM, Microsoft Virtual Disk 128.00GB, no GPU
| Simload and Link | Mode and Telemetry Type | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| SL1-MSEdgeVideoConf6 | SxS View - Standard | The Cloud PC session shows lower video performance, but significantly higher CPU consumption. |
| SL1-ChromeAquariumWebGL | SxS View - Standard | The Cloud PC session shows significantly lower graphics performance and frame rate. |
| SL1-RollercoasterDX9 | SxS View - Standard | The application doesn't switch to full-screen mode in the Cloud PC session and still shows lower frame rate. |
#5: Azure Virtual Desktop RDP-TCP versus RDP Shortpath
[5.1] COMPARISON: AVD D8ads v5 RDP-TCP (23ms RTT) vs RDP Shortpath (15ms RTT). VM specs: Azure West Europe, Azure Virtual Desktop VM type D8ads v5 for comparing test runs without GPU.
| Simload and Link | Mode and Telemetry Type | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| SL1-ChromeGifScroll | SxS View - Standard | User experience is similar, but RDP Shortpath (UDP) reduces CPU load and incoming network bandwidth (no handshake). |
| SL1-RollercoasterDX9 | SxS View - Standard | Network optimization after 10 seconds application runtime. RDP Shortpath (UDP) reduces incoming network bandwidth. |
[5.2] COMPARISON: AVD NV6 RDP-TCP (23ms RTT) vs RDP Shortpath (15ms RTT). VM specs: Azure West Europe, Azure Virtual Desktop VM type NV6 for comparing test runs with NVIDIA M60 GPU.
| Simload and Link | Mode and Telemetry Type | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| SL1-MSEdgeCarVisualizer | SxS View - GPU | RDP-TCP network optimization every 10 seconds. RDP Shortpath (UDP) reduces CPU load and outgoing network bandwidth. |
| SL1-MSEdgeVideoConf6 | SxS View - GPU | RDP Shortpath (UDP) reduces CPU load and network bandwidth, but increases GPU video decode/processing (video offloading). |
| SL1-WMPlayer720pMP4 | SxS View - GPU | RDP Shortpath (UDP) reduces CPU load and network bandwidth significantly, but increases GPU video processing. |
| SL1-DominoOpenGL | SxS View - GPU | RDP Shortpath (UDP) produces a slightly better user experience (frame rate). It also reduces CPU load and network bandwidth. |
| SL1-FurMarkOpenGL | SxS View - GPU | RDP-TCP network optimization after 10 seconds application runtime. RDP Shortpath (UDP) produces a slightly better user experience (frame rate). It also reduces CPU load and network bandwidth. |
#6: Citrix Cloud on Azure, HDX connection to a GPU-accelerated session
[6.1] SINGLE VIEW: HDX connection to Citrix Cloud on Azure. Azure West Europe, 20ms RTT, NCasT4 v3 VM type, Windows 10 Pro, AMD EPYC 7V12 64-Core Processor 2.445Ghz 8vCPUs, 28GB RAM, HDD 126.45GB, NVIDIA Tesla T4, 16GB VRAM.
| Simload and Link | Mode and Telemetry Type | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| SL1-GoogleEarthDX9 | Single View - GPU | Outstanding performance of Google Earth over HDX, significant GPU usage. |
| SL1-MSOPptSimple | Single View - GPU | User interacting with simple PowerPoint slide deck. Only minimal GPU usage. |
[6.2] COMPARISON: RDP-UDP connection to local reference PC Lancelot vs HDX connection to Citrix Cloud on Azure. Left: RDP-UDP, 0ms RTT, Windows 10, i7-11700K CPU 3.60GHz, 8 physical cores (= 16 threads), 32GB RAM, Crucial MX500 SSD 1TB, NVIDIA Quadro M5000 GPU, 8GB VRAM | Right: Azure West Europe, HDX, 20ms RTT, NCasT4 v3 VM type, Windows 10 Pro, AMD EPYC 7V12 64-Core Processor 2.445Ghz 8vCPUs, 28GB RAM, HDD 126.45GB, NVIDIA Tesla T4, 16GB VRAM.
| Simload and Link | Mode and Telemetry Type | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| SL1-ChromeFishbowlHTML5 | SxS View - GPU | Performance is almost identical, but HDX connection requires less network bandwidth when compared to RDP-UDP connection. |
| SL1-MSEdgeVideoConf6 | SxS View - GPU | Loading the videos takes longer in the HDX connection, then the performance almost identical. The HDX connection requires less network bandwidth. |
| SL1-DominoOpenGL | SxS View - GPU | HDX connection with great OpenGL performance, but it shows some latency effects. In addition, it requires more network bandwidth when compared to the RDP-UDP connection. |
| SL1-FurMarkOpenGL | SxS View - GPU | OpenGL application uses 100% of the GPU capacity, resulting in 75 fps in the RDP-UDP connection and more than 100 fps in the HDX session. RDP requires more network bandwidth in the beginning before the protocol adapts. |
| SL1-MSEdgeCarVisualizer | SxS View - GPU | Car rotates significantly faster in the HDX session while required network bandwidth stays significantly lower. |
| SL1-WMPlayer720pMP4 | SxS View - GPU | Video performance is identical on both sides, but HDX connection requires lower network bandwidth when compared to RDP-UDP connection. |
#7: VMware Test Drive, Blast connection to a GPU-accelerated session
[7.1] SINGLE VIEW: VMware Test Drive, Houston DC, 130ms RTT. VM specs: Windows 10, Xeon Gold 6140 2.30GHz 4vCPUs, 8GB RAM, VMware Virtual disk SCSI Disk Device 150GB, NVIDIA GRID V100-2Q vGPU, 2GB VRAM.
| Simload and Link | Mode and Telemetry Type | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| SL1-BSPBlendingDX11 | Single View - GPU | Great application response time despite 130ms network latency. 3D load stays low, showing the power of the NVIDIA V100 GPU. |
| SL1-ChromeFishbowlHTML5 | Single View - GPU | Growing outgoing network bandwidth on growing number of fish objects in the bowl. |
| SL1-DominoOpenGL | Single View - GPU | VMware Horizon limits the frame rate on the session side to 60fps, keeping CPU and GPU consumption low. |
| SL1-MSEdgeVideoConf6 | Single View - GPU | Decoding of the six videos is offloaded to the GPU, keeping CPU consumption low. |
| SL1-MSEdgeWaterWebGL | Single View - GPU | Rendering of the water after user interaction at highest quality level. |
#8: Azure VM with Parallels RAS 19
[8.1] SINGLE VIEW 12/2022: Parallels RAS 19 Full Client Scores. Azure West Europe, D4s v3 VM, Windows Server 2019 Datacenter, Xeon Platinum 8272CL 2.60GHz 4vCPUs, 16GB RAM, 32GB Premium SSD P15, RDP-UDP (14ms). Show the results of the Score Simloads (Type 3 Simloads).
| Simload and Link | Mode and Telemetry Type | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| SL3-AppStart | Single View - Standard | APP LAUNCH SCORE = 0.61 |
| SL3-AppDialog | Single View - Standard | APP DIALOG SCORE = 0.31 |
| SL3-FractalsDragon | Single View - Standard | FRACTALS DRAGON SCORE = 2.63 |
| SL3-FractalsPythagoras | Single View - Standard | FRACTALS PYTHAGORAS SCORE = 4.38 |
| SL3-GDIPlusRect | Single View - Standard | GDI+ RECTANGLES SCORE = 2.35 |
| SL3-IOPS | Single View - Standard | IOPS SCORE = 9.87 |
[8.2] COMPARISON 5/2022: Parallels RAS 19 HTML5 vs Full Client. Azure West Europe, D4s v3 VM, Windows Server 2019 Datacenter.
| Simload and Link | Mode and Telemetry Type | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| SL1-ChromeFishbowlHTML5 | SxS View - Standard | Slightly better performance with HTML5 client at almost identical network consumption. |
| SL1-MSEdgeVideoConf6 | SxS View - Standard | Higher network consumption with HTML5 client and higher CPU load with full client. |
| SL1-WMPlayer720pMP4 | SxS View - Standard | Higher network consumption with HTML5 client and higher CPU load with full client. |
| SL1-RollercoasterDX9 | SxS View - Standard | Slightly higher network consumption with HTML5 client. |
[8.3] COMPARISON 12/2022: Windows 365 Cloud PC vs Parallels RAS 19 Full Client. Left: CPC Business 2vCPU/8GB/128GB, RDP-UDP (20ms) | Right: Azure D4s v3 VM, RDP-UDP (14ms)
| Simload and Link | Mode and Telemetry Type | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| SL3-IOPS | SxS View - Standard | CPC IOPS SCORE = 15.18 | RAS19 IOPS SCORE = 9.87 |
| SL1-ChromeAquariumWebGL | SxS View - Standard | RAS19 session shows faster load time and better performance. CPUs are at their load limits on both sides, but CPU queue length in the Cloup PC session is much higher. |
| SL1-ChromePhotoGalleryJS | SxS View - Standard | CPU comes to its limits on CPC side. Higher network bandwidth and better user experience in the RAS19 session, in particular during image transitions. |
| SL1-MSOPptSimple | SxS View - Standard | Almost identical user experience, but initially CPU load is significantly higher on the CPC side. |
| SL1-WMPlayer1080pMP4 | SxS View - Standard | Video doesn't start in the CPC session. Spectacular video artifacts on the RAS19 side. Both is unacceptable for users. |
[8.4] COMPARISON 12/2022: NUC2 Physical Machine vs Parallels RAS 19 Full Client, Azure D4s v3 VM, RDP-UDP (14ms). IMPORTANT: This comparison is absolutely unfair, but customers are asking for exactly that!
| Simload and Link | Mode and Telemetry Type | Observation |
|---|---|---|
| SL3-GDIPlusRect | SxS View - Standard | NUC2 GDI+ RECTANGLES SCORE = 1.3 | RAS19 GDI+ RECTANGLES SCORE = 2.35 |
| SL3-IOPS | SxS View - Standard | NUC2 IOPS SCORE = 3.04 (local SSD) | RAS19 IOPS SCORE = 9.87 (Azure Premium SSD P15) |
| SL1-BSPBlendingDX11 | SxS View - Standard | The physical NUC has a GPU, allowing it to offload DirectX functions. This results in lower CPU load and much better performance. The Azure VM without GPU cannot keep up, response to user input is affected massively. |
| SL1-MSEdgeCarVisualizer | SxS View - Standard | The physical NUC with a GPU massively outperforms the Azure VM without GPU. |