The Netier NetXpress XL2000 was the best-performing unit overall, thanks to its relatively potent processor and dedicated graphics engine. More interesting was the display when we tested the same clients under both ICA and RDP protocols.
Bold type denotes first place.
Benchmark test performance is not of paramount importance when you're comparing thin clients. In fact, since thin clients rely on the server's CPU and memory subsystem for most computation, performance tests are actually tests of the server's robustness. On the client side, you're left with only the graphics capabilities to test. On ZD Business Graphics WinMark 99, which we ran on 5 of the 11 thin clients we tested, we saw almost no speed difference with the sample clients under both protocols. Here again, its ICA optimizations had a noticeable impact on performance.