The Color Quickdraw Tests are available on machines having Color Quickdraw in ROM. The same test can be run in each of the four basic graphics modes — 1 bit (monochrome), 2 bit (four colors), 4 bit (16 colors), and 8 bit (256 colors) — available on standard Macs. When you select to run the Color tests, you will be presented with a dialog box from which you can choose which test(s) to run. Only those modes supported by your card will be available to you, and the current mode will be pre-selected. If you choose to run tests in a mode other than the current one, the screen mode will be changed during the test. This may cause strange effects on the desktop and any other active programs. The screen will be set back to normal when the test is done.
Each test draws a series of empty and filled shapes, copies those shapes around the window, and then scrolls the whole mess out of the window.
When the tests are complete, the results window will display the results in two columns. The first column — ABS. — is the amount of time in seconds it took to complete the test. The second column — RAT. — is a ratio of the time it took your machine to complete the test vs. the time it took an Mac II with an Apple 8 bit card to do the same. The higher the RAT. number, the better.