3DMark Basic Edition

3DMark, created by UL (previously Futuremark), is a comprehensive benchmarking software application for evaluating and comparing the performance of gaming PCs. It enables users to assess the performance of their hardware components, including as graphics cards, processors, and memory, using a variety of tests and scenarios.
With its accurate and dependable performance analysis, it has become the go-to tool for gamers, hardware enthusiasts, system builders, and overclockers alike.
Introducing the newest iteration of the world-renowned benchmark. 

Note: Please note that you can download 3DMark from Steam only! So you need to get steam first if you don't have one.  

• A comprehensive solution for assessing your computer, notebook, tablet, and smartphone.
• It effortlessly provides the best benchmark for your specific machine.
• Easily compare your scores with a variety of Windows, Android, and iOS devices.

It is committed to updating 3DMark with the most recent hardware improvements and graphics APIs. Its regular updates give consumers access to cutting-edge benchmarks, stress testing, and feature tests. Since 2013, it has added over a dozen new features to its suite, demonstrating its commitment to providing the most comprehensive benchmarking experience.

Its journey is ongoing, and it is determined to push the envelope even further to give consumers the most accurate and relevant benchmarking tools available.

Benchmarking Tests: It provides several tests, including Time Spy, Fire Strike, Sky Diver, and others, that imitate real-world gaming scenarios and measure the performance of various hardware components.

Users can change test parameters, resolutions, and settings to match their hardware combinations, resulting in more accurate and specialized benchmarking results.

Stress Testing: In addition to benchmarking, it provides stress tests that put hardware components to the limit, allowing users to identify stability and cooling issues.

Detailed Results & Comparisons: It delivers extensive and simple results, allowing users to compare their scores to others and assess the performance of their systems.

VRMark Compatibility: The software also includes VRMark, a benchmarking tool created exclusively for testing virtual reality (VR) gaming performance, assuring optimal VR experiences.

What’s New?

3DMark Steel Nomad will be free to all 3DMark users.

Last month, it introduced users to 3DMark Steel Nomad, the cross-platform replacement for Time Spy and Time Spy Extreme as the recommended non-raytracing benchmark. Customers with a valid annual license for 3DMark Professional Edition will obtain Steel Nomad as a gratis upgrade. Games and PC hardware have evolved greatly since Time Spy's inception, and current high-end technology is approaching the limit of what Time Spy can produce relevant results for.

Enhanced Benchmarking Experience

Discover the appropriate test for your PC easily.
Using the application, you may easily choose the ideal benchmark for your machine. The software evaluates your system and recommends the best appropriate benchmark.

Tailor your testing experience.
It adds new tests to its repertoire each year. When you buy 3DMark via Steam, you can install only the tests that are applicable to your needs.

Compare and compared your scores.
Compare your score to the results of other systems using the same CPU and GPU combo. This comparative analysis provides useful information about your system's performance.

Estimate the game performance.
The program connects your benchmark score to real-world game performance by estimating frame rates for a variety of popular titles.

Monitor your hardware.
Immerse yourself in the complexities of your system's performance with detailed charts that show swings in CPU and GPU temperatures, clock speeds, and frame rates throughout the benchmarking procedure.

Customize your preferences.
Unleash your PC's full potential by modifying the resolution and other quality parameters to generate more or less demanding benchmarks, allowing you to test your hardware's capabilities.

Feature tests (specialized testing for specific features).

DirectX Raytracing Feature Test

The DirectX Raytracing feature test demonstrates the difficult nature of real-time ray tracing. Modern graphics cards include dedicated circuitry for ray tracing. This test evaluates the performance of specialized hardware. Rather than using typical rendering techniques, the entire scene is ray-traced and rendered in one pass. The test results are totally dependent on the ray-tracing capability and performance.

Mesh Shader Feature Test
Mesh Shaders, a new addition to DirectX 12 Ultimate, give developers more control and flexibility over the geometry pipeline. The 3DMark Mesh Shader feature test shows how game engines can improve speed by leveraging the mesh shader process to efficiently eliminate geometry that is not visible to the camera. An interactive mode allows users to experiment with different settings and visualization tools.

PCI Express Feature Test
PCI Express (PCIe) is a standard interface that allows for high-speed communication between devices in a computer. The newer PCIe 4.0 interfaces offer twice the bandwidth of PCIe 3.0. This higher bandwidth enables games to send more data, load faster, and handle more intricate sceneries. The PCI Express feature test determines the available bandwidth for your GPU.

Sampler Feedback Feature Test
Sampler Feedback, a feature in DirectX 12 Ultimate, helps developers optimize texture and shader processes. The 3DMark Sampler Feedback feature test demonstrates how developers may use sampler feedback to boost game performance by improving texture space shading. Users can explore various settings and visualization tools in an interactive manner.

VRS (Variable-Rate Shading) in DirectX 12 Ultimate improves performance by decreasing detail in less visible areas of the frame. The VRS feature test allows users to compare the performance and image quality variations between Tier 1 and Tier 2 VRS. An interactive mode enables for real-time tweaks to VRS settings and frame exports for comparative purposes.

AMD FSR Feature Test
AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) is an AMD graphics technology that uses improved temporal analytical approaches to improve gaming performance while maintaining visual authenticity. The AMD FSR feature test reveals how FSR 2 affects performance and image quality. The frame inspector tool allows for close-up comparisons between FSR and standard rendering with TAA.

NVIDIA DLSS Feature Test
Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS), an NVIDIA RTX technology, uses deep learning and AI to improve game speed while preserving visual quality. The NVIDIA DLSS feature test compares performance and image quality for DLSS 3, DLSS 2, and DLSS 1. For DLSS 2 and later, users can select one of three image quality modes. DLSS 3 employs DLSS Frame Generation.

Intel XeSS Feature Test
XeSS (Xe Super Sampling) is an Intel graphics technique that uses AI-enhanced upscaling to boost performance while maintaining good image quality. The Intel XeSS feature test demonstrates the effects of XeSS on performance and quality. The frame inspector tool compares image quality using an interactive side-by-side presentation of XeSS and native-resolution rendering.

User Interface

It has a user-friendly and intuitive UI. The software's UI is clean and well-organized, allowing users to easily browse through the numerous tests, options, and results. The UI gives clear instructions and visual cues, which improves the entire user experience.

Installation & Setup

The method of installing 3DMark is basic. Users can obtain the software through the official website, FileSalad, or authorized resellers. After installation, an activation key may be required, which can be obtained through purchase or by creating an account. Once activated, users can begin exploring the software and doing benchmark tests.

How to Use?

• Launch the app and choose the desired benchmark test.
• Customize the settings according to your hardware configuration, if needed.
• Run the benchmark, and it will simulate the chosen test scenario.
• After completion, review the detailed results and compare them with other systems.
• Utilize the stress testing feature to assess system stability and identify potential issues.

3DMark Basic Edition - FREE/DEMO

Benchmarks:

• Time Spy - DirectX 12 benchmark tests for gaming PCs
• Night Raid - DirectX 12 test for PCs with integrated graphics
• Fire Strike - DirectX 11 benchmark tests for gaming PCs

Languages

English, German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Spanish.

Minimum System Requirements

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
• Processor: 1.8 GHz dual-core CPU
• RAM: 4 GB
• Graphics: DirectX 11 compatible
• Storage: 2.9 GB free space to install Time Spy only

Recommended System Requirements

• OS: Windows 11 or Windows 10 64-bit (Version 21H2)
• Processor: 1.8 GHz dual-core CPU with SSSE3
• RA: 4 GB of system memory
• Graphics: DirectX 12 with 6 GB graphics memory
• Storage: 9.8 GB free space to install all tests

Compatibility Notes

• Ready for Windows 11: All of 3DMark's presently supported benchmarks and feature tests work with Windows 11.
• Speed Way requires a Windows 11 or Windows 10 21H2 upgrade, a graphics card with at least 6GB VRAM, and DirectX 12 Ultimate capability.
• Time Spy and Night Raid benchmarks require Windows 10, a DirectX 12 graphics card, and an SSSE3 processor.
• Wild Life benchmarks require a GPU with Vulkan 1.1 compatibility.
• Port Royal requires the Windows 10 October 2018 Update (1809) and a graphics card that supports Microsoft DirectX Raytracing.
• DirectX Raytracing feature testing requires Windows 10 Version 2004 or later, as well as a DirectX 12 capable graphics card with DirectX Raytracing Tier 1.1 driver support.
• Mesh Shaders and Sampler Feedback feature tests: Windows 10 Version 2004 or later is required, as well as a graphics card with Microsoft DirectX 12 Ultimate driver support.
• PCI Express feature testing requires a dedicated graphics card that supports DirectX 12.
• VRS feature testing requires Windows 10 Version 1903 or later and a DirectX 12 GPU with Variable-Rate Shading capability.
• The NVIDIA DLSS feature test requires an NVIDIA graphics card that supports DLSS. DLSS 3 requires a GeForce RTX 40 Series GPU. A GeForce RTX 40 Series GPU and integration with the Reflex SDK are required for DLSS frame generation.
• 3DMark Storage Benchmark requires 30 GB of free storage space and a 3.0 GHz quad-core processor or higher to test ultra-fast storage.
• The Intel XeSS feature test requires a GPU that supports Intel XeSS and Microsoft DirectX Raytracing Tier 1.1. XeSS-compatible GPUs include Intel Arc, AMD Radeon, and NVIDIA GeForce GPUs that support Shader Model 6.4. In addition, you must have Windows 11 or Windows 10 64-bit, version 20H2 or higher.
• AMD FSR feature test: This requires a GPU that supports AMD FSR or a later version. AMD FSR technology is open source and compatible with a wide range of graphics processing units (GPUs) from all vendors.

PROS

A wide range of benchmark tests for various system combinations and gaming settings.
Accurate and reliable performance analysis can help with system optimization and hardware upgrades.
The user interface is clean and intuitive, making it easy to explore and analyze results.
VRMark compatibility offers the best VR gaming experiences.
Detailed comparisons with the option to export results for further investigation and sharing.

CONS

Advanced features and exams are only available in subscription editions, limiting access for those on a restricted budget.
The software focuses exclusively on Windows-based systems, which may limit its attractiveness to users on other platforms.

Conclusion

3DMark is an excellent benchmarking software that allows PC gamers, system builders, and hardware enthusiasts to assess and optimize the performance of their computers. Its broad set of tests, customization options, and stress testing capabilities produce accurate and dependable findings that aid in discovering hardware limitations, stability concerns, and potential performance enhancements.

While the software's advanced capabilities come at a cost, the volume of information and opportunity to compare scores with other users make it an invaluable tool for any PC gaming fan. Whether you're a casual gamer or an experienced overclocker, 3DMark is essential software for evaluating and improving the performance of your gaming PC.