3D Mark

3DMark Benchmark Test & Review

Can my PC, its processor, the graphic card, and other hardware components handle a game like Time Spy Extreme? Will my gameplay be without lags? Will I be able to enjoy great graphics? A benchmarking tool like 3DMark Benchmark can help answer all these. In this post, we will review 3DMark Benchmark and see if it lives up to what is expected of it.

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You are all excited to go gaming for which you have put up a gaming rig and put together the best configuration. But, can your configuration sustain intense gaming sessions lasting hours?  Enter a tool like 3DMark that tests the various components of your PC in regards to how they’ll fair up in a real-life gaming scenario. Let’s delve deeper and see if 3DMark tests can actually help you ascertain the actual capability of your PC.

What is 3DMark?

3DMark Benchmark is a computer benchmarking tool that works across PCs of varied configurations, especially where CPU and GPU are involved. It is created by UL which is formerly known as Futuremark. It has been around since 1998. It helps assess the performance of your computer when rendering 3D graphics as well CPU processing capabilities.  As for benchmarking CPU, you can even try out some of the other best CPU benchmarking tools available.

Why Use 3DMark?

There are various reasons to use the 3DMark free version. And, if you are satisfied and are a serious gamer, you can even invest in the paid variants as well. 

• If you love overclocking, you can make a wise decision by stress-testing your PC.
• It provides you with a wide range of gaming benchmarks.
• You can find out how your gaming rig fairs up in comparison to others. 
• Get detailed charts of CPU/ GPU temperatures, frame rate, and clock speed.
• Help boost your PC’s speed. 

Pros:

• Wide range of gaming benchmarks.
• Stress testing for overclockers.
• Analyze & report how PC compared to other gaming rigs

Cons:

• Expensive CPU Benchmark app

How To Use 3DMark?

1. Install Steam on your Windows PC, if you don't already have it.  2. Go to “Store” on Steam, search for 3DMark and click on the full version.  3. You can scroll down and install the demo version first.  4. Install and launch the 3DMark interface.  5. You will now see a list of tests recommended for your PC. Click on the “Run” button as shown in the screenshot below. 6. 3DMark will now take some time to collect system information.  7. 3DMark will now run a game scene with all sorts of imaginable details to benchmark your system. 8. Let the benchmark run. After a while, the results page will appear. The benchmarking results will be skewed to the lower end of the interface. 

interface

90% - Excellent

3DMark offers a simple-to-use, straightforward and easy-to-understand interface. You know exactly what each of the options is meant to do.  When you launch the 3DMark benchmark tool,  the main or home screen offers you recommended benchmarks for your system and important information about system components. At the bottom, you also get an option to download more benchmark tests. On the top, you can find options for benchmark tests, stress tests, results page, and settings. When you click on each of these options, you can further apply filters to narrow down the benchmark test.  For instance, in the “Benchmarks” section, you can filter components, graphics, resolution, and features or choose a game to conduct a test.  The “Stress Tests” section lets you select a game, the rendering device (especially when you are testing out Ray Tracing capabilities”) and the display.  The “Results'' section displays insights about the tests you have conducted in the past. Here you can see verified scores of your graphics hardware, estimated gaming performance, CPU and GPU temperature and load, and many other such aspects. You can even compare the results online.

Features

85% - Very Good

1. Find The Right Test For Your PC

3DMark automatically scans your PC’s hardware and recommends you take the best benchmark test. 

2. Know Your Computer Specs

When installing or even playing a performance or graphics-intensive game, it is important that the specs of your computer match the same. 3DMark gives you important insights about your system. These include information about your CPU, GPU, and storage.

3. Test Your PC For Specific Features

When gaming, you may want to test different features and components based on the game you want to play. 3DMark offers you a wide range of games whereby you can test out your video hardware such as Vulkan, check how your game would perform in a particular resolution and even benchmark your processor limit as well. 

4. Customizable Settings

To further test the limits of your PC, you can make tweaks to your resolution as well other quality settings. This way you can increase or decrease the intensity of benchmarks. 

5. Compare Your System With Others

After you have received your 3DMark score, you can compare it with other systems that have the same GPU and CPU combination.

6. Comprehensive Monitoring of Hardware

During the benchmark, you can see how the GPU temperature, processor and clock speed, and frame rates changed during the benchmark. These insights are shown via comprehensive charts. 

7. Easily Run Stress Tests

Whether you are playing a game or running resource-intensive software, wouldn’t it be better if you are able to ascertain if your PC can handle the stress?  Enter the aptly named, “Stress Test” feature. The test helps you check the stability and reliability of your system. You can timely identify if you need a better cooling arrangement or if you have faulty hardware.  What’s even better about this test is that 3DMark offers a variety of tests curated for a special class of hardware. The test runs non-stop for 20 loops without reloads and pauses.

Updates

90% - Excellent

3DMark is updated regularly so that you can benchmark your PC with the latest graphics APIs and hardware. Ever since 2013, the makers have added over a dozen of stress tests, benchmarks, and feature tests with the database being upgraded on a regular basis. Plus, with each release, new features are added to make the experience even better.

Pricing

80% - Good

The 3DMark Advanced Edition is priced at $34.99. Whereas 3DMark Professional Edition is priced at $1695 per year.  3DMark broadly comes in two variants - Home and Business. In the “Home” variant you get a free demo variant i.e. the “3DMark Basic Edition” and an “Advanced Edition”. The “Business” variant includes the 3DMark Professional Edition.  The free “3DMark Basic Edition” lets you perform benchmark tests for “Time Spy”, “Night Raid”, and “Fire Strike”. With the free version, you can run a DirectX 12 benchmark for Time Spy on your gaming PC, and see your GPU, CPU, and storage insights.  The paid variants let you perform more advanced tests where you can see how your CPU performance scales given the cores and threads. You get a range of various benchmarking tests where you can test the power of a particular capability of your gaming rig for a particular game. For example, you can test the “Real-time ray tracing benchmark” for “Port Royal” or if your machine is capable of 4K gameplay with DirectX 11 when playing Fire Strike Ultra.  To know more, you can visit the pricing page.

Speed

85% - Very Good

We ran a benchmark test for Time Spy on a PC with Intel(R) UHD Graphics and an Intel Core i3-10110U CPU. From collecting system information to running the test, it took approximately 4 minutes. During this time, the tool played a real scene from the game.   

Customer Support

85% - Very Good

There are multiple ways in which you can seek assistance in case you get stuck. To begin with you can reach out to “Support” by clicking on the “Options” button at the top-right corner of the interface. Then, click on the “To Support” button.  Once you have done that, you will reach the “Benchmark Support” page. Here you can get answers to common questions regarding the tool. You can find comprehensive benchmark guides and in case you are still unable to find an answer to your queries. You can even raise a ticket which the support staff is prompt to answer. 

FAQs

Q1. What is the 3DMark basic edition? The 3DMark Basic Edition includes three benchmark tests - Time Spy, Fire Strike and Night Raid. With each test you can check a specific type or feature.  Q2. What is 3DMark 11? 3DMark 11 is a benchmark test that caters to DirectX 11 video cards. It analyzes this component for ascertaining your PC’s gaming performance.  Q3. What is 3DMark used for? It is a PC benchmarking tool that helps measure your computer’s performance in order to find out how it will fare in real-life gaming scenarios. Broadly, it tells you about the performance of your gaming rig’s 3D graphic rendering capabilities and CPU workload processing capabilities. Q4. Does RAM affect 3DMark scores? No, the RAM size doesn’t affect your 3D mark score at all. What matters here is the MHz and the number of sticks. 

Wrapping Up

If you are an avid gamer, a tool like 3DMark can help you test your computer in real-world gaming scenarios. Do you use a benchmark tool? And, if yes, do you use it for gaming or for other software as well. Do let us know in the comments section below. For more such software listicles and reviews, keep reading Top10PCSoftware. You can also find us on Facebook, Flipboard, and Pinterest.