3DMark06 sets new standards

PC system owners looking for a new benchmark to measure system performance can now test their systems against Futuremark's 3DMark06. The new 3D benchmarking program premiered for download today on GameSpot.

The program runs four graphics tests and a CPU test and uses the frame rate results to calculate the final 3DMark score. The first two graphics tests, Return to Proxycon and Firefly Forest, are upgraded tests first introduced in past 3DMark releases modified with new lighting effects and increased complexity. The lighting and environments have been updated in the Return to Proxycon test, and the lone firefly in the original Firefly Forest test now has a playmate and updated artwork.

The first two tests work on older Shader Model 2.0 video cards such as the Radeon 9800 Pro, but PC owners will need SM 3.0 cards to get a passable score on the final two graphics tests. The Canyon Flight demo first introduced in 3DMark05 now has HDR lighting and a large number of new shader effects thanks to SM 3.0. The final Deep Freeze graphics test offers an incredible outdoor scene outside a research base in Antarctica.

The system requirements are steep; even the latest SM 3.0 cards are barely able to run the new tests at an acceptable frame rate. Canyon Flight averaged 26fps and Deep Freeze ran at only 35fps on GameSpot's top-of-the-line AMD Athlon 64 FX-60, Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX 256MB SLI system.

The overall 3DMark06 score also accounts for CPU performance, which means that systems with faster processors will get a boost in score even if they have video cards sitting behind the curve. GameSpot's GeForce 7800 GTX and Radeon X1800 XT cards scored 4,417 and 4,328 respectively on an Athlon 64 FX-60-based PC. The Radeon X850 XT scored 2,196 on the same system, a couple hundred points below the 2,550 put up by the GeForce 6800 GT. The CPU score kept the Radeon in the running even though the SM 2.0 card could not run the SM 3.0 graphics tests.

Head over to the GameSpot 3DMark06 download page for more information and a link to the program file.