New DirectX 11 benchmark test available now
Hot on the heels of all the hardware announcements at Computex, our new 3DMark Sky Diver benchmark test is ready to download and use now.
Please read the important note from NVIDIA below about driver compatibility.
Every single 3DMark user - more than a million and counting - will get Sky Diver as a free update. For new users, Sky Diver is unlocked and ready to use in all editions of 3DMark. And for a limited time, you can buy 3DMark Advanced Edition, which includes more tests, custom settings and other features, from Steam for only $9.99.
Sky Diver is a new DirectX 11 benchmark test for gaming laptops and mid-range PCs. It's ideal for testing mainstream graphics cards, mobile GPUs, integrated graphics and other systems that cannot achieve double-digit frame rates in the more demanding Fire Strike test.
Together, Sky Diver and Fire Strike let you test the full range of DirectX 11 graphics hardware. Fire Strike is equivalent to testing a system with a modern DirectX 11 game on ultra-high settings. Sky Diver is more like running a game on normal settings. As a general guide:
- If a system scores less than 2800 in Fire Strike you should run Sky Diver.
- If a system scores more than 12000 in Sky Diver, you should run Fire Strike.
Please note that Sky Diver and Fire Strike scores are not directly comparable.
3DMark Sky Diver benchmark tests in brief
Sky Diver includes a Demo, two Graphics tests, a Physics test and a Combined test. The Graphics tests measure GPU performance, the Physics test measures CPU performance, and the Combined test stresses both GPU and CPU. The Demo does not affect the score.
Graphics test 1 focuses on tessellation and uses a forward lighting method. Graphics test 2 focuses on pixel processing and uses compute shader-based deferred tiled lighting.
The Physics test introduces a new approach that extends the performance range for which the test is relevant. The test runs through four levels of work starting with the lightest and continuing to the heaviest unless the frame rate drops below a minimum threshold.
The Combined test contains both graphics workloads and physics simulations to stress the CPU and GPU. The test uses a compute shader-based deferred tiled lighting method.
You'll find more details in our 3DMark Technical Guide.
An important note from NVIDIA about driver compatibility
"While testing the 3DMark Sky Diver benchmark, NVIDIA discovered an issue where some of their GPU configurations would render a black screen during benchmarking. NVIDIA has since solved the issue for these configurations and will be including the fix with their next driver installment coming early next week. In the meantime, if you experience this issue with your configuration, please use the 335.23 WHQL driver, available from both NVIDIA.com and GeForce.com."
3DMark Sky Diver Demo presented by ASUS
We're pleased to announce that ASUS is the exclusive sponsor of the 3DMark Sky Diver Demo. This sponsorship enables us to offer Sky Diver as a free update for existing users. Sponsorships also help us continue to provide 3DMark Basic Edition for free to new users.
The Demo is included for entertainment and does not affect the benchmark score. We do not allow companies to sponsor the actual benchmark tests.
3DMark - The Gamer's Benchmark for all your hardware
3DMark is the only benchmark to include a range of tests for different classes of hardware:
- Fire Strike, for high performance gaming PCs
- Sky Diver, for gaming laptops and mid-range PCs
- Cloud Gate, for notebooks and typical home PCs
- Ice Storm, for smartphones, tablets and entry level PCs
Download 3DMark Basic Edition for free or buy 3DMark Advanced Edition from Steam for only $9.99 (60% off) for a limited time.
