3DMark for Windows, Windows RT, Android and iOS Coming Soon

This would be cool…   ‘one benchmark to rule them all’   Yeah I couldn’t resist…

Futuremark has announced that the next version of 3DMark, its popular benchmarking software, will offer cross platform testing capabilities on Windows, Windows RT, Android and iOS devices. With three all new tests Futuremark says 3DMark can be used with the full range of hardware from smartphones and tablets, to notebooks and home PCs, to the latest high-end, multi-GPU gaming desktops. Futuremark expects to launch the new 3DMark before the end of the year. http://www.futuremark.com/3dmark

3DMark is well known in PC circles as the go-to benchmark for testing the latest Windows gaming PCs and video cards. Today Futuremark announced that the next version of 3DMark will also be available on Android, iOS and Windows RT devices. Futuremark says 3DMark scores will be directly comparable across platforms providing valuable insight into the performance differences between competing devices and operating systems.

A new video for the 3DMark benchmark shows an impressively detailed test running on a range of devices including a Microsoft Surface for Windows RT, Google Nexus 7, ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime, Samsung GALAXY S III, Apple iPad 4th gen, iPad mini and an iPhone 5.

With three all new tests, Futuremark says 3DMark can be used to measure the performance of hardware from OpenGL ES 2.0 mobile devices to high-performance DirectX 11 gaming PCs and everything in between.

The Ice Storm test is designed for mobile devices and entry-level hardware. It includes two graphics tests focusing on GPU performance and a physics test designed to measure CPU performance. On Windows, Ice Storm uses a DirectX 11 engine limited to Direct3D feature level 9. On Android and iOS, Ice Storm uses OpenGL ES 2.0. The test content, settings and rendering resolution are the same on all platforms and scores can be compared across Windows, Windows RT, Android and iOS.

Cloud Gate is a new test that is designed for Windows notebooks and typical home PCs. Cloud Gate includes two graphics tests and a physics test. Cloud Gate uses a DirectX 11 engine limited to Direct3D feature level 10_0 making it suitable for testing DirectX 10 compatible hardware. Cloud Gate will initially only be available in the Windows version of 3DMark.

The Fire Strike test is designed for high-performance gaming PCs. Fire Strike includes two graphics tests, a physics test and a combined test that stresses both the CPU and GPU at the same time. Fire Strike uses a DirectX 11 engine and is designed for testing DirectX 11 compatible hardware. Fire Strike will initially only be available in the Windows version of 3DMark.