3dmark?

***Zardon*** · Mar 22, 2005, 09:40 AM

You know the drill, vote!

**MIG-31** · Mar 22, 2005, 09:49 AM

my vote: Waste of time, I dont need benchies ! they are only numbers at the end of testing...

my preference is what you see on screen and are pleased with the results in gameplay,then im happy at that.

bug77 · Mar 22, 2005, 10:03 AM

Useful, from time to time

I usually run them after changing the video driver, just to check that I didn't break anything, or smth. And I used 03's sound test yesterday to check the fps impact. I'm currently debating if it's worth to switch from SoundStorm to a SoundBlaster Live! 1024...
So yes, you can find some use to them.

jasonbourne · Mar 22, 2005, 10:05 AM

i voted for i only benchmarks with games cuz they're much more precise.

pr0digal jenius · Mar 22, 2005, 10:10 AM

I bench with FRAPS in games.

I only use 3dmark to go "ha, look what I can do" simply because everyone else uses it.

bananaman · Mar 22, 2005, 10:30 AM

i mostly use 3dMark to show my girlfriend pretty GFX

:/

nana

Sandok · Mar 22, 2005, 10:41 AM

Useful from time to time... I've fixed a few probs thx to 3dmark03

daedal · Mar 22, 2005, 11:04 AM

Not much use. Tried it a few times, takes too long to complete.
I much prefer benching with games.

Sargentwhitey · Mar 22, 2005, 11:13 AM

Useful from time to time, I get in that mood for benchmarking everyonce in a while and go download 'em again. Either that or testing a new video card

But I usually just use the Unreal benchmark in 2003.

The_Neon_Cowboy · Mar 22, 2005, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasonbourne

i voted for i only benchmarks with games cuz they're much more precise.

Actually their not their the most inaccurate, unfair, comparison tool available...

Only time you can trust game benchmarks is if their all the same bench being run. On the exact same system. To compare the same brand of card. Other wise you into duce variables which make it not anywhere as trustworthy as synthetics. Wich run the exact same on each card an setup...

their great if your wanted what you hardware, software, driver change has made on your system. But as a buying and comparison tool for graphics cards games just don't hold up. Especially when you look at it from the angle of drivers highly optimized for a game and games highly optimized for any given brand of card. With 0 policing! Least with 3dmark there some one to look for benchmark specific optimizations.

Games them self’s commonly run differently on different cards thus can’t be fairly compared. Unless your comparing the exact same flavor of card to it self. 9600XT to 9600XT, X800 to X800, 6X00 to 6X00…

Thats my 2 bits...

CDsDontBurn · Mar 22, 2005, 12:26 PM

I'm a 3Dmark benchmarking junkie

. I love to push my system to it's limits and then some

.

Ubergrendle · Mar 22, 2005, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pr0digal jenius

I bench with FRAPS in games.

I only use 3dmark to go "ha, look what I can do" simply because everyone else uses it.

I think that's why they're useful ... they're the lowest common denominator, something everyone can use consistently and in the same way. They're not an end objective, just a measurement tool.

swimtech · Mar 22, 2005, 12:35 PM

Games matter the most, but it is difficult to obtain precise repeatable results. In the end, the picking order of how all the cards stack up under 3DMark are, with one or two flip-flops, the same as they bench in games, so I said they are useful from time to time - especially when shopping for a new card sight unseen as one tool for comparison.

I like HardOCP's method of testing them in games at their "best" settings as another tool. You can see game differences in detail. I, of course, use DH's benchies as still another tool - the simple methodology makes them very repeatable and believable (but a home user would be hard put to spend the time wiping and loading the machine without ruining their application setups and so forth...). Plus, the graphs are so cooool...

HawgsHead · Mar 22, 2005, 12:46 PM

I like to "push it" also.But then I get all pissed off cause I cant push it a little farther.I'm tring like mad to get to 10,000 with my SLI system with 3DMARK05.Almost obsessed with it.....Not good.I think I'm gonna have to water cool the GFX cards before that will happen.

Shadow Lady · Mar 22, 2005, 02:10 PM

they help me sometimes, but generally benchmarking (even if it from games) is so unreliable, just when testing driver chnages is... useless, some games have performance gain, some have performance loss, and if i had to benchmark only with games would be unfair as some games gain some others dont, its impossible to determine just by those numbers, however i use them sometimes, also games for benchmark i use.

anyway after that nonsense, 3dmark games helpme sometimes

Judas · Mar 22, 2005, 04:54 PM

imo, only good comparing system spec to system spec... being same.... to see if there is any apparent problems...

Asmoday · Mar 22, 2005, 05:03 PM

I voted "Useful from time to time"
But i rarely use them anymore, i use them mainly to see if my new overclock rendered any more performance...

And to check for artifacts when overclocking the videocard....

teh_moleman · Mar 22, 2005, 05:07 PM

I usually run these benchmarks only when I change drivers to see if there are any problems. Helped me once when I went from 5000 pts down to 1000 after a driver change. Back then I didn't have any graphics intensive games, so I didn't notice anything different in those, but 3dMark proved there was something wrong.

Still, I'm not sure if keeping a couple of gigs of benchmarks for that kind of limited usage is worth it.

Oh, and voted useful from time to time

e v o · Mar 22, 2005, 05:34 PM

like going both ways

with games and 3dmark that is, so "time to time" it was

No_Style · Mar 22, 2005, 05:38 PM

I use them for stress testing purposes...

It's best to use a synthetic benchmark like 3DMark which can be run the same time over and over again to stress a system in between various driver changes. Like Shadow Lady said some games become broken and introduce artifacts which are not necessarily triggered by a system which has been stressed beyond its limits.

itchy5 · Mar 22, 2005, 08:34 PM

use them to push my 6800 :P

GeneralClaymore · Mar 22, 2005, 11:09 PM

i dont use 3dmark to see if i can play a game. i play the game it self, as numbers mean nothing and they cant tell u if u can play a game or not. it only usefull when u testing out ur system overclock thats it.

>GSXR<mrbusa · Mar 22, 2005, 11:43 PM

after each driver install or bios hack for my card i use 3dmark03 build 360.i dont care about the rest,2001 is outdated and 2005 is like watching a slideshow on my card.

ExitiosuS · Mar 23, 2005, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MIG-31

my vote: Waste of time, I dont need benchies ! they are only numbers at the end of testing...

my preference is what you see on screen and are pleased with the results in gameplay,then im happy at that.

I agree completely.

Danhill · Mar 23, 2005, 01:53 AM

They are useful from time to time.

I like checking the drivers from time to time and that my score keeps in the same range.

Sonata · Mar 23, 2005, 04:00 AM

They are probably a waste of time, but they do have their uses. How else to get an idea how your system compares to other peoples? Or in the case below my own!
Funny I should see this post I only just bench marked my system the other day, I was curious to see how my newish AMD64 1.8GHz with A8V Deluxe and Powercolor 9800Pro compared to my old Intel 3.0GHz with P4P800 Deluxe and same video card. It turns out that the AMD does do a little better than the Intel system in these benches.

Also the benches seem pretty close to real world system performance with the AMD feeling a bit snappier

3D 01SE 18761, 3D 03 6738, 3D 05 2472

TJ- · Mar 23, 2005, 04:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MIG-31

my vote: Waste of time, I dont need benchies ! they are only numbers at the end of testing...

my preference is what you see on screen and are pleased with the results in gameplay,then im happy at that.

couldnt have said it better

Rayder · Mar 23, 2005, 06:49 AM

Useful from time to time.

I just use it to bench my own rig after upgrades or driver changes, not to compare it with others. I also use them to help me tweak the BIOS and various other settings for max performance.

I tend to use 01, 03 and 05 when I do test.

Funny thing is, I don't even remember what my last scores were to compare them...guess I'll have to write it down next time.

Shadow Lady · Mar 23, 2005, 02:46 PM

ohh yeah, i also forgot : I use it from time to time to see some nice graphics instead of having a game installed that i mostly wont have time to play and of course wastes a lot less HD

CDsDontBurn · Mar 23, 2005, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rayder

Useful from time to time.

I just use it to bench my own rig after upgrades or driver changes, not to compare it with others. I also use them to help me tweak the BIOS and various other settings for max performance.

I tend to use 01, 03 and 05 when I do test.

Funny thing is, I don't even remember what my last scores were to compare them...guess I'll have to write it down next time.

you gotta publish them on futuremark's website so you don't forget your scores and can show the world what you've gotten

.

Mar 22, 2005, 09:40 AM	#1
*Zardon* enchanted Join Date: May 2002 Location: Driverheaven Posts: 32,283 Rep Power: 3150	3dmark? You know the drill, vote!

Mar 22, 2005, 09:49 AM	#2
MIG-31 DH News MOD Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Nottingham,UK Posts: 42,607 Rep Power: 186 System Specs	my vote: Waste of time, I dont need benchies ! they are only numbers at the end of testing... my preference is what you see on screen and are pleased with the results in gameplay,then im happy at that. __________________ Please Post Your News Submissions Here How you can help DriverHeaven by using Digg!

Mar 22, 2005, 10:05 AM	#4
jasonbourne DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: great yarmouth uk Posts: 1,090 Rep Power: 0	i voted for i only benchmarks with games cuz they're much more precise. __________________ http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y28...asonBourne.jpg

Mar 22, 2005, 10:30 AM	#6
bananaman banana muncher Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: London Posts: 1,255 Rep Power: 46	i mostly use 3dMark to show my girlfriend pretty GFX :/ nana __________________

Mar 22, 2005, 11:04 AM	#8
daedal Uber Coffee Drinker Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Gatineau, Quebec Posts: 2,254 Rep Power: 0	Not much use. Tried it a few times, takes too long to complete. I much prefer benching with games. __________________

Mar 22, 2005, 10:03 AM	#3
bug77 DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: around Posts: 792 Rep Power: 0	Useful, from time to time I usually run them after changing the video driver, just to check that I didn't break anything, or smth. And I used 03's sound test yesterday to check the fps impact. I'm currently debating if it's worth to switch from SoundStorm to a SoundBlaster Live! 1024... So yes, you can find some use to them.

Mar 22, 2005, 10:10 AM	#5
pr0digal jenius Delete Me Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 14,672 Rep Power: 0	I bench with FRAPS in games. I only use 3dmark to go "ha, look what I can do" simply because everyone else uses it.

Mar 22, 2005, 10:41 AM	#7
Sandok DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 9,501 Rep Power: 53	Useful from time to time... I've fixed a few probs thx to 3dmark03

Mar 22, 2005, 11:13 AM	#9
Sargentwhitey Has a JOB.. Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: NJ Posts: 1,473 Rep Power: 0	Useful from time to time, I get in that mood for benchmarking everyonce in a while and go download 'em again. Either that or testing a new video card But I usually just use the Unreal benchmark in 2003. __________________ Mobile:Intel Celeron M 1.5GHz, 40GB WD, 1GB PC24000, Intel Mediocre Graphics 2, SB Audigy 2 Notebook

Mar 22, 2005, 12:26 PM	#11
CDsDontBurn 127.0.0.1 Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 21,849 Rep Power: 133 System Specs	I'm a 3Dmark benchmarking junkie . I love to push my system to it's limits and then some . __________________ CD's Corner // Her first day // A year later // RX-8 Club 3Dmark06 - 4176 // 3Dmark05 - 7459 // 3Dmark03 - 14289 // PCmark05 - 4453 // PCmark04 - 6297

Mar 22, 2005, 12:35 PM	#13
swimtech At Your Service... Join Date: May 2002 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3,989 Rep Power: 100 System Specs	Games matter the most, but it is difficult to obtain precise repeatable results. In the end, the picking order of how all the cards stack up under 3DMark are, with one or two flip-flops, the same as they bench in games, so I said they are useful from time to time - especially when shopping for a new card sight unseen as one tool for comparison. I like HardOCP's method of testing them in games at their "best" settings as another tool. You can see game differences in detail. I, of course, use DH's benchies as still another tool - the simple methodology makes them very repeatable and believable (but a home user would be hard put to spend the time wiping and loading the machine without ruining their application setups and so forth...). Plus, the graphs are so cooool... __________________ It's not so much getting your way that matters or not - what matters is how you go about getting it.

Mar 22, 2005, 12:46 PM	#14
HawgsHead Rest In Peace Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Danville Virginia.The United States of America"In the God of Abraham,Isaac and Jacob We Trust" Posts: 2,012 Rep Power: 0	I like to "push it" also.But then I get all pissed off cause I cant push it a little farther.I'm tring like mad to get to 10,000 with my SLI system with 3DMARK05.Almost obsessed with it.....Not good.I think I'm gonna have to water cool the GFX cards before that will happen. __________________ Rig specs to the left in the boxes....X-Box 360 w/Hitachi 42" HDTV....If Darwins theory of evolution is true then why are monkeys still monkeys?It takes much more faith to believe in Darwin's theory over the Genesis account of creation.

Mar 22, 2005, 02:10 PM	#15
Shadow Lady Avril Fan Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: somewhere in colombia, okok, bogotÃ¡ city :p Posts: 1,267 Rep Power: 0	they help me sometimes, but generally benchmarking (even if it from games) is so unreliable, just when testing driver chnages is... useless, some games have performance gain, some have performance loss, and if i had to benchmark only with games would be unfair as some games gain some others dont, its impossible to determine just by those numbers, however i use them sometimes, also games for benchmark i use. anyway after that nonsense, 3dmark games helpme sometimes __________________ Oblivion ftw

Mar 22, 2005, 05:03 PM	#17
Asmoday Demonic Join Date: May 2002 Location: In the cold, dark north... Posts: 5,184 Rep Power: 69 System Specs	I voted "Useful from time to time" But i rarely use them anymore, i use them mainly to see if my new overclock rendered any more performance... And to check for artifacts when overclocking the videocard.... __________________ How You can help Driverheaven by using Digg

Mar 22, 2005, 05:07 PM	#18
teh_moleman DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: FL Posts: 103 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	I usually run these benchmarks only when I change drivers to see if there are any problems. Helped me once when I went from 5000 pts down to 1000 after a driver change. Back then I didn't have any graphics intensive games, so I didn't notice anything different in those, but 3dMark proved there was something wrong. Still, I'm not sure if keeping a couple of gigs of benchmarks for that kind of limited usage is worth it. Oh, and voted useful from time to time

Mar 22, 2005, 08:34 PM	#21
itchy5 DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Plano, Texas Posts: 383 Rep Power: 0	use them to push my 6800 :P __________________ [color=blue][/color] [color=#8b0000]- Canadian - and - Proud -[/color] [color=#8b0000]AI7 865 - 3.2E @ 4ghz - 6800GT @ 425/1150[/color] [color=#8b0000]pc3200 XMS - Asetek Watercooling - 43C load[/color] [color=#8b0000]the Presshot master - watered Mid-tower[/color]

Mar 23, 2005, 01:53 AM	#25
Danhill DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Sweden Posts: 4,116 Rep Power: 0	They are useful from time to time. I like checking the drivers from time to time and that my score keeps in the same range. __________________ MOBO: [color=white]ASUS A8N-SLI Premium[/color] CPU: AMD 64 3200+ (Venice) @ 2,50 Ghz MEM: 2 x 512 DDR 466, VGA: 2 x 6600 GT in SLI, HDD1: WD Raptor HDD2: Maxtor Diamond Plus 9, Case: Antec Plus View 1080, PSU: ThermalTake PurePower 500W, MX 1000, Dell 2001 FP, Aud. 2 SZ

Mar 22, 2005, 05:34 PM	#19
e v o ........ Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,038 Rep Power: 33 System Specs	like going both ways with games and 3dmark that is, so "time to time" it was __________________

Mar 22, 2005, 05:38 PM	#20
No_Style Styleless Wonder Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Ottawa, Ontario Posts: 6,049 Rep Power: 0	I use them for stress testing purposes... It's best to use a synthetic benchmark like 3DMark which can be run the same time over and over again to stress a system in between various driver changes. Like Shadow Lady said some games become broken and introduce artifacts which are not necessarily triggered by a system which has been stressed beyond its limits. __________________ "The Best Style Is No Style" Specifications Here

Mar 22, 2005, 11:09 PM	#22
GeneralClaymore DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 431 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	i dont use 3dmark to see if i can play a game. i play the game it self, as numbers mean nothing and they cant tell u if u can play a game or not. it only usefull when u testing out ur system overclock thats it. __________________

Mar 22, 2005, 11:43 PM	#23
>GSXR<mrbusa im a FREAK Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 2,105 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	after each driver install or bios hack for my card i use 3dmark03 build 360.i dont care about the rest,2001 is outdated and 2005 is like watching a slideshow on my card.

Mar 23, 2005, 04:00 AM	#26
Sonata DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Hot as hell in summer Posts: 285 Rep Power: 0	They are probably a waste of time, but they do have their uses. How else to get an idea how your system compares to other peoples? Or in the case below my own! Funny I should see this post I only just bench marked my system the other day, I was curious to see how my newish AMD64 1.8GHz with A8V Deluxe and Powercolor 9800Pro compared to my old Intel 3.0GHz with P4P800 Deluxe and same video card. It turns out that the AMD does do a little better than the Intel system in these benches. Also the benches seem pretty close to real world system performance with the AMD feeling a bit snappier 3D 01SE 18761, 3D 03 6738, 3D 05 2472 Last edited by Sonata; Mar 24, 2005 at 03:05 PM.

Mar 23, 2005, 06:49 AM	#28
Rayder Mostly lurking lately.... Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 2,043 Rep Power: 51	Useful from time to time. I just use it to bench my own rig after upgrades or driver changes, not to compare it with others. I also use them to help me tweak the BIOS and various other settings for max performance. I tend to use 01, 03 and 05 when I do test. Funny thing is, I don't even remember what my last scores were to compare them...guess I'll have to write it down next time. __________________

Mar 23, 2005, 02:46 PM	#29
Shadow Lady Avril Fan Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: somewhere in colombia, okok, bogotÃ¡ city :p Posts: 1,267 Rep Power: 0	ohh yeah, i also forgot : I use it from time to time to see some nice graphics instead of having a game installed that i mostly wont have time to play and of course wastes a lot less HD __________________ Oblivion ftw