Popular enthusiast benchmark to get a new iteration in 2012, causing graphics cards to weep and blubber.
It's been well over a year since Futuremark announced their now-current benchmark, 3DMark 11, which brought a bevy of new features to the testing table and impressed with high-tech graphical fidelity.
We were naturally surprised when a press release turned up in our inbox about 3DMark for Windows 8 (working title) - but it's a move that makes quite a lot of sense.
3DMark for Windows 8 has been "designed for gaming performance measurement and comparison across all Windows 8 devices from tablets and notebooks to high-end desktop gaming systems", allowing the same type of graphical comparison to occur between wildly different platforms.
When asked if the new 3DMark supported the ARM architecture we got an enthusiastic response, and the new benchmark also supports x64 natively.
No solid details have been announced for the 3DMark benchmark, but we do have a concept art of this flame warrior that suggests it'll be quite strenuous:
3DMark for Windows 8 is due to launch in 2012 when it is completed. Here's a cut-and-pasted bulletpoint list from the press release to summarise it all neatly:
- Measures and compares gaming performance on all Windows 8 devices- Stunning real-time scenes stress test all levels of hardware- Supports both x86 and ARM-based architectures- Can be used in both Metro UI and 'classic' Windows environments- Created in co-operation with the world's leading technology companies- Currently in development, expected to be released in 2012
Issue: 137 | June, 2012