Best Benchmarking Software

Sorry I'm not really sure if this is the right category for my thread though it is software related to graphics lol. Basically I'm asking what benchmarking tool should I use/download? 3DMark06, 3DMark11, 3DMark Vantage, PCMark7, PCMark Vantage? The reason I'm asking is they aren't exactly small programs to download, they average more than 500MB in size and I really don't wanna download all of 'em..I just need a good tool that can give me an idea on where I am performance wise compared to other laptops/computers out there. What are the differences and what would you recommend me to install? Thanks, I'm just starting to benchmark, I'm more of a hardcore gamer than a benchmarking type..

 

Well, 500MB isn't that much unless you have a really slow connection or very limited cap. 3DMark Vantage and 3DMark11 are kind of standards, but don't tell the whole story. Really best thing to do is check the games or types of games you like to play with in-game benchmarks if they offer them.

The whole point of benchmarking is to check performance due to overclocking, comparing with comparable machines, or tuning your machine to play games with framerates you'd like.

 

if your looking for a quick stress test furmark is good, i use version 1.9.2

 

3DMark Vantage and 3DMark11 are all that matter right now, as far as synthetic benchmarks go.

Otherwise it's best to just play games and compare your performance experiences with other gamers.

 

Auslogic Benchtown is also popular on the alienware forums

BenchTown.com BETA

 

Thanks. Will download furmark,3DMark11,and 3DMark Vantage for now..

 

Having issues with 3DMark 11. It seems to be using my Intel HD 3000 graphics instead of the GT555M on Optimus. This is causing a score of 4.4k for the test. When I check the settings of "Graphics Adapter" it only displays the Intel graphics. How do I run the benchmark with NVIDIA GPU? Will I experience the same issues with 3DMark Vantage?

 

I use 3DMark Vantage but wouldn't mind trying a new program

 

Vantage has been and still is the standard for testing out your computer's GPU performance. However people are slowly shifting to 3DMark11 because of the emergence of more DX 11 GPU's.

Basically sticking to Vantage and 3DMark11 figures on the Performance setting should give you a good estimate of how good your machine is. For pure GPU analysis, try to use the GPU Only score and not the combined P-score.

 

Best benchmarking software to benchmarking gaming capability?

Uh... GAMES! GAMES! THE GAMES YOU PLAY!

GAMES! are all that matter. Who cares what your Vantage score is if you are only getting 15 FPS in the game you want to play!

 

Except it is not a good standard to compare one system to another on a set platform. There are many user-end variables that can affect how we judge the accuracy of the game FPS we want to compare.

With that said the most realistic effect on how good your hardware is on in-game FPS. However it all comes down to your own setup, expectations and subjectivity.

 

i care more about vantage score than games because i find overclocking and benchmarking more fun than gaming

 

Okay so I tried 3DMark 11 and I believe it's using the integrated Intel HD 3000 instead of the dedicated card..When I go to the GPU preference option I only see the intel card and it doesn't let me choose the NVIDIA GPU..I'm scoring 4400 and I hope that's wrong lol.

 

4400 in 3dmark11? Something's fishy. That score is much higher than I'd expect if one of your sigged systems are running the benchmark; a stock GTX 580M only manages scores in the mid 3000's as far as I know.

 

maybe he means vantage, there is no way he scored 4400 on 3dmark11 with either the gt335 or gt555 listed in his sig...not physically possible

A heavily overclocked 6990m will score 4100 3dmark11's with tesselation on (add about 400 points with tesselation off)
A heavily overclocked 580m will score mid 4k's

 

that's unfortunate

 

That makes sense. My roommate with Optimus had a similar problem with 3dmark06; it should have given him a score of around 8-9k with his GT 540M but instead he got something on the order of 3-4k. I don't think we ever figured out how to force his computer to use the discrete GPU, as the right click + "run in performance mode" option clearly didn't help.

 

^^^ optimus is great in theory, but not in practice. I much prefer the AMD solution in my laptop: I can manually switch between the Intel integrated graphics OR go to discrete 6990m...but its my choice. So i can get 4hrs on battery as a result which is insane considering my hardware

 

I use Heaven DX11 Benchmark for my desktop. When my new Sager gets here tomorrow I'll use it also to see how it does.

 

Okay so I set the preferred GPU and it says that NVIDIA is running 1 application (which is 3DMark11) and ran the test again. I got a score of P1857 and it says my score is low compared to similar systems and it still says Intel HD Graphics 3000..So it looks like the test ran using the Intel integrated graphics again right? Or is the score of a GT555M really only P1857?

 

ROFLMAO, benchmarking and overclocking laptops. That's hilarious.

 

Yup its amazing what you can do when you start modding the case, heat sinks fans etc

Now am able to run my 5850 at 1000/1175 from 625/1000

i also never get more than 75-80 degrees in-game

 

Still not impressive. The FPS increase in games from that is probably only between 1-5 FPS. And it still just seems like a waste of time to me, using a laptop as your benchmarking machine. No matter how fast you make your 5850M run, the numbers in Vantage etc just won't be very impressive when desktops can still put up number 4-5x more stock.

And the desktop would have cost less...

 

No in some games in FPS increase is huge, from unplayable to playable and i think its quite impressive myself

Like i Crysis for example i could go from Medium settings to all ULTRA with even more demanding graphics mos installed.
Most game benefit alot from it unless they are CPU dependent

Also at stock clocks with no mods my laptop would get 90 degress while gaming, now with 1000/1175 it never get hotter than 75-80 degrees