Among the benchmark programs where do the likes of 3DMark and PCMark come in?
To be fair to the student that asked this question he did add that he appreciated that these were PC-specific benchmarks. IOW, they are basically useless for evaluating the performance of other types of machine/configurations as is obvious from the following quotes: Futuremark – Products – Benchmarks – 3DMark05 The Gamers Benchmark 3DMark®05 is best suited for the latest generation of DirectX®9.0 graphics cards. It is the first benchmark to require a DirectX9.0 compliant hardware with support for Pixel Shaders 2.0 or higher! By combining high quality 3D tests, CPU tests, feature tests, image quality tools, and much more, 3DMark05 is a premium benchmark for evaluating the latest generation of gaming hardware. 3DMark05 is the answer to the continuously growing challenge in benchmarking! Futuremark – Products – Benchmarks – PCMark05 PC Performance Analysis PCMark®05 is everything you need to reliably and easily measure the performance of your PC and determine its strengths and weaknesses.
