3DMark News

3DMark Windows v2.8.6446

This is a minor update. Benchmark scores are not affected.

• Improved the way the license information is shown on the Options screen.
  

• Fixed a problem when trying to buy the Port Royal upgrade from the NVIDIA DLSS feature test screen.
  
• The API Overhead feature test no longer requires DirectX 12 to start. As in previous versions, it will now run on DirectX 11 systems and skip unsupported APIs.
  

We're thrilled to announce that we've added an exciting new graphics technology to 3DMark in the form of the new NVIDIA DLSS feature test, available now.


3DMark feature tests are specialized tests for specific technologies. The NVIDIA DLSS feature test helps you compare performance and image quality with and without DLSS processing.

The test is based on the 3DMark Port Royal ray tracing benchmark. Like many games, Port Royal uses Temporal Anti-Aliasing. TAA is a popular, state-of-the-art technique, but it can result in blurring and the loss of fine detail.

DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) is an NVIDIA RTX technology that uses deep learning and AI to improve game performance while maintaining visual quality.

Check out the video and images below to see a comparison of TAA and DLSS in the new 3DMark feature test.




The NVIDIA DLSS feature test runs in two passes. The first pass renders Port Royal with DLSS disabled to measure baseline performance. The second pass renders Port Royal at a lower resolution then uses DLSS processing to create frames at the output resolution. The result screen reports the frame rate for each run.

DLSS is a proprietary NVIDIA technology, so naturally, you must have an NVIDIA graphics card that supports DLSS, such as a GeForce RTX series, Quadro RTX series or TITAN RTX, to run the test. You must also have the latest NVIDIA drivers for your graphics card.

Open the image in a new tab to see it full size.


DLSS uses a pre-trained neural network to find jagged, aliased edges in an image and then adjust the colors of the affected pixels to create smoother edges and improved image quality. The result is a clear, crisp image with quality similar to traditional rendering but with higher performance. You can read more about DLSS and what it means for game developers on the NVIDIA website.

Open the image in a new tab to see it full size.




We're celebrating Chinese New Year—and the sixth anniversary of 3DMark's original release—with a special week-long sale. From now until February 11, 3DMark Advanced Edition is 85% off.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/223850/3DMark/

If you purchased 3DMark before January 8, 2019, you can unlock the NVIDIA DLSS feature test by purchasing the Port Royal upgrade DLC. You can read more about 3DMark updates and upgrades here.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/496103/3DMark_Port_Royal_upgrade/

3DMark Windows v2.7.6296

This is a minor update. Benchmark scores are not affected.

• Fixed a rendering issue that could cause visual artifacts at high resolutions.
  
• Reflections are now correctly masked by transparent surfaces.
  
• Fixed the rendering of surface elements when Transparents are disabled in the Custom run settings.
  
• Fixed the Enable Looping setting for Custom runs.
  
• Custom Demo runs now use ray traced photon mapping by default.
  

• Improved algorithm for the recommended benchmark on the 3DMark Home screen.
  
• Fixed the Demo Audio setting on the Options screen.
  

UL benchmarks use a component called SystemInfo to identify the hardware in your system. This patch updates SystemInfo to version 5.15.

• Updated CPUID module for improved hardware detection and to solve hang issues on some systems
  
• Updated GPU detection module to improve compatibility with the latest GPUs.
  

We're thrilled to announce that 3DMark Port Royal—the world’s first dedicated real-time ray tracing benchmark for gamers—is now available.

You can use Port Royal to test and compare the real-time ray tracing performance of any graphics card that supports Microsoft DirectX Raytracing—including multi-GPU systems.




Real-time ray tracing promises to bring new levels of realism to in-game graphics. Port Royal uses DirectX Raytracing to enhance reflections, shadows, and other effects that are difficult to achieve with traditional rendering techniques.

As well as benchmarking performance, 3DMark Port Royal is a realistic and practical example of what to expect from ray tracing in upcoming games—ray tracing effects running in real-time at reasonable frame rates at 2560 × 1440 resolution.

3DMark Port Royal was developed with input from AMD, Intel, NVIDIA, and other leading technology companies. We worked especially closely with Microsoft to create a first-class implementation of the DirectX Raytracing API.

Port Royal will run on any graphics card with drivers that support DirectX Raytracing. As with any new technology, there are limited options for early adopters, but more cards are expected to get DirectX Raytracing support in 2019.




Port Royal is available now. It is not possible to run Port Royal in the 3DMark Demo. To run Port Royal, you'll need the Windows 10 October Update and a graphics card with drivers that support Microsoft DirectX Raytracing.


From today onward, Port Royal is included in the price when you buy 3DMark from Steam.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/223850/3DMark/


If you already own 3DMark, you can unlock Port Royal by purchasing the Port Royal upgrade. You can read more about 3DMark updates and upgrades here.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/496103/3DMark_Port_Royal_upgrade/