Futuremark Culls Legacy Benchmark Applications to Make Room for 3DMark 11

[btarunr]

Futuremark, the company behind some of the most popular PC performance benchmark applications, which also maintains a score validation and record-keeping system, the ORB, announced that it's working on important changes to its site design as well as the ORB database itself. A side-product (which in disguise is the news of actual importance here), is that Futuremark's next-generation ORB will not support "legacy" benchmark applications from the company, namely 3DMark 2001 SE, 3DMark03, 3DMark05, PCMark 2002 or PCMark04, thereby marking a complete retirement of those applications.

Back in their day, those applications put hardware through their minutes' joyride through hell, but now their practical application is reduced. Retiring ORB support means that while you can still run the benchmark, you can't submit your score online or validate it. That effectively eliminates these applications from professional-level overclocking competitions.

"With the new site, Futuremark is also officially ending online service support for legacy benchmarks. This means that the new service will not support 3DMark 2001 SE, 3DMark03, 3DMark05, PCMark 2002 or PCMark04. Nothing prevents you from running these benchmarks even after the online support is retired and you still do get a result as all legacy benchmarks display the result without submit but you will no longer be able to submit or compare scores with these benchmarks and existing results from these benchmarks will no longer be accessible," posted a representative one the company's forums, YouGamers. Perhaps with this move, Futuremark is making room for its new upcoming DirectX 11 compliant benchmark, aptly called 3DMark 11.

[cadaveca]

If you're still driving a pinto, it's time to trade it in.

[RejZoR]

3DMark 2011 does look impressive. Especially the Jungle demo. Though on the other hand i've seen something on a similar quality level after release of the Crysis. With few hand made tweaks in the config and shaders files, heavy use of FSAA and you get something that can easily be called "very close to photo relaistic". Anyway, can't wait to see what Futuremark has prepared for us and how it will run on my HD5850

[DigitalUK]

lets hope they make it relivant, as it is now vantage scores pretty much mean nothing.

[yogurt_21]

pity I loved seeing how well new cards can crush the old benchies. oh well.

looking forward to 3dmark 11

[AthlonX2]

you can still run the old benches just no orb to compare

[NdMk2o1o]

Originally Posted by DigitalUK

lets hope they make it relivant, as it is now vantage scores pretty much mean nothing.

Oh they will be relivant, am betting my setup is going to be in the 5-7k arena somewhere as always is with a new Futuremark bench, damn you FM

[Bjorn_Of_Iceland]

Good thing they wont be dropping 06 though.. such a shame if all my PC performance evolution would be deleted XD

[cadaveca]

Originally Posted by DigitalUK

lets hope they make it relivant, as it is now vantage scores pretty much mean nothing.

Vantage is largely broken thanks to nVidia. You can get a fairly accurate idea of performance from system to sytem if Phys-X is disabled.

And because of that, I'm sure Futuremark has paid careful attention to such things happening again.

Originally Posted by Bjorn_Of_Iceland

Good thing they wont be dropping 06 though.. such a shame if all my PC performance evolution would be deleted XD

Yeah, i hear you on that one, but the benchmark world needs a shakeup, and holding onto the past is only holding back that paradigm shift.

[Bjorn_Of_Iceland]

Originally Posted by DigitalUK

lets hope they make it relivant, as it is now vantage scores pretty much mean nothing.

Its relevant. If you check the gpu scores, an increase in points equates to an increase in fps

Originally Posted by cadaveca

Yeah, i hear you on that one, but the benchmark world needs a shakeup, and holding onto the past is only holding back that paradigm shift.

yeah.. well I just thought that it would be a shame if they wont let me use that nifty graph for 06.. I dont screenshot my runs and save them in my pc.. Feels nice to see it grow (been uploading in 06 orb way back since my 8800. Kinda of like a family album where you see your pictures as a child )