Tech Link (Industry): 3DMark06 Under the Magnifying Glass

THG decided to give the latest and greatest FutureMark* product, the 3DMark06. I am not sure what has taken them this long to make a review of the benchmark utility (or maybe they did already, I just missed it).

In any case, if you feel like spending some time and scrutinizing the benchmark utility, they have a pretty much comprehensive report.

Futuremark's previous benchmarking suites have paved a way for enthusiasts to evaluate gaming performance, but along with this prestige comes the requisite skepticism over its methods and implementations. Arguments have arisen over techniques and the scoring calculations used. While one group will praise Futuremark for developing a neutral analysis tool as well as being forward-looking in its execution, another will accuse it of developing a benchmark that does not represent certain hardware implementations, or that utilizes techniques that game makers don't use. The newest version of "The Gamer's Benchmark" once again finds itself in the middle of this debate, so we decided to talk to both Futuremark and the hardware makers to get a better insight into the situation.

Source:THG