3DMark®2001 Second Edition Read Me

Congratulations!

You have successfully installed 3DMark2001 Second Edition (SE). We hope that 3DMark2001 SE will help you in testing Your cutting edge PC hardware.

This document contains important information about using 3DMark2001 SE. Please read it through carefully before running 3DMark2001 SE.

3DMark2001 SE New Features

3DMark2001 has become the industry standard for 3D game performance benchmarking. The benchmark results have proven to be reliable, scaleable and reflect true game performance of DirectX 8 technology games. Due to 3DMark's huge popularity, MadOnion.com has received a large number of improvement suggestions and some reports about questionable behavior on some hardware. Your feedback is the primary reason for this 3DMark2001 SE, and we hope that it makes this popular benchmark even better.

3DMark2001 SE new features:
  • Microsoft DirectX 8.1 support
  • Verified Microsoft Windows XP compatibility
  • A new DirectX 8.1 feature test utilizing pixel shader 1.4
  • System Info can now detect more components of your PC, like AGP settings that are crucial for 3D performance.
  • The usage of compressed textures has been optimized.
  • Lots of reported compatibility issues fixed. For example the dynamic shadows now look correct on graphics cards doing tile based rendering.

NOTE: 3DMark2001 SE results are comparable to original 3DMark2001 results.

Introduction to 3DMark®2001 SE

3DMark2001 SE is a diagnostics tool for measuring the 3D game performance of PCs. It is entertaining and easy to use, which makes it "must have" software for all home PC users interested in 3D games. Even a beginner PC user can get a game performance measurement with 3DMark2001 SE. For the more advanced users, 3DMark2001 SE offers a wide range of display settings and testing options for the benchmark run. The most skillful performance tweakers can get the latest news on PC performance upgrading through MadOnion.com's on-line services. There you can also challenge the fastest PCs in the world and get good performance tuning advice in the discussion forum or the on-line chat.

At the same time, 3DMark2001 SE is a reliable tool for professional hardware performance measurement and comparison. The Pro version of 3DMark2001 SE includes additional tools for pro-users, making their work easier, less time consuming and more fun. The Pro version of 3DMark2001 SE can be purchased on-line, allowing you access to all of the "Pro features".

3DMark2001 SE uses a real game engine (MAX-FX Technology™, by Remedy Entertainment) in all tests. This means that the obtained performance level in the game tests is accurate. If additional time would be spent on implementing more content, interactivity and game storylines, all game tests could be made into real games. We have proven this by making a game demo of the first game test. The scene is the same as in the test, but this time you are behind the steering wheel.

System Requirements

3DMark2001 SE is the tool for measuring 3D game performance of the latest PC hardware. This means that some older hardware does not have what it takes to run some of 3DMark2001 SE. If your system cannot run 3DMark2001 SE, we encourage you to download (from www.MadOnion.com) and run 3DMark2000.

Minimum System Requirements:
  • Intel® compatible 500 MHz processor
  • 128 MB system memory
  • A modern 3D accelerator with 32MB of memory
  • Windows 98/SE, ME, 2000 or XP operating system
  • DirectX® 8.1 or later

NOTE: If you run Windows 2000 or Windows XP, 192 MB of system memory is recommended.

3DMark2001 SE may run on systems that don't quite meet the minimum requirements, but for example less video memory will cause texture swapping in the middle of some tests. The texture swapping would seriously distort the test result, which means that the result could not be considered a reliable measurement of the system's game performance.

Recommended System Specifications:
  • Intel® compatible 1 GHz processor
  • DirectX® 8 compatible graphics hardware
3DMark2001 SE Features
Features in 3DMark2001 SE:

  • Support for Microsoft® DirectX®8.1 (DX8.1)
  • 3 new game tests, all run in both low and high detail.
  • A 4th game test using DX8 hardware accelerated features. DX8 compatible graphics hardware is required for running this test.
  • DX8 feature tests showing Vertex Shaders, Pixel Shaders and Point Sprites
  • DOT3 bump mapping
  • Full-Scene Anti-aliasing
  • DirectX Texture Compression
  • An awesome new demo featuring an original soundtrack. This demo will show you what your PC really can do.
  • A new, more powerful System Info utility, which analyses and displays everything in your system from the driver versions to hardware components.

Features familiar from 3DMark2000:

  • Ease of use: 3D game performance benchmarking at its simplest.
  • Online services. Inspect your benchmark result in detail and compare the performance of your system to the fastest PC's on the planet.
  • A wide range of tests measuring both overall game performance and theoretical speed.

3DMark2001 SE Pro features:

  • ResultBrowser2001 SE: A program for advanced result comparisons that is easy to use.
  • Image Quality Testing with Reference Pictures. There are test images of all game tests and reference images both with and without FSAA.
  • Batch Run. Run all resolutions and color depths while you get some coffee. When 3DMark2001 SE finishes, change the display adapter and just let the program work for you again.
  • Batch Run Command Line Automation.
  • A Special Bonus: A playable game demo, where you drive the car in game test 1.
NOTE: 3DMark2001 SE results are not comparable with results from earlier versions of 3DMark, like 3DMark2000 or 3DMark99. 3DMark2001 SE results are comparable with results from the original 3DMark2001.
Troubleshooting Q&A
Please go to www.madonion.com/support for latest versions, up-to-date support and FAQ information, as well as a current list of problems or compatibility issues with 3DMark2001 SE.

If you have problems running 3DMark2001 SE, or have any related questions, please take the following steps:

  1. Make sure you have Microsoft DirectX® 8.1 installed and working. If you don't have it yet, download it from Microsoft.
  2. Read the 3DMark2001 SE Frequently Asked Questions at www.MadOnion.com/support. We have answered the most common questions and it is likely you will find an answer there.
  3. If 3DMark2001 SE doesn't run correctly with your 3D accelerator card, install the most recent display drivers. 3DMark2001 SE requires DirectX® 8.1 compatible display drivers.
  4. If you have still problems with the display drivers, please contact your 3D accelerator card manufacturer's support department.
For more information on how to use 3DMark2001 SE, please refer to the 3DMark2001 SE help.

Guidelines for Testing and Publishing Results

Testing Guidelines
For reliable benchmarking, we highly recommend you familiarize yourself with the testing guidelines found in the 3DMark2001 SE help and in the 3DMark2001 SE web site at www.madonion.com. The on-line testing guidelines may be updated from time to time.

Publishing Benchmark Results
When publishing your benchmark results in a printed or on-line publication, we kindly request you make sure that you follow our testing guidelines, identify the exact system setup that was used for benchmarking, include the official 3DMark2001 SE logo and a link or referral to MadOnion.com.

Distribution Guidelines

The software may not be distributed with commercial products without a written permission from MadOnion.com, the only exception being distribution on magazine cover-CD. You may not charge from distributing the program without a written permission from MadOnion.com Inc.

For more information, please see 3DMark2001 SE web site at www.madonion.com or e-mail to sales@madonion.com.

 

Legal: Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. DirectX, Windows 95/98/ME/XP and Windows 2000 are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. MAX-FX Technology is a trademark of Remedy Entertainment Ltd. 3DMark is a registered trademark of MadOnion.com Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.