Benchmarking

3DMark runs a number of complex graphics tests to measure the 3D graphics performance of a system. When it was first released, it made every graphics card on the market crawl. Now it looks like watching a series of four compelling, visually stunning games.

Licence: Freeware.
Online: http://www.madonion.com
Operating system: Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP/.NET.
Requires: Windows, 64MB RAM, OpenGL Graphics Card.

Install instructions

		Windows

Quake 3 gives a good idea of graphics performance despite the fact that it is looking a little dated next to current releases.

Licence: Freeware.
Online: http://www.idsoftware.com
Operating system: Windows.
Requires: Windows, 64MB RAM, OpenGL Graphics Card.

Install instructions

		Windows

SANDRA gives a good idea of the hardware in your system, and its raw performance. It doesn't provide real world testing, only synthetic benchmarks.

Licence: Freeware.
Online: http://www.sisoft.co.uk
Operating system: Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP/.NET.
Requires: Windows, 64MB RAM.

Install instructions

		Windows

Winbench uses a number of productivity applications to test a computer system in a real-world environment. It is one of the most commonly used and referenced benchmarking programs around.

Licence: Freeware.
Online: http://www.etestinglabs.com
Operating system: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/.NET.
Requires: Windows, 64MB RAM.

Install instructions

		Windows