DX11: 3DMark11

3DMark11 is Futuremark's latest iteration of the video card software benchmark suite, building on the features of 3DMark Vantage and 3DMark 06 as well as earlier version. It's optimized and intended for testing DirectX-11 capable hardware running under Windows Vista or Windows 7.

• 3DMark11
  • Extreme Settings, 1920x1200 resolution

3DMark Vantage offers benchmark tests focusing on GPU, CPU, and Physics performance. For this review I concentrated on the four GPU-specific tests. The first two tests take you through an undersea scene with small submarines exploring the sea floor and sunken ships. In the GT1 test, there's no tessellation, but there are extensive lighting and shadow effects. In the GT2 test, the same scene is repeated but with moderate tessellation and fewer lighting effects.

Here we see nice scaling with the NVIDIA cards. The previous generation Radeon HD6850 and HD6950 acquit themselves well, with the 6950 matching the performance of the GTX 570. The Radeon HD 7770 comes in at just under the performance of the 6850

Cost Analysis: GT1+GT2

The second pair of graphics tests explore an abandoned temple deep in a tropical jungle. The GT3 test has medium tessellation and one shadow-casting light, while the GT4 test ups the ante with heavy tessellation and many shadow-casting lights. The GT4 test is by far the most demanding of this test suite.

Cost Analysis: GT3+GT4

Test Summary: The Cape Verde GPU turns in a credible performance, almost equaling the performance of the HD6850 even though it's designed to compete at the next level down.

<< Previous Page - Next Page >>