The Best Benchmarking Utility?

[BigSexy396]

Obviously you guys definatly know your ****, so I ask what in your opinion in the best/simplest freeware benchmarking utility?

One that tests your entire system, not just cpu or gpu.

[clockworkmep]

Sandra 2004 does wonders for me. PC Mark 04 is very good too!

[Mr.Tweak]

While it is old, 3DMark2001 SE still does a fairly good job as well

3DMark03 and 05 only really does a good job at measuring GPU performance

[Yawgm0th]

The 3DMark series mainly measures GPU, but your CPU, RAM, and how well-tweaked your system is will also be reflected by the score, more so in the older ones. PCMark does an okay job, but it's not really that accurate in the long run.

Some good examples of more accurate tests that test the system (though no tthe video card much) can be found here. I don't think all of them are actually freeware, though.

[Darthtanion]

There isn't a single benchmarking utility (freeware or store bought) that can do it all. You really need to have a grouping of several benchmarking utilities to give you a complete picture of what your machine can do. While the 3DMark series gives a fair representation of what your video board can do, SiSoft Sandra is also useful in giving other detailed information about your rig. You'll also want a good memory testing utility as well as several games to give you an idea what your beast is capable of in a real-world situation.

The list goes on but you can kinda get the idea of what I mean by the examples given above.

[BigSexy396]

I have Sandra, where do i go so i can see my benchmark?

[Darthtanion]

When you start up Sandra you will see a large selection of "Modules" displayed. The ones listed under the "Benchmarking Modules" will be the ones you're interested in. Each of these icons starts up a test sequence and the results will be displayed after the testing is finished.

Remember, Sandra is nothing more than a synthetic benchmarking tool. While it can do a decent job of telling you what your system is capable of, it is by no means a tool to be used by itself. You will need to have other tools at your disposal as well to give you a more accurate picture of your machine.

[BigSexy396]

The only thing ive got is ATI Tool for my Video Card, do you reccommend anything else?

[Yawgm0th]

Real-world gaming benchmarks are the only accurate way of testing your card. You should be able to find information online about how to make benchmark specific games. An example is the Doom 3 benchmarking article that was put up at TweakTown a while ago.