UL Announcing end of support for 3DMark 11, PCMark 7, Powermark and some 3DMark benchmarks
You may have heard that Microsoft will end support for Windows 7 on January 14, 2020. Benchmarks also have a natural lifespan that ends when they no longer provide meaningful results on modern hardware. When old benchmarks are used with new hardware, the results can be skewed or limited in ways that reduce their accuracy and relevance.
Today, UL is announcing that, from January 14, 2020, they will no longer offer updates or support for 3DMark 11, PCMark 7, Powermark, 3DMark Cloud Gate, and 3DMark Ice Storm benchmarks. These benchmarks, all of which were released between 2011 and 2013, no longer provide useful, comparable results with modern hardware. In every case, there is a newer and more relevant benchmark test that you should use instead.
Unsupported after January 14, 2020 |
Target hardware |
Recommended benchmark for modern hardware |
3DMark 11 |
Gaming PCs |
3DMark Time Spy or |
3DMark Cloud Gate |
PCs with integrated graphics |
3DMark Night Raid |
3DMark Ice Storm |
Windows tablets and mobile devices |
3DMark Night Raid |
3DMark Ice Storm (Android) |
Android smartphones and tablets |
3DMark Sling Shot |
3DMark Ice Storm (iOS) |
Apple iPhones and iPads |
3DMark Sling Shot |
PCMark 7 |
Windows PCs |
PCMark 10 |
Powermark |
Windows laptops and notebooks |
PCMark 10 Battery Life Profile |
After January 14, 2020, these unsupported benchmarks will:
- No longer be sold by UL, Steam, or other app stores.
- No longer receive updates.
- No longer be guaranteed to work with our online services.
- No longer be eligible for customer support.
Anyone who has bought 3DMark 11 on Steam will continue to own it and will be able to run it from their Steam Library.
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Senior Member
Posts: 108
Joined: 2012-12-24

My favorite was the 3DMark06 with the flying Dutchman and the big snake-serpent - when it jumped out of the water, I can still remember how my hardware had a hard time pushing 20+ fps with AA enabled

Senior Member
Posts: 241
Joined: 2017-08-22

2001 SE has be my favorite. Nothing too special about the little red truck, but I can always appreciate how far we've come when I see it and remember how it used to look so real

Senior Member
Posts: 1845
Joined: 2012-04-30
Just tired of the crap their pulling on the latest release.
Lets have everyone download/install +6gb of crap (not even talking about updates),
so ppl can run the one relevant benchmark that's actually free/doesn't require a license.
Basically, let's put 5 times more traffic on servers/internet because 1 in 50 have a license and can actually run more than one of the benchs.
Senior Member
Posts: 1116
Joined: 2006-06-19
They stopped forcing big patches (it was one of my major gripes) and now you can get small incremental patches within the 3dmark application that are much more bandwidth and time friendly.
Senior Member
Posts: 7684
Joined: 2005-08-10
There's always a bit of nostalgia when reading stuff like this. On one hand I know the benchmarks are pretty much useless now, but on the other I remember the 100s if not 1000s of times I ran them (especially 3DMarks) over the years and it's always a bit sad to see them "go" (even though I know they don't actually "go" anywhere ha).