Does 3DMark Predict Game Performance?

aendeuryu writes "Sidhian has up an interesting op-ed and summary piece on whether or not graphics benchmarks like 3dMark are helpful in determining the suitability of a video card for gameplay. It goes on to show how certain tests correlate to specific cards and game engines. The article is from last month, but Sidhian's pretty good for refreshingly frank hardware articles, and this might be good background information for evaluating ATI's upcoming Crossfire line of dual-izable video cards."

Comments

The proof is in the pudding

[Dancin_Santa]

Obviously benchmarks try to measure as much as possible, but there are limits. The most significant limit is that the benchmarks simply can't emulate every aspect of every game.

We've got NVidia releasing their new card, but ATI is planning their next one soon too.

However, more horsepower is always good and this year's chips are faster than last year's, so unless you're trying to differentiate between a few microseconds difference in processing time between equivalent competing cards, you're better off just looking at the grand scheme of things and just realize that things are getting better and faster (and more expensive).