Oh, boy! Time to rejoice! Futuremark Corporation, which produces a variety of highly respected industry benchmarking tools, has finally released the latest version of 3DMark. This is an app used nearly industry-wide to test multiple stress points on PCs, and the results are widely regarded as the baseline to whether a specific machine is outperforming another. With the development of DirectX 11 and a slew of other technologies since the introduction of 3DMark 10, the company has overhauled it in order to keep pace with what's out there.


The result is being released at the end of this month after quite a wait. The new version supports DirectX 11, which is definitely the highlight, standout feature. November 30, 2010 will be the official download date, and the Advanced Edition can be pre-ordered right now. A video is embedded below to give you a taste of what's on offer and what's to come. 3DMark 11 Advanced Edition is priced at $19.95, but the basic version will be free. Of course, we can't wait to get our hands on it.

3DMark 11 Release Date Announced, Pre-ordering Begins

New Trailer Shows Off Latest Tech in DirectX 11 Benchmark

HELSINKI, FINLAND – November 19, 2010 – Futuremark® announced today that
3DMark® 11, the latest version of the industry standard benchmark for
real-time 3D graphics, will be released on November 30. 3DMark 11 Advanced
Edition priced at $19.95 can be pre-ordered today from
http://www.3dmark.com/. Futuremark has updated the 3DMark website to
highlight the exclusive features in the Advanced Edition and has released a
new pre-order preview trailer showing graphical improvements in the Deep Sea
and High Temple scenes. A selection of new before and after screenshots
demonstrate tessellation, volumetric lighting and other effects created with
DirectX 11.

The new 3DMark 11 Pre-order Preview trailer shows off a number of
improvements from the previously released work-in-progress tech demo videos.
The Deep Sea scene now includes particle effects in the water as
submersibles explore the sea bed and discover a sunken World War II
submarine. In the High Temple scene the foliage is now animated and there
are changes in the lighting conditions as the sun sets on the mysterious
temple.

3DMARK 11 BASIC EDITION – Free, available from November 30
- Performance PC benchmark preset
- Audio visual demo, fixed at 720p
- Browse, search and compare results online
- Store one result online

3DMARK 11 ADVANCED EDITION - $19.95 – PRE-ORDER NOW
- Entry level PC benchmark preset
- Performance PC benchmark preset
- Extreme PC benchmark preset
- Custom benchmark settings
- Audio visual demo, custom resolutions
- Benchmark looping for stability testing
- Browse, search and compare results online
- Unlimited online results storage
- Hide results from public view
- Offline result management
- Advert-free online service

3DMark 11 will be released on November 30, 2010. The Advanced Edition can be
pre-ordered now from http://www.3dmark.com/ Please visit the official
website for more trailers, screenshots and information.