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3DMark is a multiplayer shooter game. It was developed by UL Solutions and was released on February 4, 2013. It received very positive reviews from players.

PC gaming is a quest for performance, a never-ending cycle of upgrading, overclocking, and tweaking your system for faster frame rates, higher resolutions, and better quality visual effects. 3DMark is essential equipment for this quest. For more than 20 years, 3DMark has been the first choice for benchmarking, testing, and comparing PC performance. There'll always be a new game that demands …

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92%
Audience ScoreBased on 9,230 reviews
optimization222 positive mentions
stability52 negative mentions

  • 3DMark is the industry standard and most widely used tool for benchmarking and stress testing PC hardware, especially GPUs and CPUs.
  • The software provides a comprehensive suite of benchmarks covering various APIs (DirectX 11, DirectX 12, ray tracing, Vulkan) and hardware features, with detailed results and global score comparisons.
  • It is easy to use with quality visuals and animations that make benchmarking engaging, and it has a strong community and support for overclocking, tuning, and troubleshooting system stability.
  • The software has many advanced benchmarks and features locked behind paid DLC, frustrating long-time users who have to repurchase content and creating a fragmented experience.
  • SystemInfo component is often buggy or hangs during collection, leading to crashes, invalid results, or inability to run benchmarks properly on some hardware configurations.
  • 3DMark lacks official Linux support and has performance and stability issues on some newer systems and configurations, including long load times and occasional crashes.
  • optimization
    780 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The optimization aspect is highly praised for providing comprehensive, reliable benchmarking and performance testing tools that help users evaluate and fine-tune their PCs, especially for gaming and overclocking. While 3DMark excels in stress testing GPU and CPU with detailed metrics and comparisons across systems, some users note that its synthetic benchmarks don’t always perfectly reflect real-world gaming performance and that certain features could feel outdated or fragmented behind paid DLC. Overall, it remains an indispensable and well-optimized benchmarking suite for enthusiasts seeking to maximize and verify their system’s gaming performance and stability.

    • “3dmark helped me tune my setup and helped me get the best possible fps for modern games today. I will continue to use this program for as long as I build systems to get the most gaming performance out of a system.”
    • “3dmark remains the go-to benchmarking tool for pc gamers and hardware enthusiasts, offering accurate performance testing, stunning visuals, and detailed analytics. Its comprehensive benchmarking and optimization tools make it an essential resource for serious pc builders.”
    • “Whether you're overclocking, upgrading, or simply curious about your system's performance, 3dmark is an indispensable tool for measuring and improving gaming performance, providing comprehensive tests to gauge system performance with detailed results and comparisons.”
    • “If you go through from release till now, the performance metrics are all over the damn place.”
    • “Half of the benchmarks are paid DLC, and these benchmarks aren't terribly useful for determining overclock stability or even overclock performance.”
    • “Very inconsistent results with poor optimizations for new hardware.”
  • graphics
    401 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics are widely praised for their stunning visuals, realistic effects, and impressive benchmarking capabilities, making the software a gold standard for testing GPU performance. Users appreciate the detailed, diverse tests ranging from integrated graphics to high-end ray-tracing, though some note the visuals are somewhat synthetic compared to modern game graphics. Overall, it offers well-optimized, beautiful graphics that effectively stress-test hardware and assist in overclocking and performance comparisons.

    • “3dmark remains the go-to benchmarking tool for PC gamers and hardware enthusiasts, offering accurate performance testing, stunning visuals, and detailed analytics.”
    • “The graphical tests are especially impressive, with beautiful and realistic graphics that showcase a GPU's capabilities.”
    • “The graphics are beautiful — so beautiful they make my PC question its life choices.”
    • “Poorly optimized graphics but otherwise it's quite good.”
    • “There is no information presented about graphical settings in their demo, or even very basic things like the resolution it's running at.”
    • “3dmark has definitely improved over the years; however, I thought the graphics has been an area that has yet to impress me. As PC enthusiasts, we would like to see more in terms of game graphics; many new games offer higher graphical fidelity, yet 3dmark has continued with similar graphics for years.”
  • story
    81 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story aspect across these games and projects varies widely, with some praised for compelling, emotional, and immersive narratives featuring complex characters and choices, while others lack a clear or engaging storyline, focusing more on gameplay or graphics. Several users highlight standout stories comparable to narrative-driven games like those from David Cage, yet others criticize poor story development, disjointed plots, or absence of meaningful plot progression. Overall, story quality is mixed, ranging from deeply engaging to minimal or absent, often impacting players' overall experience.

    • “Most fun game I've ever played and the story line is freaking awesome.”
    • “Wonderful game, well written characters, complex choices to be made, compelling story line.”
    • “Amazing immersive/unique story and is a total blast from start to finish, with an endless amount of replay value.”
    • “I got softlocked during the main quest line and can't beat the game.”
    • “Graphics ok, controls very good, story sucks hard.”
    • “Lack of character development, story and plot but wonderful visuals.”
  • gameplay
    64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Gameplay reviews are mixed, with praise often given to the graphics and visual presentation, while gameplay itself is frequently described as repetitive, linear, or lacking depth. Many users note pay-to-win mechanics, limited actual gameplay, or a reliance on cutscenes, resulting in a less satisfying interactive experience despite impressive visuals. Overall, gameplay is seen as secondary to graphics and sometimes hindered by balancing and monetization issues.

    • “Gameplay is fantastic but what really stands out here are the graphics of course.”
    • “Good gameplay, wonderful graphics.”
    • “[after 100% achievement], I could say it has better graphics, gameplay, infinite replayability, and zero stutter than most Unreal Engine 5 games.”
    • “To have any hope of getting near the top of leaderboards you will have to spend at least 4-5k of your hard earned cash, and, to add to all of this, there is no gameplay to be found, just a series of cutscenes with no relevance to each other at all.”
    • “Awesome graphics, but gameplay is a bit linear and repetitive.”
    • “Amazing graphics but poor gameplay :d”
  • stability
    53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The stability of 3DMark is widely criticized, with frequent freezing, crashing, and bugs reported, especially during benchmarks or system information gathering. While some users find it valuable for troubleshooting and overclocking, many experience persistent issues that severely hamper usability, making it unreliable despite its useful features.

    • “As of January 2026, 3DMark refuses to download any free benchmark no matter how many times I reinstall it, clear cache, or do any troubleshooting.”
    • “3DMark is so buggy I have never actually been able to run a benchmark successfully.”
    • “Keeps getting stuck at some point in the process, but after an hour I haven't been able to run a single benchmark, including after multiple reboots and troubleshooting.”
  • grinding
    17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game features a notably grind-heavy experience, often described as long and tedious, requiring considerable time and effort to progress. While some players find the grinding a dull chore, a few appreciate the opportunity to tweak systems during the process. Overall, grinding is a significant and sometimes frustrating aspect of the game.

    • “A bit grindy sometimes.”
    • “A bit grindy...sometimes.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “One long, tedious grind.”
    • “Too bad the activation process is a little too tedious.”
  • monetization
    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users criticize the monetization of this benchmarking software as overly aggressive, citing pervasive microtransactions, pay-to-win elements, and what feels like exploitative cash grabs despite owning the base product. While the software itself is praised for quality and functionality, these added monetization tactics tarnish its reputation and frustrate users who feel nickel-and-dimed for extra features.

    • “I've found this benchmarking/stability testing software to be the best at identifying issues; it has a great UI and no ads compared to free benchmark software.”
    • “It does come at a cost though, including in-game purchases for more types of benchmarks, so I would hold off getting it at full price unless you run a benchmarking YouTube channel or similar and use it very frequently.”
    • “Futuremark, in all their wisdom, decided that it would be a good idea to introduce microtransactions for customers who paid for the full software.”
    • “It's a shame to see such a respected product tarnish its reputation with what feels like a cynical cash grab.”
    • “Such a cash grab that I'm surprised they don't charge per mouse click then sell mouse-click bundles as DLC.”
    • “More DLC please... I just can't get enough of buying extra "tests" that don't actually do anything other than serve as benchmarks. It's like paying to watch advertisements after you've already bought the movie.”
  • humor
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in this game is a mix of appreciation and sarcasm, with users finding the gamification and achievement system amusing and clever, while some express frustration or confusion. Overall, the humor is quirky and self-aware, often highlighting the irony of the tool's function.

    • “Very good and funny test program for PC.”
    • “I want to applaud the gamification, this is very funny: having achievements on a basically working scientific tool reminds me of what companies are doing nowadays, gamifying training and development processes.”
    • “Funny: a tool to make you realize that your computer will never be good enough.”
  • emotional
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game elicits strong and varied reactions, ranging from awe at its stunning visuals and compelling story to feelings of frustration or regret linked to performance benchmarks and personal expectations. While some find it deeply moving and artistically impressive, others feel disappointed or disheartened by their experience.

    • “Very emotional and story-driven gameplay, one of the best of the decade.”
    • “As the benchmark unfolded, I was treated to a dazzling display of graphics that would make Michelangelo himself shed a tear of artistic pride.”
    • “Made me feel better about buying a 3080 after switching from a temporary R9 280X.”
  • replayability
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers exceptional replayability, praised for its immersive and unique experience that keeps players engaged even after completion. Users highlight its endless replay value, smooth performance, and appealing graphics, making it stand out among similar titles.

    • “Infinitely replayable.”
    • “Despite having no real story to follow, it has a surprising amount of replayability.”
    • “Amazing immersive and unique story, a total blast from start to finish, with an endless amount of replay value.”
  • music
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally of good quality and contributes to a relaxing atmosphere, though it is not always essential to the experience. Players appreciate its calming effect and presence when included.

    • “~ music ~”
    • “Sound and music are not necessary but are often present and of good quality.”
    • “No music.”
    • “I relaxed for 5 minutes to this music long enough to realize that I was going to be okay.”
  • character development
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    User opinions on character development are mixed, with some praising it as amazing and well-crafted, while others feel it is lacking and needs significant improvement, especially alongside the story and plot.

    • “Love the story of this game and absolutely amazing character development.”
    • “I didn’t lose the silicon lottery — I gained character development.”
    • “Beautiful, but story and character development need lots of work.”
    • “Lack of character development, story, and plot but wonderful visuals.”
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13h Median play time
17h Average play time
5-19h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 10 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

3DMark is a shooter game.

3DMark is available on PC, Mac OS and Windows.

On average players spend around 17 hours playing 3DMark.

3DMark was released on February 4, 2013.

3DMark was developed by UL Solutions.

3DMark has received very positive reviews from players. Most players liked 3DMark for its optimization but disliked it for its stability.

3DMark is a multiplayer game.

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