FutureMark preps PCMark Vantage

FUTUREMARK IS NEARING completion of its next-gen benchmarketing software, the new version of PCMark.

This time, the guys have built in specific technology that will track changes that Microsoft is making to its OS, and you will see how the latest update improved or slowed up system performance.

PCMark08 is now called PCMark Vantage. The system requirements for the new test are an SSE2 capable processor, clocked at 3.0GHz (if the name is Pentium 4) or a 3000+ model by AMD. Multi-core processors are reccomended, especially since the benchmark supports not just current Intel V8 or upcoming Skulltrail, but also future octa-core processors in multi-socket surrounding.

Your graphics card has to be compliant with Shader Model 2.0, but in order to have an interesting GPGPU test (image manipulation), you have to own 3.0 (DX9.0c) compliant hardware. 256MB of video memory is required.

Test will eat 1.7GB of hard disk space, and you have to run it using NTFS file system. FAT32 has seen the last of its days, while 1GB of system memory is minimum for running the thing.

Software requirements are Windows MeII in any form (from Home Basic to Ultimate and Business), Windows Media Player 11, IE7 and of course, all the latest updates (DirectX one is mandatory).

We expect that this benchmark will hit the market real soon, since the specs for the benchmark were given to paper magazines, for their November issues (released during Oct, of course). µ