News archive


March-April 2004

[30.04.2004]Central Brain Identifier 7.0.0.2 Beta Build 0430 is available for download! This version is capable to detect current power management state of the processor and provides separate tuning for Halt Disconnect and Stop Grant Disconnect divisors.
[29.04.2004]FreshDiagnose 6.60 has been released! What's new: Protected Files module that contains information about the files currently protected by your system.

BenchmarkHQ goes pocket and portable! Our news section is now available on handheld PCs. Just go to http://pda.benchmarkhq.ru and get the latest news on your PDA wherever you are!

HWiNFO32 1.42 has been released! New in this version: recognition of AMD Paris, detection of ATI RV370, RV380, RV380GL, RS400, RS400M, RADEON X800 (R420), R420GL, R423, R423GL, M28, M28GL, ATI Mobility FireGL T2, nVIDIA GeForce 6800 (Ultra), GeForce PCX 5750, 5900, 5300, 4300, Quadro PCI-E, Quadro FX 700 and 1300, minor improvements, bugfixes.

[28.04.2004]RightMark Memory Analyzer 3.1 has been released! New in this version: Memory Walk moved from D-Cache Latency into separate test, Variable Stride Size support in I-Cache Latency test, new I-ROB (Instructions reorder buffer) test, new RAM Performance tests, Checksum and Substring Search, support for more CPUs in the CpuInfo module, new CPU Database Entries (Pentium M/Celeron M, Pentium 4-M, Athlon XP Barton), etc.

BenchmarkHQ introduces two new sections: Palm and Pocket PC! Now it is easy to comprehensively test the performance of your handheld PC!

It's time to change our poll! Here are the results of the last poll. The question was:
What type of PDA do you have?
  1. Palm - 44.25%
  2. Pocket PC - 40.8%
  3. Other - 14.94%
You can always find these results at their permanent address.
This time, please, tell: Will you upgrade to a 64-bit platform?

DVDInfoPro 2.44 has been released! It has a few bugfixes.

[27.04.2004]Bench'emAll! 2.571 beta is available for download!
[26.04.2004]OPN64 v0.1.95-Exp has been released! OPN64 is much like the existing program, OPN-462. It carries on tradition of being able to decipher the OPN codes into a form that is easier to understand! However, OPN64 now sports a mostly rewritten code base and support for Athlon 64, Athlon 64 FX and Opteron processors and all existing Socket 462 processors!
New in this version: suport for the following new processors: Athlon 64 2800+(512KB/1024KB), 3000+(512KB/1024KB), 3200+, 3400+, 3700+ series, Athlon 64 FX 51, 53, 55 series, Opteron 1/2/4/8-Way versions of x40, x42, x44, x46, x48, x50 series, Athlon XP (Thorton) 2000+; major code optimisations, etc.
Source: Warp2Search.net
HD Tach 3.0 beta has been released! HD Tach 3.0 is a complete line by line rewrite. Here's the list of new features and improvements:
  • Support for Windows 2000 and Windows XP only.
  • Built in drive database so you can compare benchmarked drives and save your benchmarks into the database.
  • Internet support to download benchmark library updates and upload your benchmark results to the online database.
  • More accurate benchmarks.
  • ... and more!
In order to download the beta version you have to register (free)!

[25.04.2004]ASTRA32 0.94 beta is available for download! New features include: detection of monitor, detection of video memory size, detection of network card MAC and IP address, detection of SCSI devices temperature, reading of SPD information on Intel 6300ESB hub, bugfixes.

CrystalMark 2004 (0.9.98.166) has been released!

[24.04.2004]CD/DVD Diagnostic 2.1.3 build 57 is available for download!

Alchemy Eye 5.9 has been released! This version has a few minor improvements and bugfixes.

[23.04.2004]CrystalCPUID 3.5.3.166 is available for download!

NEW: RightMark Spy (Gotcha!) will help your monitor CPU frequency, CPU load in %%, Free memory available and PCI overclock (via HPC clock shift)!

Central Brain Identifier 7.0.0.1 Beta Build 0423 is available for download!
Futuremark Logo [22.04.2004]Futuremark Corporation has revealed some information about the next version of 3DMark! First of all, the Next 3DMark will require a fully DirectX 9 compliant graphics card capable of at least PixelShader 2.0. Though 3DMark03 already introduced DX9 shaders, and used them to a certain extent, the Next 3DMark will take the use of shaders to a totally new level.
The second bit of info is that the Next 3DMark will use a new 3D-engine which dynamically builds HLSL shaders. The HLSL shaders are dynamically built and runtime compiled using the most optimal compilation target for the installed hardware. Of course, all compilations produce the same rendering. This is an engine structure that future games will be using. Dynamic shader generation is an efficient way to build large 3D worlds with a wide variety of different materials. Runtime compilation, to a target selected for the installed hardware, is a generic technique to produce the most optimal shaders for all hardware.

Another piece of news from Futuremark is the screenshot from their upcoming smartphone benchmark. This is the level of real-time 3D rendering you can expect from the future smartphones with hardware accelerated graphics.
The benchmark will be released sometime in Q2 2004. The requirements for this benchmark to run are: a mobile phone with Symbian OS 6 or 7, and either Series60 or UIQ.

[21.04.2004]DVDInfoPro 2.42 has been released! It has some minor improvements and bugfixes.

[20.04.2004]Central Brain Identifier 7.0.0.0 Beta Build 0420 is available for download! This version has a new feature, which lets you enable and disable the Cool'n'Quiet technology of AMD64 processors.
PassMark PerformanceTest 5.0 build 1013 is available for download! This build fixes a few bugs.

PassMark BurnInTest 4.0 build 1012 has been released! Here's what's new: reporting of Intel CPU Level 3 cache size, bugfixes.

[19.04.2004]Lavalys Consulting Group, today officially announced that it has appointed effective January 1, 2004 former AIDA32 project leader, Tamas Miklos to its executive management team. In his new role of CTO and Executive Vice President of Engineering Research and Development, Tamas will head up R&D for Lavalys including the development of its flagship EVEREST, a breakthrough technology that enables the cost-effective delivery of network audit and change management. Read on...

GCPUID 1.9.0011 is available for download!

[18.04.2004]DriveSitter 1.2.0.1 has been released! This version fixes some bugs.

T4U-Toaster 2.2 has been released! This version includes a few bugfixes and displays the maximum CPU temperature.

ChipInfo 1.0 has been released! The program displays comprehensive information about the chipset, CPU, PCI bus, USB, etc.

[17.04.2004]Central Brain Identifier 7.0.0.0 Beta Build 0417 is available for download! This version has a new tab available on AMD64 systems, which shows some hidden information about northbridge, DRAM controller, Hyper-Transport link and memory timings.
A new version of PCIDEVS.TXT file is available for download! PCIDEVS.TXT is a PCI device database used in many different programs, such as PCI, PCI32, AltiPCI, etc.
[16.04.2004]NEW: BurnIn64 is a burn-in tool designed for AMD64 architecture to test the major components of computer under Windows For 64-bit Extended Systems(x86-64 platform) environment!

[15.04.2004]NEW: HDD Thermometer is a hard disk temperature monitoring tool that has all the features needed to prevent overheating and possible data loss!

[14.04.2004]Bench'emAll! 2.57 has been released! New features include: demo file import feature for "Far Cry", ability to use custom cfg file for "Far Cry", bugfixes.

BIOS Agent 3.30 has been released!

[13.04.2004]Intel has released the Chipset Identification Utility 2.88, which allows to identify the specific Intel chipset that is located on your motherboard.
Source: Warp2Search.net
Bench'emAll! 2.56 beta is available for download! This version includes: demo file import feature for "Far Cry", bugfixes.
MEMORyAL 4.0.4 has been released!

[12.04.2004]CPUCooL 7.2.12 has been released! This version supports the latest Intel processors.

Nero InfoTool 2.21 has been released! New in this version: DVD+R Double Layer support, improved DVD support (manufacturer ID, supported write speeds), improved serial number detection, small improvements and bugfixes.

Nero CD-DVD Speed 2.20 has been released! New features include: improved Burst Rate test, improved DVD+R DL support, small improvements and bugfixes.

[11.04.2004]FreeMeter 2.8.0 has been released! This version has some minor improvements and bugfixes.

CPU-Z 1.22 has been released! New in this version: support for Xeon Nocona and Celeron D (Prescott) processors, DDR2 memory SPD support, bugfixes.

[10.04.2004]VeriTest has released an update for Multimedia Content Creation Winstone 2004, which allows you to take advantage of multi-processor or hyperthreaded systems. This update lets users control the number of threads enabled during the LightWave portion of the test script. The update does not affect scores, so you can compare results between Version 1.0 and Version 1.0.1 of Multimedia Content Creation Winstone 2004.

[09.04.2004]Central Brain Identifier 7.0.0.0 Beta Build 0407 is available for download! This version has some minor improvements and bugfixes.
[08.04.2004]Bench'emAll! 2.56 has been released! New features include: now all resolutions are accessible in the trial version, support for the full version of "Far Cry", minor fixes and updates.

Drive Fitness Test 3.62 has been released! Changes include: support for Adaptec U320 controller, general improvements.

[07.04.2004]GCPUID 1.9.0001 is available for download!

ASUS has released PC Probe 2.22.06!
HMonitor 4.1.4.1 has been released! Here's what's new: bus frequency display for AMD Athlon64 & Opteron, VIA 8237 southbridge support, support for Fujitsu-Siemens sensors chips ("Poseidon","Scylla","Hermes"), bugfixes, etc.

[06.04.2004]PassMark ModemTest 1.3 Build 1006 is out! It has some minor bugfixes.

CD/DVD Diagnostic 2.1.3 build 54 is available for download!

[05.04.2004]WCPUID 3.30 has been released! It has a wealth of new features and improvements, including: support for the latest processors (including AMD Athlon 64 / Athlon 64 FX / Opteron, Intel Pentium M, etc.), support for the latest chipsets, online update feature, and more! Be sure to download WCPUID 3.30!

RightMark Memory Analyzer 3.0 has been released! New in this version: CPU/Cache/TLB Info tab, CPU Database functionality, "RAM Performance" tests (STREAM-copy/scale/add/triad), "RAM Stability" test (continuous memory load), minor improvements, etc.

PassMark ModemTest 1.3 Build 1005 is available for download! This release fixes some bugs.

[04.04.2004]RAMspeed 2.0 has been released! It has some internal changes, completely rewritten code, etc.

[03.04.2004]Advanced HostMonitor 4.42 has been released! It has a few improvements and bugfixes. Visit the official page for details.

Happy Birthday! [02.04.2004]Today is our birthday! BenchmarkHQ turns five! Right now we are preparing surprises for you to celebrate the occasion. Be sure to visit us often!
Congratulations are accepted here and here! :-)) Stay with BenchmarkHQ!

Network Activity Diagram 2.0.223 beta 1 has been released! This version has a wealth of new features and improvements, including: Wi-Fi Signal Strength Indication diagram type, "Exclude the local subnet traffic" filtering option, ability to send email notifications using password-protected SMTP servers, etc.

[01.04.2004]Several software developers are about to release new industry standard benchmarks in addition to Whetstone, Drhystone, and the like (see our glossary for more information). Some of the suggested benchmarks are as follows:
  • Flhintstone - experimental animation benchmark
  • RhollingStone - for sound cards
  • Thunderstone - measures floating-point speed by simulation of falling meteors
More information is available here.

Crystal Dew World has released:
[31.03.2004]Warp2Search.net is back online! Be sure to visit it!

Central Brain Identifier 7.0.0.0 Beta Build 0330 is available for download! New in this release: full support for AMD64 processors, multiplier/VCore change feature and P-Rating calculation for AMD64 processors.
CPUSpy 1.03 has been released! This release includes a new OS tab (it contains some interesting facts from the history of Microsoft Windows), minor improvements and bugfixes.

[30.03.2004]HWiNFO 4.93 has been released! New features include: enhanced support for VIA PT880 chipset, support for several new S3/VIA AlphaChrome and DeltaChrome video chips, support for AMD-8111 SMBus, preliminary recognition of Intel 915Gx/P, 925X and ICH6, Intel 6300ESB SMBus support, recognition of nVidia nForce3 250, etc.

[29.03.2004]PassMark DiskCheckup 1.1 is available for download!

PassMark PerformanceTest 5.0 build 1011 is available for download! This build fixes a few bugs.

CPUCooL 7.2.11 has been released! New in this version: PLL's added, minor improvements and bugfixes.

[28.03.2004]Michal Tulacek, the author of GoldMemory, has released a bootable CD-ROM ISO image for GoldMemory 5.07!
BAPCo has released a patch for SYSmark 2004! The SYSmark 2004 Patch-1 addresses the following: errors seen with Photoshop, 3ds max, Premiere, Word, Acrobat, Dreamweaver and VirusScan scripts, checking for minimum screen resolution and presence of sound card, etc.
[27.03.2004]Alchemy Eye 5.8 has been released! This version has a few improvements and a new feature: now the program shows response time chart for each server in the bottom frame of the main window.

WebServer Stress Tool 6.20 has been released! It has a couple of minor improvements and bugfixes.

[26.03.2004]HWiNFO32 1.41 has been released! New in this version: enhanced support for SATA, detection of 64-bit extensions for Intel IA-32e technology, recognition of AMD Opteron HE and EE processors, report of current ATA drive temperature if supported (requires S.M.A.R.T.), Intel 6300ESB SMBus support, recognition of nVidia nForce3 250, bugfixes, etc.

PassMark BurnInTest 4.0 build 1010 has been released! It has some minor improvements and bugfixes.

Drive Fitness Test 3.61 is available for download! Changes include: support for Travelstar Enhanced Availability models, support for Microdrive 3K4 as a generic Hard Disk Drive, sequential verify with 65K blocks for ATA 48-bit HDDs, bugfixes.

[25.03.2004]NEW: EVEREST Home Edition is a freeware system information, system diagnostics and benchmarking utility!
Source: QuickBench

FRAPS 2.1.0 has been released! The program now supports AMD Athlon 64/FX processors! Benchmarking and screen capture features are operating for 64-bit DirectX 9 and OpenGL applications. There have been numerous improvements to the video capture engine with much smoother movies for high-end machines. Direct X 9 capture speeds have also improved. Timed benchmarks are a new feature (automatically stops the benchmark after a fixed time period). There's also the ability to output detailed statistics for each run directly to CSV files.

[24.03.2004]Tamas Miklos, the author of AIDA32, has decided to discontinue the development of the project. The reasons for this decision remain unclear. Some information on this is available here.

FCPUID 1.00 has been released! Here's what's new: support for Intel P4 Prescott, Pentium M (Banias), AMD Athlon XP Barton, Athlon 64, Athlon 64 FX and Opteron, VIA C3 Nehemiah, extended CPU information, etc.

[23.03.2004]Central Brain Identifier 6.1.1.0 build 0323 Final has been released! Today the program celebrates its first birthday: Central Brain Identifier 1.00 was released on March 23, 2003!

HDD Temperature 1.3 beta (Build 166) RC1 has been released! It has some minor improvements and bugfixes.

[22.03.2004]CDCheck 3.1.0.12b is available for download! This release has some minor improvements and a couple of bugfixes.

Filemon 6.1 has been released! The utility is now available for Windows XP and Server 2003 64-bit Edition for AMD64 and IA64.

CPUSpy 1.03 Beta is available for download! This release includes a new OS tab (it contains some interesting facts from the history of Microsoft Windows), minor improvements and bugfixes.
[21.03.2004]Futuremark Corporation will be demoing their forthcoming Symbian smartphone benchmark at the Game Developers Conference 2004 in San Jose, California. Click here to learn more.

[20.03.2004]CD/DVD Diagnostic 2.1.3 build 53 has been released!

[19.03.2004]Memtest86 3.1a has been released! It has some minor improvements.

Central Brain Identifier 6.1.0.5 Beta Build 0319 is available for download! New in this release: VCore change function for mobile Athlon XP and Duron processors, the multiplier range from 18.0 to 24.0 is enabled.
Maxtor Corporation has released Powermax 4.09!

[18.03.2004]Central Brain Identifier 6.1.0.4 Beta Build 0318A is available for download! It has a few bugfixes.
[17.03.2004]NEW: UMark is a Windows graphical interface that allows to easily configure and run benchmarks on Unreal Tournament 2004!
Source: Warp2Search.net

Advanced HostMonitor 4.40 has been released! This version has a wealth of new features and improvements, including: new tools (Connection Manager and Password Generator), a couple of new test methods, etc. Visit the official page for details.

Central Brain Identifier 6.1.0.4 Beta Build 0317 is available for download! Here's what's new: Clock Ratio change function for mobile Duron and Athlon XP processors, some minor improvements and bugfixes.
Crystal Dew World has released:
[16.03.2004]NEW: SCSIMax is a diagnostic utility for all Maxtor/Quantum SCSI hard disk drives supporting Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T)!

HD_Speed 1.4.0.43 is available for download!

[15.03.2004]NEW: CoDBench is a program that will automate much of the Call Of Duty benchmarking process!

HD_Speed 1.4.0.42 has been released!

[14.03.2004]MemTest 2.5 has been released!

[13.03.2004]Crystal Dew World has released:
[12.03.2004]NEW: GCPUID is a CPU identification utility, which shows common information about you CPU, cache and memory!

[11.03.2004]NEW: DriveSitter is a full-featured HDD analyzation, health diagnostic and background monitoring tool for IDE hard disk drives based upon modern S.M.A.R.T. technology!

[10.03.2004]Bench'emAll! 2.55 Final has been released!

CPU RightMark 2003 beta 5 has been released! This version includes support for SSE3 (Prescott New Instructions) as well as a few bugfixes.

VeriTest has released a couple of bugfix updates for Business Winstone 2004 and Business Winstone 2004 BatteryMark!

CPU Identification 1.51 has been released!

[09.03.2004]SMBIOSW 3.10 has been released!

Crystal Dew World has released:
[08.03.2004]CD/DVD Diagnostic 2.1.3 build 51 has been released!

[07.03.2004]CPUInfo 2.1.2 is available for download! New in this version: support for Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition and AMD Duron "Applebred" processors, additional values for core clock and FSB, bugfixes.

Crystal Dew World has released:
DOOM 3 [06.03.2004]According to Warp2Search.net, there is a rumour "that nVidia as part of their Deal with id Software should have a DOOM 3 benchmark utility ready to download on their website a couple of weeks before id Software releases DOOM 3 to see if your current system can handle the presssure"!

Bench'emAll! 2.55 beta is available for download! This version supports Unreal Tournament 2004 DEMO.
PC Wizard 2004 1.61 has been released! New features include: Extended CPUID information, Thermal Core Power indication, Multi-NorthBridge support, support for Winbond W83L785TS, PDF report file format, bugfixes, etc.

[05.03.2004]Memtest86 3.1 has been released! New features include: processor detection for newer AMD processors, new "Bit Fade" extended test, bugfixes.

HMonitor 4.1.3.5 has been released! Here's what's new: CPU temperature monitoring is supported for several additional notebook types, HDD temperatures are added to the logs, support for Philips NE1619, NS LM63 and LM64 sensor chips.

[04.03.2004]PC Surgeon 3.71 has been released! It has a few bugfixes.

OPN-462 v0.8.35-Exp has been released! OPN-462 is an intelligent program designed specifically to translate the three codes found on, or around the core of all Socket-A, AMD CPU's. New in this version: experimental Athlon XP-M 2400+ & 2500+ support, major code optimisations, etc.
Source: Warp2Search.net
[03.03.2004]Futuremark Corporation has discontinued PCMark 2002. That means that there will no longer be any support available for the benchmark, nor will there be any updates for it. The PCMark2002 ORB functionalities will continue to work for a period of time, but will eventually be disabled. The company recommends to download PCMark04 for more up-to-date full system benchmarking.

[02.03.2004]Crystal Dew World has released:
[01.03.2004]AIDA32 Preview version 3.93.5 is available for download! New in this release: motherboard specific sensor info for Acorp 4PM266 Series, ASRock P4i45PE Series, Asus WMT-LX, ECS N2U400 Series, Epox 4B2A/4B2M Series, Gigabyte 8SQ800 Series, Gigabyte 8SR533P and MSI Mega 651, chipset information for Intel Canterwood-ES E7210, SMBus support for Intel Hance Rapids 6300ESB, detection of nVIDIA GeForce FX 5500, GeForce FX 5700LE and 5700VE video chips, bugfixes, etc.
Central Brain Identifier 6.1.0.2 Beta Build 0228 is available for download! Here's what's new: CPU/MB Temperature monitoring via supported Winbond I/O chips, some minor improvements and bugfixes.
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