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[30.12.2001]Active SMART has been updated to version 2.12! New in this version: added new feature - you can save disk S.M.A.R.T. status as a text file, added information for 14 new S.M.A.R.T. attributes, and a few bugfixes.
[29.12.2001]Resource Patrol 2.00 AV build 12.28 Final has been released! It's a final, stable release.
PCI - the PCI System information & Exploration tool has been added!
[28.12.2001]Another multifunctional program, called CPUCool, has been added!
[27.12.2001]TestVideoRAM has been updated to version 0.5! It has some minor improvements.
[26.12.2001]OpusWare.NET, the creator of Hot CPU Tester, is now looking for beta testers! This fact gives us hope that we can expect a new version of Hot CPU Tester or the company's new product - Hot Video Tester, in the near future! If you wish to participate in the beta program, visit OpusWare.NET for more details.
[25.12.2001]Nero InfoTool, the latest member of the Nero Toolkit, has been added! Nero Toolkit contains such programs like CD Speed and DVD Speed, so this new utility worth a look!
[24.12.2001]MEMORyAL, another memory monitoring program, has been added!
[23.12.2001]FreshDiagnose 2.50 has been released! New in this version: OLE Objects module added, some bugfixes and improvements.
[22.12.2001]AIDA32 1.0 FINAL has been released! It has a few improvements and bugfixes comparing to the previous version, but the most notable thing is that it is a final release! I would recommend it to everyone!
AIDA for DOS has been updated also! Version 1.53 contains a few improvements.
[21.12.2001]TaskInfo 2002 4.0.0.33 has been released! This version has a lots of new features and bugfixes, and an improved support for Windows XP. To learn more, you can visit the author's website.
CDCheck has been updated to version 3.0.0.20b! It contains more bugfixes.
[20.12.2001]SpeedFan 4.02 has been released! It has a wealth of new hardware supported, bugfixes, a few new command line parameters, S.M.A.R.T. temperatures are now read every minute, and more! Besides, you can now look at the full list of hardware (motherboards, HDDs, sensor chips and chipsets) supported by SpeedFan!
Dacris Benchmarks 4.9 Beta has been released! As I already wrote, among the main goals for this release: improve overall stability and prevent and deal with arbitrary crashes, fix bugs that were reported since version 4.1, make the user interface more compatible with different versions of Windows and different Windows settings, remove the skin interface, multiple languages support, etc. Final release is expected on February 1, 2002!
[19.12.2001]More bugs have been found in the latest version of Sandra 2001. Among them:
- Intel P4 Northwood Issue: Sandra does not detect the multiplier for this chip - assumes 16x only. Thus all speeds (FSB, AGP, PCI, etc.) will be wrong.
- Intel i845D (aka DDR) Issue: Sandra does not currently support this chip.
- AMD SMP Dhrystone Issue: Due to a failed workaround, the Dhrystone test (and only it) still does not scale to +100% in this version, but only to +40% on SMP AthlonMP/DuronMP systems. Latest information points to a compiler issue. Intel systems are not affected.
[18.12.2001]A free add-on for HMonitor, which will display a detailed information on your CPU and RAM, has been released!
[17.12.2001]Resource Patrol 2.00 RC2 build 12.14 has been released! Here are some of its new features: detection of TSRs and processes and some information on them, partial support for Windows XP, bugfixes, etc.
CDCheck has been updated to version 3.0.0.19b! It includes more bugfixes and some minor improvements.
[16.12.2001]CPU-Z 1.11 has been released! This version supports Pentium 4 Northwood and RDRAM timings for i850 chipset.
[15.12.2001]SynthMARK 2002 has been updated to version 0.9.9.9a! It has some bugfixes.
WebStress has been updated to version 5.1! New in this version: SSL Support, context menu (right click) for all graphs to print and copy the graphs, additional line "transferred data" in the chart "open requests&transferred data", several minor enhancements and bugfixes.
[14.12.2001]CDCheck 3.0.0.18b is out! This version has a few bugfixes.
[13.12.2001]HMonitor has been updated to version 4.0.3.3! It has some bugfixes and support for Asustek A7V266-E (VIA KT266/AS99127F).
[12.12.2001]The pre-release version of SynthMARK 2002 is available for download! There are quite a few more features to be implemented very early next year, the basic benchmarking and interface work is done and almost all the promised features are also available! The most notable ones are: 8 Different Benchmarks, all new, clean looking interface and ergonomics design, ATM (Advanced task manager) for process optimization, improved benchmark accuracy, and more! Check it out!
[11.12.2001]It's time to change our poll! Here are the results of the current poll:
What do you want to see on BenchmarkHQ?
- More apps - 63.4%
- More reviews - 17.1%
- Everything's OK - 9.2%
- More news - 7.8%
- New sections - 2.3%
And here's the new question: which type of RAM is installed in your system? Please, vote!
CDCheck 3.0.0.17 is available for download! This is a release candidate 1, last stage before release. It is meant for eliminating any remaining bugs.
[10.12.2001]Super System Information 2.0.7 has been released! This version is more stable, it can save a report to a text of HTML-file, Processes and Task Manager has been improved, and there's also a few minor improvements and bugfixes.
[09.12.2001]SynthMARK 2002 release is expected within the next few days! I already wrote about its new features, but there may be even more new tests! Stay tuned for more news on the above release. And now you can look at the new exclusive screenshot!
[08.12.2001]HDD Temperature 1.0 Final has been released!
System Analyser 5.2n is out! Among its new features: Pentium 4 Northwood and Northwood Xeon support, MAC address of Network card(s) if Netbios is present, support for Nvidia NV20BR GeForce3 Ti 500, Nvidia NV20GL Quadro DCC, NV2A GeForce 3 Integrated (XBOX), ATI Radeon 8500 DV, ATI Radeon 8500, ATI Radeon 7500, ATI Radeon 7200, ATI Radeon 7000, Creative EMU10K2, SB0090 Audigy Player, Ultra133 TX2 IDE Controller, and more!
HARDiNFO 2002 Professional has been released! Here's what's new in this release: support for AMD Athlon XP processors, DirectX 8.1, detection of (IEEE 1394) FireWire controllers, Processor ID / Serial Number, System/Motherboard Slots, System Resources Information (DMA & IRQ), Detection of SCSI Controllers, many bugfixes and other improvements! You can find the detailed list here.
[07.12.2001]HMonitor has been updated to version 4.0.3.2! New in this version: Intel 802801CA/CAM support, ALI M5879 sensor chip support, Intel CPUs clock divisor calculation corrected, and more! Read the full list here.
[06.12.2001]A big update today! BenchmarkHQ is extending the range of programs it covers. With the new section, called Monitoring, you will be able to download the latest and the greatest versions of the programs meant for system monitoring! Check it out and tell what you think!
ASTRA 4.01 has been released! New in this version: added detection of Intel Celeron (Tualatin) processor, detection of new processors feature - Hyper-Threading Technology, reading of SPD information on south bridges VIA VT8233C and VT8235, Phoenix BIOS for SANYO and Phoenix for NEC support, added 114 vendors of PCI devices and 113 models to the program's database, detection of LPT/PnP devices (printers, scanners), detection of 11 monitor models and 7 PnP devices, bugfixes, and more!
[05.12.2001]CDCheck 3.0.0.16 is available for download! This is a beta release, it has some bugfixes, added recovery of files, support for long paths, and more!
New versions of both AIDA and AIDA32 have been released! AIDA 1.52 includes the following new features: support for Creative EMU10K2 Audigy sound chip, Avance Logic ALS007, ALS200 sound cards, SiS AC'97 integrated audio device, and the latest CPUs.
AIDA32 0.80 includes: CD/DVD drives list, DirectX files list, regional information, finalized user interface, full Windows XP support, language modules support, automated report generation, opened files list, and more!
[04.12.2001]DocMemory 2.0 has been released! This new and improved version fully supports Windows 9x/Me/NT/2000/XP! This means that the installation program will run under these operating systems, while DocMemory itself is still independent on any OS.
[03.12.2001]CD-R Diagnostic has been updated to version 1.7.1! Obviously, it has some bugfixes. More detailed information on new features is unavailable at the moment.
[02.12.2001]Dr. Hardware 2002 has been released! It has a wealth of new features and improvements. Here are just a few of them (most notable): official support for Windows XP, detects new Pentium-III, Celeron and Duron CPU types, Athlon MP/Athlon 4 Mobile, Athlon XP, Pentium 4 Xeon, VIA CX3 Samuel 2, new page "Multimedia Devices", detailed information for Intel 845 chipset, BIOS viewer, core steppings for new Intel CPUs, detects new SiS chipsets, CPU benchmark: new reference models added (P4 1.8GHz, Athlon XP), bugfixes, and a whole lot more! The full list of new features is available here.
[01.12.2001]Benchmark Insider suggests using specific settings for Business Winstone BatteryMark. These settings can affect your scores - perhaps fatally if they're wrong. Read the full story.
[30.11.2001]SiSoftware has clarified its position regarding the lack of updates of the free version of Sandra 2001 Standard. According to their website, there are, generally, two reasons for that: paying customers are generally using newer hardware that was not supported in the last 2001te version, besides the current economic situation changes the rules a bit.
Meanwhile, another bug was found in the latest version of Sandra 2001b: if you have a large (>=2GB) Memory/Swap File, Sandra will show incorrect information.
[29.11.2001]CD Speed 0.85 has been released! Here are some of its new features: added ScanDisc function, Overburning Test, added Z-CLV reading mode detection, DAE Quality Test disc creation, other small improvements and bug fixes. More information is available here.
[28.11.2001]FreshDiagnose 2.00 is out! What's new in this version: new System Report with Predefined or Custom Style, reported bugs fixed.
[27.11.2001]Stability Drone Alpha 3 has been released! It has some minor improvements and the redesigned titlebar.
[26.11.2001]Lately released SiSoft Sandra 2001b (2001.11.8.53) Professional also has some bugs and problems. Luckily quite a few so far. One bug may appear under Windows 98/Me with nVidia TNT/2/GeForce/2/3 & XP Drivers: if module "Video Info" crashes/corrupts screen, etc., right-click it, select Options and uncheck "include VESA BIOS info...". And another important thing is that nVidia (nForce) and Reliance/ServerWorks chipsets are unsupported at the moment!
[25.11.2001]AIDA32 0.80 release is expected in the near future! It will deliver more new features, like NetReport, FAQ and improved GUI, etc.
[24.11.2001]Stability Drone, a complete core system stability tester and benchmark tool, has been added! I already mentioned this program a while back in the news. And now, here it is. But, please, note this is just the alpha-version with limited functionality! Stay tuned for more Stability Drone updates.
[23.11.2001]MadOnion.com has announced the launch of the Performance Analyzer service integrated with a real-time online configurator driven by real data. At the site of WOLOP Computers, PC game enthusiasts can experiment with system configurations and see what kind of performance they can expect with each modification and how their systems compare with these modifications.
[22.11.2001]According to AMD Japan, N-Bench 2.0 has been released! Unfortunately, at the moment, it is distributed only with AMD Athlon XP Processors in Japan. So, stay tuned for more news.
[21.11.2001]WebStress has been updated to version 5.03! This is a minor release with several bugfixes. The detailed list is available here.
[20.11.2001]Super System Information 1.2.4 - another sysinfo tool with some additional features has been added!
[19.11.2001]Michal Tulacek has posted up a screenshot of GoldMemory 6.xx! Click here to have a look. As for the release date of GoldMemory itself, it is unknown at the moment.
MVsoft PC Information has been updated to version 1.31! Here are some of its new features: added new Processes page to show running processes, applications and NT services, now you can save the XML reports, added new fields to show system last boot, uptime and installation date, added resolution and color mode to video card data, and more! The full list is available here.
[18.11.2001]SiSoft Sandra 2001b (2001.11.8.53) Professional has been released! This update fixes various issues with detection. Besides, among its new features there are: support for AMD Athlon 4/XP/MP, Intel i830, i845, PIII-S/M, VIA Cyrix III/C3, KT266/A, Pro266, P4X266, P4M266, SiS 645/961, MSMQ report delivery support, report encryption (128-bit & higher) support, FTLD (faster-than-light detection), Preliminary SMT (Hyper-Threading) support, and more. As always, Professional version users can update their copies using the WebUpdate Wizard module within Sandra herself.
[17.11.2001]As I already mentioned, SynthMARK 2002 release is expected by the 12 December 2001! And here's a final list of its new features: Hardware or Software Orientated Benchmarks for CPU/FPU/Graphics, SSE, 3DNow through optimized Direct3D access, Direct3D benchmarks are customizable, Advanced FPU optimizations, vastly improved intensive benchmarks, Direct3D Benchmark is much more stressfull, full system infomation, and important system infomation down the side of the main window.
[16.11.2001]Dacris Software has reported that the beta program for Dacris Benchmarks 4.9 will start December 21. If you wish to participate in the beta program, you can send an e-mail at contact@dacris.com. All beta testers that submit at least one valid bug will receive a free copy of Dacris Benchmarks when it becomes final.
[15.11.2001]CDCheck 3.0.0.15 is available for download!
MadOnion.com has posted up a continuation of The Making of 3DMark2001 Part 3: Making the sound effects!
[14.11.2001]NetInfo 4.2 has been released! It includes a completely rewritten, vastly improved Scanner tool. It is multithreaded, incredibly flexible, and fast. The Scanner tool lets you scan a Class C network in just seconds!
[13.11.2001]CDCheck 3.0.0.14 is out! It has some minor improvements and bugfixes.
RightMark Audio Analyzer 3.1 is available for download! Some minor bugs were fixed, including: problem with unnecessary imd.bmp file in pics folder was fixed, version number in tests.dll was added, version number in HTML report was corrected, manual.pdf will be shown from the help button also with long name of RMAA folder, LF hump in pics on some cards was corrected. Also new test results of the professional sound card Echo Audio Mia were added.
[12.11.2001]SynthMARK 2002 release is expected by the 12 December 2001! Among its new features (except already mentioned): 16mb Direct3D HAL, much better benchmark technical infomation, integrated (form design) help, support for 3DNow!, SSE and SSE2, built in comparison systems, and more!
[11.11.2001]SMARTUDM has been updated to version 1.31 to fix a bug, which showed up on CPUs faster than 1200MHz!
[10.11.2001]Dacris Software has announced Dacris Benchmarks 4.9 (previously known as Service Pack 1)! The program is currently being rebuilt from scratch, using none of the old code from version 4.1! Among the main goals for this release: improve overall stability and prevent and deal with arbitrary crashes, fix bugs that were reported since version 4.1, make the user interface more compatible with different versions of Windows and different Windows settings, remove the skin interface, support multiple languages, etc. You can read the FAQ to learn more about this forthcoming release!
[09.11.2001]System Speed Test 4.75 has been released! Here's what's new in it: detection of Intel Celeron (Tualatin), sophisticated DDR-SDRAM SPD info analyzing (to .txt report), SMBus support for Intel ICH2-M, VIA VT8233C, detection of original CPU clock of Intel Pentium III, added more PCI and AGP devices, bugfixes, and more!
[08.11.2001]New versions of both HWiNFO32 1.03 and HWiNFO 4.81 have been released! They have a wealth of new features and hardware, including: SiS640, 645, 650 and 750 chipsets, nVIDIA GeForce3 Ti 200 and 500, AMD Athlon XP Processor, ATI RADEON 8500 and All-in-Wonder RADEON 8500 DV, Creative Audigy sound card, Northwood core-based Intel Pentium 4, nVidia nForce 220 and 420 SDR/DDR chipsets, enhanced ATA/ATAPI-6 info, added LBA 48-bit support, and more!
[07.11.2001]Just as it was promised, eTesting Labs has released Content Creation Winstone 2002 and i-Bench 3.0! Both benchmarks feature increased workloads, new applications, and new application versions. The benchmarks no longer run on Windows NT, but fully support Windows XP. Read Benchmark Insider stories on these releases.
[06.11.2001]CDCheck 3.0.0.13 is out! It has some minor improvements and bugfixes.
iXBT.com/Digit-Life has released its new program RightMark Audio Analyzer 3.0, the old name is Sound Card Analyzer! Here are some of the new features: added IMD (intermodulation distortion) test with adjustable parameters of test signals, now you can compare 2 spectrums from different sound cards at one
spectrum window, added 24 bit 96 kHz support for testing new sound cards with professional sampling formats, updated User's Manual. However, RightMark Audio Analyzer is not just a program, it's a whole project whose main idea is to develop an independent open-source testing application to check the quality of sound paths of any audio devices (for example, analog and digital in/outs of sound cards) in the same system of measured parameters. You can learn more about the project here.[05.11.2001]Dr. Hardware 2002 is expected to be released in December! It will fully support Windows XP. Other details are unavailable now.
FreshDiagnose, an utility designed to analyze and benchmark your system, has been added!
[04.11.2001]The sequel to The Making of 3DMark2001 - Part 2 has been posted up on MadOnion.com!
[03.11.2001]Dacris Software has announced Service Pack 1 for Dacris Benchmarks 4.1! Here are some of its primary goals: improve overall stability and prevent and deal with arbitrary crashes, fix bugs that were reported since version 4.1, make the user interface more compatible with different versions of Windows and different Windows settings. The final version of this service pack is expected in mid-late December.
[02.11.2001]In the near future we can expect a new version of SynthMARK! It will have much more options and a better infomation browser with full system infomation, completely new interface and probably a T&L test. And now you can look at the following exclusive screenshots!
[01.11.2001]PassMark Software has updated ModemTest to version 1.1! Information on changes is unavailable at the moment.
[31.10.2001]CDCheck 3.0.0.12 is now available for download! It fixes more bugs and contains some minor improvements.The detailed list of changes is available here.
New versions of both AIDA and AIDA32 have been released! AIDA 1.51 includes the following new features: support for AMD Athlon 4, Athlon XP, Athlon MP, AMD Duron 4, Duron XP, Duron MP, Intel Pentium III-S, Celeron-S, ATI R200, Matrox G550, nVIDIA NV25, special tweakings for better Windows XP support, and more! You can find the full list here.
AIDA32 0.70 includes: SMART drive health information, Internet Explorer identification, Report Wizard, tree-menu interface variant, and much more. The complete list can be found here.
[30.10.2001]PassMark PerformanceTest 3.5 has been released! This is a minor release to support Windows XP, which includes the following innovations: improvement to the user interface to better match the Windows XP look and feel, identification of the XP operating system in the system information window, correct identification of video cards under XP.
Another update from PassMark Software is MonitorTest 1.1. But there's no any information on changes available.
[29.10.2001]Exclusive! The latest version of SynthMARK Beta1 is now available for download! This version has a wealth of new features and improvements, including: support for Windows2000/XP, new tests (CPU/FSB/Cache Intensive, CPU/Chipset/RAM Intensive, FPU (Double Pricision Floating Point), FPU (Integer), Idle (OS Intesive), Idle (TSR Intensive), DX8 +Lighting Effects D3D 3D Test, 2D Texture Test), Wizzard Style Interface, Better Everything! Note that this version is available for download only from BenchmarkHQ. Many thanks to Andrew Futcher, the author, for this exclusive!
[28.10.2001]It's William H. Gates bithday today!
[27.10.2001]MadOnion.com has posted up a very interesting article - The Making of 3DMark2001, or actually, why it is the way it is! Highly recommended, you'll learn some amusing facts about the best 3D benchmark at the moment.
[26.10.2001]CD-R Diagnostic 1.7.0 is out! Changes from the previous version include: support for Windows XP (Home and Pro editions), Administrator rights are not required in Windows NT/2000/XP, bugfixes, etc.
CpuIDMax Build 88 has been released! Now it shows bus, multiplier and original speed for Pentium 4.
[25.10.2001]SiSoftware has promised to release a Service Pack for Sandra 2001 shortly to fix the known bugs. Here are some of these bugs:
- Celeron (Tualatin) 1200: Due to CPU errata the Celeron identifies itself as Xeon III.
- VIA 686A/B South Bridge: Both Mainboard Info & CPU Info modules may lock up.
- VIA 686A/B Hardware Monitor: Data displayed (fans, voltages, temps) may be incorrect.
- Windows NT 4.0: Due to a bug, Sandra 001 does not work on NT4.
[24.10.2001]According to Ultimate Systems, we can expect HARDiNFO 2002 pretty soon! Unfortunately, there's no any information on changes available at the moment.
[23.10.2001]CliBench MK III SMP 0.7.15 has been released! It has another bug fixed in the dhrystone section. Now running multiple threads should scale better on different CPU plattforms. The values / results you get are for single processor systems and Intel systems about the same. Now compiled with Visual C++ 6.0.
Memtest86 2.8 is out! Enhancements in this version: re-wrote the memory and cache speed detection code, added CPU detection for Pentium 4, Eric Biederman reworked the build process making it far simpler and also to produce a network bootable ELF image, minor bug fixes. More information on this release can be found here.
[22.10.2001]CpuIDMax Build 84 has been released! It has better support for P4 and dual systems.
[21.10.2001]MadOnion.com announced that two leading US companies have integrated its Performance Analyzer to their sites. NVIDIA and VisionTek have incorporated MadOnion.com's Performance Analyzer as a branded service to their clients and site visitors. The service enables shoppers to view their system components and see how much more performance their PC can get with different products offered on partner sites. Read the full press release here.
Another news from MadOnion are as follows: the company announced the strengthening of its executive team with the appointment of Mr. Risto Vehviläinen as the new Chief Executive Officer. Read the full press release here.
[20.10.2001]CDCheck 3.0.0.11 with more bugfixes has been released!
CpuIDMax Build 83 is out! It has better support for AthlonMP and XP, etc.
Intel Processor Frequency ID Utility 3.9 has been released to support the latest Intel processors!
[19.10.2001]GLExcess XSMark 1.1a has been released! Just as it was expected, this version has the following new features: automatic VSYNC management (where possible), command line arguments added, XSscript scripting utility added, HTML documentation and FAQ's, new installer, bug fixes.
[18.10.2001]FRAPS 1.5 has been released! New in this version: Windows XP support, DirectX 8 support (both windowed and full screen applications), Min/Max framerates now recorded in manual benchmarking logs (press SCROLL LOCK to start/stop logging to FRAPSLOG.TXT), Fraps now packaged in an installer.
[17.10.2001]CDCheck 3.0.0.10 is now available for download! It has more bugfixes and some minor GUI changes.
According to Erik Deppe, CD Speed 0.85 will be released very soon! The most important change is the addition of a new test: ScanDisc, which will basically show you the quality of a disc. Detailed information on the new test and some screenshots can be found here.
[16.10.2001]CDCheck has been updated to version 3.0.0.9! It fixes some bugs.
TestVideoRAM 0.4 has been released! It has partial support for GeForce3 and some other improvements.
[15.10.2001]CPU-Z 1.10a has been released! Here's what's new in it: Celeron Tualatin support, Processor Name String (CPU tab), Intel i845 chipset support, command line support (click here for details).
[14.10.2001]Hot CPU Tester is now on sale for $14.95 (the original price is $20).
[13.10.2001]CDCheck 3.0 has been released! Information on what's new is not yet available. So, stay tuned for more news.
[12.10.2001]How much do you think should weigh a benchmark program with a good graphic? 39 Mb like 3DMark? 55 Mb as GLMark? Try to find answer yourself by downloading this 65Kb demo! And then tell us what you think!
[11.10.2001]Pretty interesting web-service, called PC Pitstop, has been added! Be sure to check it, it is truly impressive!
[10.10.2001]eTesting Labs have revealed some release dates! So, Content Creation Winstone 2002 and i-Bench 3.0 will be released on 11 November 2001. There's no information on new features available at the moment, but we can expect some major updates!
[09.10.2001]It seems that Sandra Standard will be released a bit later than we expected. Most likely it'll be released under the name of Sandra 2002! And another thing concerned with SiSoftware: the company promised to release its new product - Samantha - in Q3 2001. It is alredy Q4, but neither Samantha has been released nor the release date has been revised.
[08.10.2001]The author of HWiNFO32 continues to support HWiNFO - a version of the same program designed to be run under DOS. Direct link to its latest version 4.80 has been added!
[07.10.2001]Undoubtedly, PassMark Software can be considered as The Company of the Week! So, to learn more about the company itself, here's its brief.
PassMark Software is a privately owned software development group founded in 1998 and based in Sydney, Australia. It produces software and hardware for testing computers in a Windows environment. Since its inception PassMark has grown to have thousands of customers, including major IT heavyweights IBM, Dell and Gateway. PassMark Software is a member of the Association of shareware professionals.
[06.10.2001]System Analyser 5.2m has been released! Here are some of its new features: P4 platform: Socket 423 and Socket 478 support, Intel 82468GX (Itanium chipset) added, lots of new PCI/AGP devices, bugfixes, and so on. You can find the full list here.
[05.10.2001]HWiNFO32 1.02 has been released! Here's what's new in it: added detection of Intel Pentium III-M processor, report of Platform ID for Intel Pentium III and above CPUs, detection of VIA VT8375 P/KM266, VT8753 P4X266, P4M266, P/KN266 and P4N266 chipsets, recognition of Windows XP, ATI Radeon 7000, 7200 and 7500 cards, and more.
[04.10.2001]Another monitor test, called simply Monitor Test, has been added!
[03.10.2001]Sandra 2001 Professional owners can now update their version to 2001.10.8.39 using WebUpdate Wizard module. This latest version has a wealth of new features and improvements, including: enhanced GUI with Windows XP themes support; enhanced look and functions; enhanced wizards, report encryption, support for Intel i830, i845, PIII-S/M; VIA Cyrix III/C3, KT266, Pro266, P4X266; SMSC LPCs; AMD Athlon 4/MP, and more. Most known issues with the previous version have been resolved in this version. Sandra 2001.10.8.39 Standard is not yet available, but it should be released soon.
[02.10.2001]MadOnion.com have posted 2 new 3DMark2001 wallpapers! If you like 3DMark and want to make your desktop look better, head on to this page.
PassMark Software becomes one of the biggest software developers! I mean, by the number of its programs available at BenchmarkHQ! One more program, called PassMark SoundCheck, has been added!
[01.10.2001]And here's another quality program from PassMark Software: this time it is a monitor test, called MonitorTest!
[28.09.2001]eTesting Labs have released their first two Server Test Tools. These tools are not Ziff Davis Media benchmarks and they are provided in "as-is" condition, with minimal documentation and no support. The first tool is Email Test Tool 1.0. It uses a test bed of networked clients to generate POP3, IMAP4, and SMTP traffic to a server. The clients log performance measurements and report them back to a central controller PC.
The second tool is FTP Test Tool 1.0 that uses a test bed of networked clients to generate FTP traffic to a server. Both of the tools can be downloaded or ordered on a single CD.
[27.09.2001]We finally have some news about HDDSpeed! This program was originally developed by Michael Radchenko, who died on 20/11/2000... But now the development has passed on to Mishail Mavritsin, and now we can expect HDDSpeed 3.0 soon! This release will support large drives (8Gb+), HPA, SMART-I/II/III, it will have a wealth of new features and improvements, and more. This will be a tribute to Michael Radchenko...
[26.09.2001]ASTRA 4.00 (former Informer) has been released! It has a wealth of new features and changes starting with new name (ASTRA - acronym for Advanced Sysinfo Tool & Reporting Assistant). Among the most notable new features: added SPD memory module detection, added detection of CD-drives' read/write speeds and extended features, added detection of Intel Xeon, Intel Pentium III (Tualatin), Intel Pentium III-M, Intel i376, AMD Athlon 4, AMD Athlon MP, AMD Duron (Morgan), AMD Duron Mobile and VIA C3 processors, added context help both in English and Russian, program has become SHAREWARE, and a whole lot more. Check out the full list at the program's new site.
Intel has released Intel Processor Frequency ID Utility 3.8!
[25.09.2001]Another quality product from PassMark Software has been added! KeyboardTest is a utility intended to quickly check that all the keys on computer keyboard are functioning correctly!
[24.09.2001]There are some long-awaited news from Michal Tulacek, the creator of GoldMemory, one of the most popular memory testers. According to his website, we can expect GoldMemory 6.02 quite soon. Unfortunately, the details are presently unknown.
[23.09.2001]It seems that we can expect a totally new stability tester soon! The author of Artifact Tester reported that he's going to release his new program in the near future. It will be the ultimate tester for the entire PC stability, called Stability Drone 1.0! We have no more information at the moment, so stay tuned for more news on this.
[21.09.2001]GLExcess XSMark 1.1a should be released in a week or so! Here are the new features, expected to be in the forthcoming release: automatic VSYNC management (where possible), command line arguments added, XSscript scripting utility added, HTML documentation and FAQ's, new installer, bug fixes.
Webserver Stress Tool 5.0 has been released! This version has a wealth of new features. Here are some of them: almost a complete rewrite with completely new interface, massively enhanced multi-URLs support, download of images and framesets can be simulated, linkchecker checks all link-URLs of tested webpages, enhanced graphing features, now 6 easy to read graphs, load generation can be throttled to e.g. 10 users per second, 90% of the software has been completely rewritten, command line interface for automated testing, and more. Read the full list here.
[20.09.2001]MyCPU has been updated to version 1.13f! This version fixes some bugs concerning L1-cache and Pentium 4 names.
eTesting Labs have released the latest upgrades for Business Winstone and Content Creation Winstone, which make the benchmarks more compatible with Microsoft's Windows XP operating system and also include new features like cluster size reporting and better support for automated testing. Read the Benchmark Insider story on these upgrades.
[19.09.2001]System Speed Test 4.74 has been released! Here's what's new: added more PCI and AGP devices, SMBus support for VIA VT8235, detection of the selected DMA Transfers, Intel Platform ID for P2+ CPU's detection, new manufacturers from JEP 106-J, fixed AMD Atlon/Duron clock multiplier detection.
Dacris Software have finally released their Dacris Benchmarks 4.1! If you missed our news concerning the new features list, you can check our news archive, or look at the list here.
[18.09.2001]Intel made its Intel Processor Frequency ID Utility 3.7 unavailable for download. The reasons are unknown. The company is currently working on a newer version for release. But if you still want to immediately download this latest version, you can try to do it from the following servers: location 1, location 2, location 3.
[17.09.2001]In August 1995, the calculation of pi up to 4,294,960,000 decimal digits was succeeded by using a supercomputer at the University of Tokyo. The program was written by D.Takahashi and he collaborated with Dr. Y.Kanada at the computer center, the University of Tokyo. This record-breaking program was ported to personal computer environment under the name of Super Pi. In order to calculate 33.55 million digits, it takes within 3 days with Pentium 90MHz, 40MB main memory and 340MB available storage.
[15.09.2001]Lately I had some problems with my message server, so I couldn't read any messages. Now all problems are solved and I have received all the mail! I want to thank all of you for your feedback! Unfortunately, because of the large quantity of messages, I won't be able to reply to all of them. As for the broken links, I've already fixed them!
[14.09.2001]Well, I guess it's time to sum up the poll results. The question was as follows: which CPU will you buy next? Who's the winner (you have three guesses)? :-) Surely it is AMD Athlon (58.6%)! Second place goes to Intel Pentium 4 (it has 14.7%), Intel Celeron is the third here (8.5%). And here are the other participants: Intel Pentium III (8%), AMD Duron (8% also), "other" (1.9%).
Now, here's the next question: what do you want to see on BenchmarkHQ? Please, vote! Your opinion is very important!
[13.09.2001]Dacris Software have released the second beta version of Dacris Benchmarks 4.1!
[12.09.2001]BenchmarkHQ would like to express its sincere condolences to those who are affected by the terrorist attacks that occured yesterday in the United States. It's a tragedy of a global scale...
[11.09.2001]MemTest, another Windows-based RAM reliability tester, has been added!
[10.09.2001]WCPUID 3.0d has been released! It has a support for new CPUs and chipsets, plus CPU Microcode Patch ID information in the System Info window.
[08.09.2001]Dacris Software have released Dacris Benchmarks 4.1 Preview! You can download it or look at the screenshots from this version here. The final release is expected on September 15.
[07.09.2001]New versions of AIDA for DOS and Windows have been released! Here's what's new in them. AIDA 1.50 has a support for the new processors (AMD Duron 4 (aka Morgan), Intel Pentium III-S (aka Tualatin), Intel Pentium 4A (aka Northwood), Intel Xeon-A (aka Prestonia)), nVIDIA GeForce2 Go, nForce, Quadro DCC video chipsets, Athlon 4 P rating (Pxxxx+) detection, physical CPU info for C3, chipset information for KL133, KM133, KT133A, KT266, AMD-760, AMD-760MP, i845, lots of new PCI/AGP devices, motherboards and monitors, etc.
Now here are the new features of AIDA32: multi-processor list, PCI network adapters list, PnP network adapters list, extended system summary, DirectX identification, report compression using WinAce and/or WinRAR, and more.
[06.09.2001]There's information that lately released CliBench 0.7.14 can be unstable. There is no official confirmation of this fact, nor any fixes. But if you experience such problems you can inform the author about them.
[05.09.2001]NetInfo 4.1 (Build 905) has been released! It features a new network tool that checks if a specified e-mail address is valid. Besides, IPMonitor tool has been improved.
[04.09.2001]A bit of sad news today. Morf, the author of SysID, reported that he will not support his project any more due to a lack of time and lust. Some details are available here.
[03.09.2001]PassMark Modem Test, another quality product from a well-known PassMark Software, has been added!
[31.08.2001]Dacris Software have posted up a sceenshot of their upcoming Dacris Benchmarks 4.1! You can view it here.
[30.08.2001]System Speed Test 4.73 has been released! Here are its main additions: added more PCI and AGP devices, SMBus support for Intel ICH3, VIA VT8233, detection of VIA Cyrix III, VIA C3, Intel Pentium III-M and AMD Athlon 4 clock multiplier, HDD write test (/WT switch), some other additions, changes and bugfixes.
[29.08.2001]CPUReview.com made an online Results Browser for their memory benchmarking program MemTach!
eTesting Labs have started to ship the CD Winbench 2.0 CDs!
[28.08.2001]CPU-Z 1.10 is available for download! Here's what's new in this version: motherboard vendor and model, BIOS vendor and revision, new Memory tab (frequency, interleave, I/O voltage, timings), L2 Data Prefetch Logic (Cache tab), new chipset detection : AMD760 and AMD760MP. Read our review to learn more about CPU-Z!
[27.08.2001]CliBench 0.7.14 has been released! This is the newest, long-expected release. This version fixes some bugs in the dhrystone section. Now running multiple threads should scale better on different CPU plattforms.
TexBench 1.1 containing a few bugfixes has been released!
CpuIDMax Build 77 is out! The hardware detecting are made more advanced, tells lots of info now, but its only working under win9x. And somehow it displays build #79...
MyCPU has been updated to version 1.13e! In this version: fixed Pentium 4-bug which caused MyCPU to crash on Pentium 4-Systems.
[18.08.2001]Intel Processor Frequency ID Utility has been updated to version 3.7 to support the latest Intel Processors!
EVA Bench - another Japanese 3D benchmark program, similar to N-Bench, has been added!
[17.08.2001]New and improved version of Nokia Monitor Test has been added!
[16.08.2001]BIOS Wizard, the utility intended to identify and test the PC system BIOS, has been added!
[15.08.2001]HWiNFO32 1.01 has been updated to version 1.01a! It has the following changes: fixed wrong identification of some later CPUs, updated VIA KT133A identification, some minor updates.
MadOnion.com announced that the first customer implementation of the Performance Analyzer (that I wrote about a few months ago) is now on-line on the Falcon Northwest web site! Read the Press Release.
[14.08.2001]CpuIDMax Build 76 has been released! This build has two new tabs: "Video+Chipset" and "Windows", new screenshot feature, support for AMD Morgan CPU.
[13.08.2001]HWiNFO32 1.01 has been released! Among its new features: added nVidia nForce support, Intel 82801CA(/M) I/O Controller Hub 3, detection of Intel 845 Brookdale and 830MP Almador chipsets, Diamond Fire GL4 and GL4s video accelerators, ASUS PCI-V7100PRO and PCI-V7100MAGIC video cards, detection of Intel 815EP B-Step chipset, detection of Intel Pentium 4 D-0 (Northwood), added system summary, and more. More information can be obtained at www.hwinfo.com.
DroneZmarK, a new 3D benchmark/rolling demo based on the DroneZ game engine by Zetha GameZ, has been added! All your thoughts on it are more than welcome at our forum!
[10.08.2001]Dacris Software have announced a few new features of their forthcoming Dacris Benchmarks 4.1! They're: new Tasks pane on the left consolidates all the scattered links from the main window, a "Recent Tests" pane on the right will store recently used benchmark tests, a price/performance grade will also be given (price will be entered by user). They have also published the release schedule, so now we know the Dacris Benchmarks 4.1 FINAL Build 4141 release date - September 11. More information on this is available here.
[09.08.2001]Some time ago I wrote about the benchmark for PocketPC's, called GAPI Benchmark. This time I'd like to pay attention to a similar program, but for Palm. Benchmark 2.0 measures your Palm or Visor's CPU speed and bus bandwidth utilization, and shows how your device measures up relative to other models -- and it does so quite accurately. To see how your Palm performs you can download Benchmark 2.0, or visit its webpage for more information.
CPUBurn is a well known CPU stress test, but its interface is rather poor and uncomfortable. To make it look better, now you can download this Windows GUI frontend: with all executables and libraries (1.9Mb), and executables only (30Kb)!
[08.08.2001]AIDA32 v.0.50 has been released! Among a wealth of new features: system summary, SMART devices list, printer information, keyboard information, OS information, autostart applications list, and much more. You can find the full list here. AIDA32 is a "MUST-HAVE" for everyone! I beleive it will be the best sysinfo tool in the very near future!
[07.08.2001]Another TaskInfo update! Its version 3.0.10.23 corrects a bug that caused crash in WinNT/2000/XP.
[05.08.2001]System Analyser 5.2l has been released! Here are some of the new features: support for Intel Pentium III Tualatin, Intel Mobile Pentium III-M, AMD mobile Duron, AMD mobile Duron model 7, AMD Athlon MP, Trident Cyberblade XP, more information on HDDs and CD-ROM drives, about 140 new PCI devices added, some other improvements.
[03.08.2001]DIMM ID utility has been developed to allow users to check the make, model number and type of synchronous DRAM DIMM in their PC. It runs under DOS (but works also under Windows 9x) and has pretty poor interface, but can be very useful in some cases. Its latest version, DIMM ID 2001 is now available for download.
[02.08.2001]eTesting Labs have started to ship the BatteryMark and WinBench 99 2.0 CDs. A bit limited version of Winbench 99 2.0 is also available for download! But production problems have struck again, this time with CD WinBench, where the quality of the CD is particularly critical. The CD WinBench 99 version 2.0 CDs weren't up to the necessary specifications and they're having them remanufactured. The release date is still a question.
TaskInfo has been updated to version 3.0.10.22! It fixes a bug that caused problems in Win95 and OSR2.
[01.08.2001]SynthMARK, a new benchmarking tool has been added!
[31.07.2001]Active SMART has been updated to version 2.1! Here is what's new in it: added new information for SCSI disks in Advanced Info dialog, multilingual interface, volume serial number in the Volumes list, SCSI drives capacity calculation error fixed, fixed bug with a drive serial number detection on some drives, fixed bug with S.M.A.R.T. status icon drawing.
TaskInfo 3.0.10.21 has been released! This version has a wealth of new features and improvements, like new File/Force Shutdown option, Process Affinity setting, great number of bugfixes, etc.
[30.07.2001]Another quality RAM tester, called DocMemory, has been added! Be sure to check it if you experience any memory problems or want to be sure your RAM is error-free.
[27.07.2001]SMARTUDM has been updated to version 1.30! This version is able to display attribute's row-values, save the report-file, monitor new S.M.A.R.T. attributes, etc.
Benchmark Insider reports that Windows XP and future versions of DirectX (after 8.0a) may not include the NULL device driver that 3D WinBench requires. Read the full story.
Another piece of news from ZD is that they're going to release version 2.0 of WinBench 99 and CD WinBench 99 on July 31! Here's Benchmark Insider story about it.
[26.07.2001]CPUMathMark 3.0 has been released! Here's what's new in this version: new interface, burn-in feature, the results are more accurate, ability to submit your results, etc. You may need the dependencies for MSwinsck files in order to run the program. They're available for Windows 9x and Windows NT.
[25.07.2001]PassMark BurnInTest 2.2 Build 1005 has been released! In this version: fixed bug that caused PASSED to be displayed even if there was a error in the network test, added option to call external executable file when tests have completed.
[24.07.2001]Adobe Photoshop is often used to measure the performance of a given system, as it is the most popular graphic suite and can heavily load the system. But this procedure wasn't standardized and it was one of the main inconveniences. Now you can easily benchmark your system with Photoshop and compare your results with others, using PS5bench. PS5bench is an Adobe Photoshop 5 Action that can be used to benchmark your machine. It will guide you through 21 Photoshop operations, and you use the timing feature to record the time that each operation took. You can download PS5bench and learn more information about it on its official website.
[23.07.2001]CPUMathMark 3.0 is delayed once again due to some problems with author's e-mail. Nevertheless, the program is 95% done and should be released within the next few days. Maybe even tomorrow...
[22.07.2001]It's time to sum up the poll results. The question was about your favourite printer brand, and the winner is Epson (31.1%)! The second place goes to Canon (27%), and HP is only the third (26.6%). Lexmark has 5.5%. 1.67% prefer some other brand. Well, it's a bit unexpected result for me.
Here's another question for our survey: which CPU will you buy next? Please, vote!
[21.07.2001]WCPUID 3.0c has been released! It supports the most of the new CPUs.
[20.07.2001]It seems that all news in the past few days are about different delays and postponements. Unfortunately, today's no exeption. eTesting Labs have once more delayed the new version of BatteryMark, now until August 1.
[19.07.2001]Yesterday's NetInfo should be updated to version 4.1 in the near future. It will feature a new network tool that will check if a specified e-mail address is valid.
Marc Jardine at 31337 has revealed the official release date of CPUMathMark 3.0. It should be available on July 23rd.
[18.07.2001]SiSoftware have postponed the release date for their new product Jemima (Java-based Enterprise Management, Information and Modular Analysis). Originally, the release was expected on Q4 2000. The new time frame for Jemima is 2002. Well, let's wait and see.
NetInfo, an award-winning ultimate network toolkit, has been added!
[17.07.2001]CPUMathMark 3.0 BETA is available for beta-testers! The final release is expected by the end of this week.
[16.07.2001]Cool Info 2001 is out! This version features the new interface, software inventory, export facilities including XML, new categories and more information. Now, the program is developed by Tometa Software (Cool Info 99 was originally developed by Creation Software), so we can expect more quality improvements in the near future.
[15.07.2001]HARDiNFO 2001 has been released! Among the new features: added Detection of the Processor ID / Serial Number, improved the user interface, added Cooling Devices Monitor, added Detection of SCSI Controllers, added CPU Logos for Intel and AMD processors, added System Resources Information (DMA & IRQ), a number of bugfixes, etc. More details are available here.
[13.07.2001]Yesterday's Memtest86 has been updated to version 2.7! Here are the enhancements of this release: expanded workaround for errors caused by BIOS USB keyboard support to include test #5, re-worked L1 / L2 cache detection code to provide clearer reporting, fixed an obvious bug in the computation of cache and memory speeds, adjusted code size to fix compilation problems with RedHat 7.1, and more.
eTesting Labs have reported about the delay in shipping of the CDs with their latest version of BatteryMark. Due to production problems, they won't be able to ship the CD until July 20. According to Benchmark Insider, this release is a top-to-bottom reinvention of BatteryMark, the biggest change in this benchmark in the last several years. The program will change its name to Business Winstone 2001 BatteryMark (BWS BatteryMark). Read the full story at Benchmark Insider.
[12.07.2001]New memory tester, called Memtest86, has been added! It differs from the similar ones, so be sure to check it.
[11.07.2001]Q3Bench 2.00 Beta has been released! Here are some of the new features: massive code re-write, Quake3 config file now automatically backed up and restored, support for the new *.dm_66 demo standard (1.29f beta patch), now there are nine save files w/ custom names that will allow the user to save all Q3Bench settings, built in browser for old results files, user gamma setting no longer over-written (some people couldn't see the demos being run - too dark), and more. More detailed information at G256.com. Besides, Q3Bench is now hosted locally at BenchmarkHQ!
[10.07.2001]CpuIDMAX Beta Build 74 is out! It has two bugfixes.
[09.07.2001]There are some news about the Informer! Its new version is almost ready and will be released by the end of this month. Here are some of the new features: SPD information display, detection of ISA/PnP devices, detection of read/write speeds supported by your CD-ROM/CD-R/CD-RW drives, and more. And the main thing is that the program will change its name and will become shareware, so the registered version will cost about $7.
FRAPS has been updated to version 1.4! New features are as follows: ability to choose which corner of the screen the counter is displayed in, new screen capture feature!
[08.07.2001]SysId 2.0a has been released! This version has a support for Tualatin, Athlon 4, GX1 and Cyrix III CPUs.
[05.07.2001]Webserver Stress Tool has been updated to version 4.4! This release has a wealth of new features and improvements, like: user generation&simulation has been completely rewritten, less memory needed for each simulated user, now up to 600 times faster load generation on the client machine, completely new internal time handling, better reports on printer, client configuration is logged, and more.
[04.07.2001]Another new video benchmarking program, called TempleMark, has been added!
[03.07.2001]Within the next few days we can expect a new version of CPUMathMark 3.0! The forthcoming release will give faster and more accurate results due to the Visual Basic math routines converted into a dll compiled in C. More detailed information will become available on the day of release.
[02.07.2001]Sound Card Analyzer 2.0 has been released! This version is able save results and load them into program afterwards, also it can create a HTML report, plus some bugfixes. And its another very useful feature is its english interface! The file is now hosted locally to avoid any downloading problems (such as 404 messages).
TaskInfo's version number has been changed to 3.0.7.15, but there's no information on any improvements.
[01.07.2001]TaskInfo version 3.0.7.14 has been released! New in this release: optimized performance, new refresh interval (0,5 sec), a few bugfixes, etc.
[28.06.2001]Two members of the AIDA family have been updated! AIDA 1.43 for DOS now supports Pentium III E Xeon-A, Tualatin and VIA C3 CPUs. Unlike AIDA for DOS, AIDA32 0.40 has more changes. Among them: network resources list, PCMCIA devices list, LPT PnP devices list, video adapter's Direct3D capabilities, OpenGL rendering capabilities, and much more! The full list can be found here.
[27.06.2001]PC Information 1.30 has been released! New in this version: new Network page with Net description, User, Domain, Workgroup, Local shares and Drive Mapping, a few new command line parameters, CPU detection has been improved, et cetera.
[26.06.2001]New versions of CDSpeed and DVDSpeed are available! Here's what's new in CDSpeed 0.83: more write modes added, buffer underrun protection, other improvements and bugfixes.
And here are the new features of DVDSpeed 0.52: Eject/Load test can now be also used for Slot-In and notebook drives, other improvements and bugfixes.
[24.06.2001]Bonzai System View 1.1 has been released! New features are: file space analyzer, enhanced printer support, clipboard viewer, autostart programs list, multimedia view, support for more CPUs, time zone information.
[22.06.2001]CpuIDMAX Beta Build 72 is out! It supports AthlonMP/P4/Intel P3 1.13 Ghz processors.
[21.06.2001]Artifact Tester 5 has been released! New in this version: redesigned interface, DirectX 7.0 testing, PimpBlood 2.0 Engine update, ability to select test strength, Artifact Tester 2.1's ATMonitor, Artifact Tester 3's TotalTest, Includes the bitmaps used in Artifact Tester 2 and 3, and the Marc Bayless bitmap set update.
[20.06.2001]CpuIDMAX Beta Build 71 has been released! This version supports all latest processors, including AthlonMP, features the Processor Core Details tab, fixes known errors, and more.
[19.06.2001]CPU-Z 1.09 has been released! New features are: Pentium !!! Tualatin support, including new clock multipliers, i815 chipset revision B detection (for Tualatin support), Athlon MP / Athlon 4 support, including new clock multipliers, added processor code name in the html report. Be sure to download it!
[18.06.2001]Both version of CPUBurn (for Windows and Linux) have been updated to number 1.4! They have a new module - burnK7, plus a bugfix in burnMMX.EXE.
[17.06.2001]Artifact Tester 5 Beta 1 has been released! There are no information on changes made.
[16.06.2001]AIDA32 0.30 has been released! This version fully supports Windows XP, can detect OS language, has CPU usage meters with multiprocessor support, etc.
[15.06.2001]SiSoftware have revealed the official information on the latest version of Sandra 2001te (2001.5.8.11)! Its most notable feature is ADO/OLE DB/ODBC database support. Among other changes: enhanced GUI, support for P4 Xeon & AthlonMP SMP systems, support for new hardware monitor chips, fixed various issues with detection, etc. Professional version users should update their copy through the WebUpdate Wizard. Professional Version has been extended with two additional modules: ATA/ATAPI Info and ODBC Databases Info.
[14.06.2001]Intel Processor Frequency ID Utility 3.6 has been released to support the latest Intel processors!
[12.06.2001]On-line Result Browser for XSMark is now available at GLExcess.com!
SiSoftware have released Sandra 2001te (2001.5.8.11)! There's no much information on changes made in this version. But it is known that additional hardware and chipsets are now supported, and support has been added for temperature monitoring. A new SIMM/DIMM/RIMM analyzer has also been added.
MemTach has been updated to version 0.89 Alpha! This release produces significantly more accurate test results than v0.80 due to: better compiler, assembly code "Sum" tests, optional "prefetch" code.
[11.06.2001]ProcessorMark 2.0 has been released! New in this version: benchmark time shortened to 3 seconds, new fractal algorithm, program window is more compact, new submission window: now you can submit results without having to email the author.
[10.06.2001]Dacris Software has released Dacris Benchmarks 4.0 Service Pack 1 (Build 4088). Here are some of the new features: improved system information and baseline descriptions, two new skins (Twilight, MaxSkin), other small fixes and interface improvements. Click to download (587Kb).
[09.06.2001]WCPUID 3.0b (Build 1080) has been released! Here's what's new: support for new CPUs and chipsets, added Device List Window, added "Save WCPU Data..." Menu.
[08.06.2001]Today's ProcessorMark, as well as Artifact Tester and TotalTest, uses fractals for testing. However, not everyone knows what is the fractal itself. So, be sure to visit this page to find out more about fractals.
Another CPU benchmarking program, called ProcessorMark, has been added!
[07.06.2001]System Analyser has been updated to version 5.2k! New in this version: Pentium 4 Xeon and Mobile Athlon 4 recognition, more new PCI devices, some improvements in Windows NT/2000 support, and more.
[06.06.2001]HWiNFO32 1.00 has been released! Here's what's new in this version: added Coppermine core stepping D0 and Cascades stepping B0, ST PowerVR KYRO II, nVIDIA Crush 11, Trident CyberBlade-Ai1 and CyberBlade-XP video chipsets, ASUS AGP-V6600MX, V7100PRO, V7100MAGIC and V8200 Deluxe, Hercules 3D Prophet 4000XT and 4500, nVIDIA NV20DCC and ELSA GLoria DCC video cards, ATI M7 and RV200 chips, detection of Intel Xeon processor, support for AMD Athlon 4 (Palomino) processor, Intel 82801BA ICH2X, and more! More detailed info can be found here.
[05.06.2001]System Speed Test has been updated to version 4.72! It contains a wealth of new features and improvements, like: added PCI and AGP devices, added description of PCI devices class codes, added calculation of Average access time of HDD, added SMBus support for AMD-766, Reliance OSB4, VIA VT8231, SiS 5595B, added sophisticated SPD info analyzing (to .txt report), added detection of Intel Pentium III(tm) (Tualatin), Intel Xeon(tm) (Willamette), AMD Athlon 4(tm), AMD Duron(tm) (Morgan) and VIA C3(tm) processors, added report of original CPU clock for Intel P2+ processors, added detection of microcode update revision for Intel P2+ processors, and more!
[04.06.2001]It seems that eTestingLabs (ZD) have put their 3DWinBench on indefinite hold. Read their report on it.
SysID 2.0 has been released! This version features a new benchmark mode, plus some minor bugfixes.
GL Excess/XSMark 1.1 has been released! It has the following changes: auto detection of suitable video resolutions, more accutrate benchmarking, benchmark mode generates detailed reports in HTML format, user configurable benchmark tests, and more. You can download a separate patch (1 Mb) to update your existing XSMark 1.0!
[31.05.2001]CDCheck 2.0.2.272 has been released! It has some minor bugfixes.
[30.05.2001]Bonzai System View, another sysinfo utility, has been added!
[29.05.2001]Monitors Matter CheckScreen, one of the best monitor testers, has been added! With its help you'll be able to quality test even a LCD. Meanwhile, there are sites on the Net, like this one, helping you to test your monitor online!
[28.05.2001]Paolo Martella aka Bustard has announced GLExcess 1.1, which should be released as soon as possible.
CD-R Diagnostic 1.6.6 has been released! There is no information on changes made in this version at the moment.
[27.05.2001]The whole AIDA family has been updated! AIDA for DOS 1.42 now supports AMD Athlon 4! AIDA32 v. 0.10 has the following changes: logon users list, users list, user groups list, processes list, drivers list, ASPI devices list under Win9x/Me, DMI informations. And, finally, xAIDA v. 0.10 has the following changes: logon users list, users list, user groups list, processes list, modules list, SCSI devices list, USB devices list.
[25.05.2001]Dacris Software has added a few new features to its forthcoming Dacris Benchmarks 4.1! Among them: completely re-designed benchmark tests for better accuracy, ability to export report to ANSI TXT format, etc. CPU Test will feature a series of smaller tests: mathematics test, FPU test, logic test (IF, ELSE, boolean operations). RAM Test will feature a series of smaller tests: allocation / initialization, mem copy, reading, writing.
[24.05.2001]Active SMART 2.0 beta has been released! New in this version: added support for SCSI hard disk drives, added S.M.A.R.T. status Quick View mode with graphical representation of S.M.A.R.T. parameters, information for 15 S.M.A.R.T. attributes, added possibility to send alert message via local network, and more.
[23.05.2001]Dacris Software has just announced Dacris Benchmarks 4.1! Here are some of the new features: full Windows XP compatibility, generating a report as an Excel spreadsheet (CSV), etc. Many features are still undetermined, as the final release is months away.
TaskInfo2000 version 3.0 beta 1 build 3.0.6.11 has been released! This version supports Pentium 4, has some bugfixes, etc.
[22.05.2001]CPU-Z 1.08a has been released! This version has Pentium 4 1.7GHz and above support, added Compatible x87 FPU Opcode enability for Pentium 4 (Features Tab).
[21.05.2001]AMD have finally made its N-Bench available to the public. So now you can download these 40 megabytes.
CPU MathMARK 2.1 has been released! This version now displays processor type for Intel cpu's under Windows NT/2000/XP, has better support for dual-processor systems, minor code tweaks, processor speed is now updated every two seconds when idle before benchmark, plus it features two new baselines.
Artifact Tester 4.0 has been released! New in this version: completely redisigned interface, testing method update, PimpBlood 1.1 Engine Update, and much more.
[17.05.2001]Hot CPU Tester team started to work on Hot Video Tester, a video stability tester which I mentioned about two months ago. So, it seems that we can expect it in near future.
There are some new OpenGL demos designed especially for ATi Radeon based cards. Check them out if you're Radeon owner.
[16.05.2001]MadOnion.com has started to provide a new service, which will be especially useful for online computer shops. By enchancing their websites with the Performance Analyzer, online stores will be able to demonstrate to their customer that a given graphics upgrade highly improves their current PC's performance, a given component is compatible with their current PC, a given new PC performs better than their current one, and much more! To learn more about the new service and view its online demonstration, click here.
[15.05.2001]New CPU benchmark program, called CPU MathMARK, has been added!
Take a look at MadOnion.com's first 3DMark, called 3DMark1996! ;-) Click here for these funny shots!
Check out the new forum! It has the new interface and engine, moreover, unlike the old forum, this new one has a special room for talks in English only! So you are more than welcome to post messages there.
[14.05.2001]Artifact Tester 3.0 has been released! New in this version: features the PimpBlood 1.0 Engine, much better improved error handling, TotalTest 1.0 is included, and more!
[11.05.2001]Another CPU stress-test, called TotalTest, has been added!
[10.05.2001]Hot CPU Tester 2.0.2 has been released! This version has a new interface, two new tabs: benchmark and CPUID. So now it is able to show you some information on your CPU and cache and benchmark them.
AIDA family now has a new member - AIDA for Linux, called xAIDA! Check it out if you're Linux user!
[08.05.2001]TaskInfo2000 version 3.0 beta 1 build 3.0.6.8 has been released! It has a number of bugfixes, including Windows XP beta 2 compatibility problem correction.
[07.05.2001]Lately added Artifact Tester has been updated to version 2.1! Now it includes a smaller testing co-program that tests for artifacts every 700 milliseconds, so you'll be able to know immediately if your videocard's clock settings are too high.
[05.05.2001]New program has been added! Artifact Tester is intended to test your videocard's stability!
[04.05.2001]CD-R Diagnostic 1.6.5 has been released! Changes from the previous version include: several "hang" problems resolved, selective enabling of DVD-RAM support, misc. bug fixes, and more.
Canopus have announced a new board based on GeForce 2 MX400. Its package includes the new AMD N-Bench.
[03.05.2001]Today we have a lot of updates! First of all, FRAPS 1.3 has been released! Features of this release include: fixed a flickering counter with games using triple buffering, starting the program while it's already running no longer causes the computer to crash, some bugfixes, and more. Visit fraps.com for more info.
Both AIDAs (for DOS and Windows) have been updated. AIDA 1.41 has a support for S3 SuperSavage series, improved support for Windows XP, ect. As for AIDA32, its version 0.06 has a hidden windows list feature, improved report file.
TaskInfo2000 version 3.0 beta 1 build 3.0.0.5 has been released! It has a number of little bugfixes.
[28.04.2001]H.Oda! have released WCPUID 3.0a! This version has a support for AMD Athlon 12.5x, VIA C3, some new chipsets, plus many bugfixes.
[26.04.2001]A new bug found in SiSoft Sandra 2001se: it crashes on systems with SiS 530, 540, 620 and 630 chipsets. To fix the bug you may contact SiSoftware to obtain the patch.
[25.04.2001]TestVideoRAM has been updated! It's new version can display and handle GeForce timings, plus it gives information on video memory bus.
[24.04.2001]Dr.Hardware 2001 Build 2.5.0e has been released! New in this version: detailed information on AMD 760/760MP, ALi Aladdin 7, Pro-4, Pro-5, TNT2 and ALiMAGiK chipsets, detection of VIA Apollo Pro266 and KT266, SIS 730 and 740 chipsets, support for Rambus and DDR SDRAM modules in SDRAM analysis, new reference CPUs (Pentium 4, Athlon 1.33GHz), some bugfixes and more! You can learn more at Dr.Hardware's website.
[22.04.2001]The distribution of AMD N-Bench, which I mentioned a few days ago, has started in Japan. It has already been demonstrated at some shops. There are no news at the moment on when and whether it will be downloadable or how much it will cost. Learn more about it at Japanese Akiba PC Hotline.
[21.04.2001]PassMark Performance Test 3.4 has been released! New in this version: work around for bug in AMD Duron processor that caused L3 cache to be reported as 1KB, detection of Intel P4 CPU and new AMD chips, new SSE and 3DNow! test added in MMX test suite, correction of a minor display bug in the baseline selection window for CPU's faster than 1000Mhz, and more.
[20.04.2001]New CPU identification tool has been added - FCPUID!
[19.04.2001]Another OpenGL benchmark program, called GLClock has been added!
[18.04.2001]AIDA32 continues to improve! Its version 0.05 Alpha with logical drives list added has been released.
[17.04.2001]Japanese AMD department have announced a new benchmark, called N-Bench! Currently, it is still under development and there's no information on the release date. N-Bench will test a CPU efficiency via the 3D graphics test (DirectX). It will have a demo mode and in general, its interface will look like 3DMark's. Its size will be about 40MB (about 100MB unpacked). Here's the other system requirements:
- Intel or AMD CPU running at 700MHz or above
- 128MB of RAM
- DirectX 7 compatible videocard with 32MB of RAM or better
- Microsoft Windows 98 or ME
AIDA32 0.04 Alpha has been released! This version has power management routines added.
[16.04.2001]It's time for a new poll! But first, let's have a look at the results of the previous one. The question concerned the next version of the most popular program here, at BenchmarkHQ, called HDD UTILity. Overwhelming majority said, that they would like the next version to be designed under Windows 9x/Me!
Now, here's the next question: what is your favourite printer brand?
[15.04.2001]AIDA32 0.03 Alpha has been released! It has an extended report file, better detection of 3D accelerators, video chipsets, PnP monitors, motherboards, ect.
[14.04.2001]System Analyser has been updated to version 5.2j! This version supports VIA C3 CPU, Pentium 4 data improved and expanded, it knows more PCI devices, video cards including ATI Rage Mobility, nVidia GeForce3, ATI Radeon VE, and much more. The full list of changes can be found here.
[13.04.2001]PC Information 1.25 has been released! It has some minor fixes and changes, plus a few new command line parameters.
There's an easter egg in 3DMark2001! It appears in the Game Demo mode, that becomes accessible even in a non-pro version. So, to find the easter egg, just do the following:
- Edit your project discription
- Change the project name to: Holy Cow!
- Click on the Game Demo button
- Have fun!
[12.04.2001]CpuIDMAX, another CPU identification utility, has been added!
[11.04.2001]SiSoftware have reported that the support for Windows 95 will be dropped in the next release of their Sandra, because it "has reached end-of-life".
TechExtreme have posted up a text on how to use Serious Sam as a benchmark.
[10.04.2001]MyCPU has been updated to version 1.13d! In this version: fixed some bugs, added a 'path' argument (command line).
[09.04.2001]Informer 3.41 has been released! It has a wealth of new features, among them: improved support for Intel Pentium 4, AMD Athlon and Duron, added support for ATA/ATAPI-6, improved information on monitor, added 119 PCI-devices and 64 monitors, added information on AGP bus and its speed, some bugfixes, and much more!
HWiNFO has been updated to version 0.9d! New in this version: added ARK 8X00 Tiger video chipset, SiS 735 and 745 chipsets, Hercules 3D Prophet II Ultra, 3D Prophet III, ELSA GLADIAC 311, 511, and GLADIAC 920 video cards, Diamond Fire GL3, ATI Radeon Workstation AGP video card, detection of ALi M1644, M1646, M1661 and M1667 chipsets, S3 SuperSavage video chipsets, several new graphics cards and mainboard chipsets, ect. More detailed list can be found here.
[07.04.2001]AIDA32 0.01 Alpha, a version of AIDA for Windows platform, has been released! AIDA32 has a more comfortable interface than it's elder sister and all the advantages of AIDA. Apparently, it has a potential to become one of the most popular programs in its class!
[06.04.2001]It seems that we can expect a new version of PassMark Performance Test soon! Beta-testing of Performance Test 3.4 is now underway and you can already download this beta. New in the forthcoming release: work around for bug in AMD Duron processor that caused L3 cache to be reported as 1KB, detection of Intel P4 CPU and new AMD chips, new SSE and 3DNow! test added in MMX test suite, correction of a minor display bug in the baseline selection window for CPU's faster than 1000Mhz, and more.
[05.04.2001]AIDA 1.40 has been released! This version has a support for AMD Palomino, Intel Tualatin, Matrox Millennium G450 DualHead LX, some improvements for better Windows NT, 2000, XP support.
[04.04.2001]All leading GPU vendors are creating different demos to test and demonstrate new features that are supported by their new products. Here are some links to help you find out such features of your graphic card. Click your manufacturer:
[03.04.2001]New D3D benchmark has been added - VillageMark!
[02.04.2001]Another CPU stability test has been added - CPU Burn-in!
[01.04.2001]CPU-Z 1.08 has been released! This version has a new chipset presentation and a full html report added.
[31.03.2001]REporter has been added! This sysinfo utility still has a beta-test status, so some features may be unavailable now (like CPU benchmark and disk info).
[30.03.2001]Hot CPU Tester has been updated to version 1.1.2! It has a few bugfixes, so now the test should run properly.
[28.03.2001]GL Mark has been updated to version 1.1p! In this version: created workaround for KYRO driver crashes in glCopyTexImage2D, all reported installation bugs are fixed, added many new results to the systems database, and more. You can update your existing version of GLMark using a patch (3.6Mb).
TrueBENCH2000 has been added!
Dacris Software have released the final version of Dacris Benchmarks 4.0! You can download the demo for free, but first you have to register at the site.
[27.03.2001]SiSoft Sandra Professional version users can now update their program to version 2001.3.7.50, using WebUpdate Wizard!
Hot CPU Tester 1.1 has been released! There's no information on changes made in this version. Obviously, some bugfixes.
[26.03.2001]Active SMART 1.23 has been released! New in this version: added 'Location' column to the Hard Disk Drives list, information about attribute change (increasing or decreasing) into the SMART status tab, information about how much S.M.A.R.T. attribute is changed to the SMART status tab, cosmetic changes and some minor bugixes.
[25.03.2001]DVD Speed 0.5 has been released! Changes include: full support for DVD-RAM, new tests, more detailed results, improved interface, more options. More detailed list can be found at CDSpeed2000.com.
[24.03.2001]Dacris Software have released the promised beta of Dacris Benchmarks 4.0! Among the new features: full skinning support, new tests: Database connectivity, and a more comprehensive Network Test, Internet latency test, perhaps a security test, better and more comprehensive Direct3D & OpenGL tests, and more! See the full list here. The final version we can expect by March 30, 2001.
Intel Processor Frequency ID Utility 3.5 has been released! As usual, it has a support for the latest Intel's processors.
[23.03.2001]System Speed Test has been updated to version 4.71! New in this version: unlocked SPD access for ASUS P3C/A7M/A7P mainboards, added more PCI and AGP devices, added detection of ATA/ATAPI devices from Windows9x/ME, detection of Intel Pentium 4 clock multiplier, some other additions, changes and bugfixes.
WebStress 4.3 is out! This latest version has a support for testing POST-requests, a glossary of terms is printed beneath the report, http- and socket result codes are printed in clear text, and some minor enhancements.
[22.03.2001]MemTach - a new memory benchmarking tool for Windows - has been added!
CD-R Diagnostic 1.6.4 is out! Changes from the previous version include support for DVD-RAM devices, added hardware information for some drives, some support for compressed DirectCD volumes, and other.
[21.03.2001]SysID 1.9a has been released! This version has a few bugfixes concerning the KT133/Apollo Pro and SIS 630 Chipset, VxD, et cetera.
Dacris Software have posted a screenshot from their forthcoming Dacris Benchmarks 4.0! You can have a look at it here.
[20.03.2001]TestVideoRAM has been updated to version 0.2b! It has some bugfixes and improvements.
[19.03.2001]Sandra 2001se (2001.3.7.50) has been released! It contains a wealth of new features and improvements, most notable being full Windows 200X support, enhanced benchmark GUI, enhanced SMP support, enhanced Pentium 4 platform support, current VIA chipset/south bridges support, auto system clock generator (PLL IC) detection, and more. The full list of changes can be found here.
[16.03.2001]WCPUID 3.0 has been released! It has a new interface, new functions, support for the latest hardware, and more.
[15.03.2001]GLExcess has released a patch(600Kb) for XSMark, fixing some bugs!
[14.03.2001]3DMark2001 is finally out!
[13.03.2001]3DMark2001 will be released today!!! Keep reloading this page for the latest information!
Two new programs have been added at once! They both use OpenGL, but have different purposes. The first one is Particle Fury, and the second one is XSMark! Check them out!
[12.03.2001]TaskInfo2000 version 3.0 beta 1 has been released! This version has many bugfixes and some other changes. See the full list of changes at the author's site.
[11.03.2001]There are lots of sites that lets you test your Internet connection speed (which is actually a connection speed between your computer and the site, so there are many factors that can influence that speed in a negative way). So, to test your real speed you should choose a server location closest to you. Now it can be easily done at http://www.testmyspeed.com site! It contains more than 200 links to connection speed test sites. Check it out!
SysID 1.9 has been released! It has a new tab called Memory and Chipset Info, which includes information on memory clock, CAS latency, RAS to CAS delay, RAS precharge, chipset name, et cetera. Besides, some bugs were corrected, and more.
According to CDSpeed2000.com, a new version of DVD Speed will be released next week! This will be a major update with many new features, including full support for DVD-RAM, new tests, more detailed results, improved interface, more options.
[10.03.2001]Sound Card Analyzer has been added!
[09.03.2001]AIDA has been updated to version 1.32! It has a support for AMD Palomino and Morgan.
There was an official rumor that 3DMark2001 will be released next week! However, it's just a rumor and there's still no confirmation from the 3DMark team.
[07.03.2001]AIDA 1.31 has been released! This version has a support for ATi Radeon VE, Elsa Gladiac 920, Hercules 3D Prophet III, Leadtek WinFast 3D GeForce3 video cards, and more.
[06.03.2001]System Analyser version 5.2i has been released! This version has an improved BIOS recognition, SPD info extraction, it knows ATI Radeon DDR, Rage Mobility 128 AGP 4x, about 20 new monitors, 50 PCI devices, and more. See the full list of changes here.
[05.03.2001]GL Mark, new OpenGL-based benchmarking program presented in a similar way to 3DMark with a demo mode, has been added! Download this little app: only 55 Mb. :-)
[04.03.2001]Here is the updated BenchmarkHQ Top 10 Downloads List!
- HDDUTILity
- SiSoft Sandra 2001
- TestCPU
- GoldMemory
- Bench 1.8
- CPU-Z
- TestMem 2
- CPU Stability Test
- 3DMark 2000
- DiskSpeed32
According to OpusWare, Hot CPU Tester 2.0 will be released soon, with Pentium 4 supports & lots of other features.
[01.03.2001]Developers' news. Michael Tirtasana, the author of Tirtanium and TexBench, has moved his website to the new location - www.tirtanium.de!
Damon Chitsaz, the author of Hot CPU Tester, has reported that he started to work on a new program - Hot Graphics Tester.
And finally, Erik Deppe, the author of CDSpeed and DVDSpeed, has reported that from now on the utilities will be part of the Ahead Software's Nero Toolkit which will be shipped with future Nero versions. However all utilities can still be downloaded seperately and they will remain freeware.
[28.02.2001]Active SMART 1.2 has been released! New in this version: "Advanced Disk Info" feature added (it shows more than 25 parameters of the hard disk - features, supported modes, etc.), sound notification feature added, improved T.E.C. date calculation algorithm, plus some bugfixes. The full list of new features and improvements you can find here.
[27.02.2001]And once again, news from MadOnion.com! They've just released 3DMark2001 Trailer! The movie shows what the oncoming benchmark 3DMark2001 is all about! You can find the movie in two different sizes:
Low quality - 4.5Mb
[26.02.2001]MadOnion.com have posted two new screenshots from 3DMark2001, taken using DX8 hardware "spiced with extraordinary FSAA"!
Hot CPU Tester 1.0.7 and CDCheck 2.0.2.267 have been released! There are no information on any changes made in these versions. Obviously, some minor bugfixes.
[25.02.2001]SiSoftware have announced that the new version of Sandra will have deprecated support for Windows 9X/Me. It will move over to Unicode in a subsequent version which is not fully supported under these operating systems. So the OS of choice will be Windows 200X/XP.
[24.02.2001]Now you can measure the performance even of your PocketPC! For such purposes you can use the new PocketPC GAPI Benchmark! It is the first Pocket PC benchmark to test the GAPI (Game API) performance. Now it has the following features: CPU Integer speed test, CPU Floating Point (using casting) speed test, display speed test, flicker test, 3D test, memory and CPU score, real floating Point (without casting) speed test. And the main thing - it is completely free! So check out the details at Adrian's Rojak Pot!
[22.02.2001]MadOnion.com have posted 2 new official screenshots from 3DMark2001 and also revealed some information about it! So, the new version will use Microsoft DirectX 8, but won't require it. According to Markus Maki (CTO) and Patric Ojala (3DMark Project Lead) of the 3DMark team they balance between making a hard-core DX8 benchmark and making a benchmark that runs on a wide range of old systems. Moreover, there will be more game tests than last time.
[21.02.2001]ZD eTesting Labs have finally released the update for Content Creation Winstone 2001(3,775,954 bytes), that will turn it into the new 1.0.1 version.
[20.02.2001]ScienceMark has been added!
[19.02.2001]HWiNFO 0.9c has been released! It has some minor improvements, added detection of ATI RADEON VE and M6 video chips, VIA KT266 and Apollo Pro266, VIA VT8653 PX266, VT8362, VT8615, VT8361 and VT3133 chipsets, detailed info about VIA KT133 North Bridge and VT8231 South Bridge, and more.
[18.02.2001]It's time to have a look at the poll results. Last time I asked you: what is your monitor's screen size. So, 40% said 17", 32% said 15", 12% said 19", and then 14" (9%), 21" (3%). And only one visitor has some other screen size. The new question we will ask you together with the author of the most popular program on BenchmarkHQ, called HDDUTILity. Here it is: the next version of HDDUTILity should be designed for Windows 98/Me or Windows 2000/XP? What do you think?
[17.02.2001]AMD have some utilities similar to Intel's Processor Frequency ID Utility. For example, AMD CPU Information Display Utility will display the processor signature, approximate speed, L1/L2 cache sizes, processor revision, and instruction extensions supported. It will work in pure DOS, a DOS box under Windows, or as a Windows application. To display the return data from the CPUID instruction set, AMD have a separate utility, called CPUID.
[16.02.2001]G256.com have released another "patch" for Q3Bench that brings it up to Beta 1.02! This update has two changes in it: added the ability to turn Texture Compression and Sound/Music on for the NORMAL, HIGH, and MAX configuration settings, plus fixed a bug in the Sound/Music volume level feature of the Custom.cfg config TAB.
[14.02.2001]MadOnion.com have posted the first official screenshots from 3DMark2001! They were taken in 1024*768 32bit (+FSAA), so make sure your desktop is set to 32bit! Meanwhile, the release date of 3DMark2001 itself remains unclear.
[13.02.2001]Did you know that... if you press Start\Run and type "hwinfo.exe /ui", you'll get an extensive information on all the hardware, detected by Windows, a list of drivers and registry keys for each device, and more (checked under Windows 98)!
[12.02.2001]Check out the new section, called Reviews, and the first review devoted to CPU-Z!
AIDA 1.3 has been released! New features include support for ATI M6 & RV100, nVidia GeForce 3 video chips, and so on.
ZD eTesting Labs have released the update for Business Winstone 2001(4,290,761 bytes), that will turn it into the new 1.0.1 version.
[11.02.2001]Dacris Software have announced Dacris Benchmarks 4.0! Expect a first beta around March 15. This version will include a wealth of new features, like full skinning support, new tests: Database connectivity, and a more comprehensive Network Test, Internet latency test, perhaps a security test, better and more comprehensive Direct3D & OpenGL tests, and more! See the full list of forthcoming features here.
[10.02.2001]WebStress 4.2 has been released! It has minor bugfixes and a new "Print Report" function that prints out a test report of load tests with graphs and logs.
[09.02.2001]ctSPD has been added!
[08.02.2001]MyCPU has been updated to version 1.13b! New in this version: fixed some bugs, added versioning info in output files, Duron 6/3/0 do wrongly report a L2-cache value of 1 kb, but they have 64kb, this version includes a hot fix for that circumstance.
[07.02.2001]G256.com have released a "patch" for Q3Bench that brings it up to Beta 1.01! The main change is that there is a new tab with many options for changing the settings of the CUSTOM configuration file.
[06.02.2001]Active SMART 1.12 has been released! New in this version: improved attributes changes logging, "Nearest T.E.C. date" string added, fixed bug in the T.E.C. calculation algorithm, fixed bug with Windows Me detection and SHGetSpecialFolderPath procedure on some systems.
[05.02.2001]Let's sum up the poll results. The question was: what is your favourite graphic chips manufacturer? The winner was easily predictable. So, the most popular manufacturer is nVidia (55%)! The second place went to 3dfx (14%), and then ATi (12%), Matrox (10%), S3 (5%). 3 and 2 of BenchmarkHQ visitors prefers some other and SiS products accordingly. Now, the new question is: what is your monitor's screen size?
[04.02.2001]Q3Bench has been added!
[03.02.2001]SiSoftware reported that the new version of Sandra is almost complete! It will probably support Microsoft Whistler. Now any Windows 2000/Whistler users willing to test, may contact SiSoftware (Professional versions only).
[02.02.2001]A hundredth program has been added! It called SMARTUDM!
[01.02.2001]ZD eTesting Labs have updated its BatteryMark to version 4.0.1! This is a bug-fix release that catches up with problems since the initial 4.0 release. The company have also promised to update Business Winstone 2001 and Content Creation Winstone 2001 by 5th February at the latest! These updates will be available in the form of downloadable executables, which will turn installed 1.0 versions of these benchmarks into the new 1.0.1 versions.
[31.01.2001]PassMark BurnIn Test 2.2 is out! It has a wealth of new features and improvements. Here are some of them: support for WindowsME, detection of Pentium4 and Duron CPU's, addition of SSE 128Bit and 3DNow! maths tests, a new feature was added to the CD test, allowing data CD's or Music CD's to be used, multiple disks can now be tested simultaneously, detection of CPU serial number if available in CPU, and much more. The full list of all the changes that have been made in this version can be found here.
[29.01.2001]Informer has been updated to version 3.40! This version can be run under Windows 9x/Me that will not affect its functionality, it supports AMD Sledgehammer and Transmeta Crusoe CPUs, knows Compaq BIOS, IBM BIOS, Phoenix for Dell, Phoenix for IBM and Phoenix BIOS for Intel, more PCI-devices and monitors, ect.
[28.01.2001]AIDA 1.2B has been released! This latest version supports Intel Pentium 4 and VIA Cyrix IIIA CPUs, PCI IDE controllers, and has some other small improvements.
[27.01.2001]Active SMART has been added!
[26.01.2001]System Speed Test 4.70 is out! New in this version: unlocked SPD access for ASUS CUSL2, CUW, MEW, CUC2, CUC2000, CUR mainboards, added more PCI and AGP devices, new CD drive measurements: 'Random access time', '1/3 seek time', 'Full seek time', Intel CPUs L2 cache latency detection, and more. The full list of changes can be found here.
[25.01.2001]MAXON Computer has released CineBench 2000, based on the new, 6th version of it's High-End 3D modeling and animation suite CINEMA 4D XL!
[23.01.2001]ULTIMATE SYSTEMS has released HARDiNFO 2000 - System Information, Benchmark & Computer Management application for Windows 2000 which uses the latest technologies available in Windows 2000. Besides, it supports Windows ME. Windows 95/98 users should still use HARDiNFO Pro, especially designed to be run under these OS.
[22.01.2001]Modem Doctor 2.0 has been released! The improvements include: built-in Modem Initialization String Creator utility, built-in TCP/IP Stack Loop Diagnostic Utility, improved Carrier Diagnostics, support for PCI, Win-Modems, PCMCIA and USB modems, support for Older non ITU Test Sequence modems, ect. The full list of improvements can be found here.
A new stability tester has been added - Hot CPU Tester! Thanks to Damon Chitsaz (the author)!
[21.01.2001]It's time to have a look at the updated BenchmarkHQ Top 10 Downloads List! It looks in the following way.
- HDDUTILity
- GoldMemory
- Bench 1.8
- SiSoft Sandra 2001
- CPU-Z
- TestCPU
- CPU Stability Test
- TestMem 2
- 3DMark 2000
- DiskSpeed32
[19.01.2001]One more system stress test has been added - HeavyLoad!
[18.01.2001]GliBench has been updated again! This latest version 0.2.4 should now run fine on SMP machines. Check out a screenshot of it (PNG, JPG)!
[17.01.2001]Monitor Tester 1.0.5 has been released!
[16.01.2001]System Analyser version 5.2h is out! This latest release detects National Geode GXm, Geode GXLV and VIA Samuel 2 processors, recognizes DDR-SGRAM, knows more Award BIOS vendors, PCI devices, monitors, and so on. The full list of new features can be found here.
[15.01.2001]The Linux port of CliBench, called GliBench, has been updated to version 0.2.1!
[14.01.2001]WCPUID 3 beta 1 has been released! There's no official information on changes made in this version available, but you'll easily note the new interface, extended chipset information, added BIOS and motherboard information, and so on. Don't forget, that it's just a test version of WCPUID, that may contain bugs.
[12.01.2001]CPU-Z has been updated to version 1.07a! Now it supports Intel Penium 4, KT133 and i850 chipsets, Pentium 900 (9x100), correctly displays AMD processor name, shows FSB Data Rate!
[11.01.2001]WebStress 4.1 is out! This new version has a support for redirected requests using cookies and multiple username/passwords.
[10.01.2001]CPUBurn has been updated to version 1.3! It contains an extensively revised burnMMX.
[09.01.2001]New program has been added: GLInfo!
[06.01.2001]Well, it's time to sum up the poll results. The question was: what is your favourite HDD vendor? And the winner is IBM (38%), and then Quantum (24%), Fujitsu (18%), Seagate (11%), Western Digital (5%), Maxtor (2%). Here is a new question: what is your favourite graphic chips manufacturer?
[05.01.2001]62NDS Solutions has developed a quite interesting program, called Diag for Win 9x. From DOS, before Windows has started up, it displays the following: where Windows was installed from and if you need the CD, the serial number and product key, the computer name and workgroup, the screen saver time and password, the screen resolution and refresh rate, what patches have been installed, regional settings, and any odd registry settings that may cause problems. It also can show a list of programs set to run when Windows starts, and so on! More detailed information on this program you can find here.
[04.01.2001]Another system stress test has been added - CPUBurn!
[02.01.2001]According to H.Oda!, the new, third version of WCPUID will be released soon!
[01.01.2001]Happy New Year 2001! The first update in the new year is SysID 1.8d! It has some Windows Me bugs fixed!