- Joined
- Sep 13, 2015
Work in progress
Please be aware that this is currently a work in progress. I have included a "Planned Updates" section at the bottom of the first post of issues I know I still need to resolve. I decided to put this out in this state to start garnering feedback on things I cannot think of to improve this so please feel free to leave your comments or suggestions on how we can make this better.
I decided to write this guide to help people get started out in competitive benchmarking. I remember when I started out that there was not a good resource I could go to get all of the basics (rules, software, general theory, terminology) in one place and I spent a lot of time searching around to get a good handle on what I was doing and I made a lot of mistakes along the way. I am hoping to give those who follow after me a strong foundation to start from so that they can be successful and not get disheartened and leave the sport. Due to the evolving nature of our sport the information in this guide will change over time and I will try to keep the links up to date and the reference material current.
Before we get to deep into this guide I want to explain what this guide is and is not intended to be. We will start with what this guide is not.
This guide IS NOT intended to-
Be a substitute for good old fashioned research on your part, this is a springboard to get you started and give you the basics you need to know to better understand more advanced threads.
We will not be discussing how to overclock any specific systems or system overclocking in general.
We will not be including how to tweak benchmarks other than some basic generalizations.
We will not be discussing OSes outside of the rules that pertain to which OSes are allowed when.
This guide IS intended to-
Teach the basic theories of benchmarking.
Clarify the rules of Hwbot and how they affect each individual benchmark.
Provide links for basic system software that is needed to be successful in benchmarking.
Provide links for more advanced/specific guides to promote further research.
Set forth some best practices to help protect your data and hardware.
Explain benchmarking terminology and abbreviations.
Now that you have a better understanding of what I hope you gain from this, lets get started.
Advanced guides and Resources
I am going to start by providing some links for further reading after this guide so that you will have more resources to turn to for specific questions this guide does not cover.
How-to-become-a-Benching-Team-Member
New-to-the-Benching-Team-Introduce-yourself-here!
How-to-Create-a-bootable-USB-drive
How-to-make-a-Multi-ISO-USB-drive
Basic Theory of Competetive Benchmarking
Please bear in mind the following is my personal opinion of this sport and this will be colored with prejudices because of that.
Let me start by saying that when I refer to benchmarking throughout this guide I am talking about Competetive Benchmarking and not someone trying to push there system to see how it compared against reviews or past systems. For me benchmarking is like any other sport where we are driven to be better than everyone else, do not get me wrong there is a strong team spirit and we all grow better by helping each other out, but at the end of the day it is about can I make my system run faster and more efficient than your system. On top of that there is the desire to see if I can make my system run better than the last time I turned it on. I personally believe that to be a good benchmarker you need to have a desire to learn the ins and outs of your computer and how to properly tweak it to make it run efficiently. Yes, pushing the speeds of your hardware will net you gains and points in the beginning but unless you have that desire to really learn how to tweak your system you will eventually hit a wall where you can no longer push your system harder and you will see no further gains. In one year of benchmarking I have learned more about tweaking and pushing my system than i previously did leading up to that point.
Now that I rambled on for a little bit there here are some things to keep in mind when benchmarking.
Throw your general knowledge of system stability out the window and do not think about it as t does not apply to benchmarking. When running benchmarks your system needs to be just stable enough to run the program, get a screenshot, and save/submit it. This will lead to system freezes, crashes, blue screens etc. this is normal so get used to it and learn how to work through them.
Sometimes less is more, as an example running a single 4gb stick of ram will allow you to push your system harder than running 4x8gb of ram. This will not always hold true and is highly dependent on the type of benchmark you are running and you will have to learn what each one likes.
Extreme cooling is not necessary to be a good benchmarker. You may never see your name at the top of the world record ranking without it but you can do well on ambient cooling alone if you put the time into this sport.
I want to improve on this section and will be updating it going forward so check back for some more words of advice down the road.
Best Practices
These next few lines are merely guidelines that I suggest you review to help protect you data and hardware. They are not specifically necessary but when you destroy a cpu or corrupt your hdd you will wish you had put these into action.
Get a SSD( or HDD) specifically to set up for benching. Do not try benching on your normal install of windows as you will and I repeat you will eventually corrupt an OS and lose data.
Find a guide for your specific hardware and read it. Also look up voltage ranges for your hardware and stick to them. I am not saying that you should not exceed the safe voltage ranges just be aware that if you do you can damage your hardware and be willing to accept that loss. You do not want to be frying your CPU if it is the only computer you have in your house.
Research, research, research. I spend more time each week researching than I do actually benching. You need to spend time with your system to get a better understanding of how it is going to react but at the same time there is so much information out there that you do not have to rediscover everything on your own.
System Software
The following are links and basic explanations of the system software you will need to be successful when you begin competing. This is not an all encompassing list of software that is available just some basics to get you started and you can play with others from here to find what you like best.
CPU-Z (Used to validate 2D and 3D benchmarks, provides basic system information)
GPU-Z (Similar to CPU-Z but used for video cards and 3D benchmarks)
7-zip/ (Used to unpack benchmark files into Executables)
HWinfo (System info including temps and voltages)
Afterburner (GPU overclocking utility)
JAVA (Needed to run some benchmarks)
View attachment Snap Shot.7z(Scren shot software, could not find the download link so included a zip file here. Use 7-zip above to open it)
View attachment PCMark and 3DMark free codes.7z(Free codes for older versions of PCMark and 3DMark)
HWBOT links and rules
So if you have made it this far we are now going to finally get into the discussions of HWBOT and the benchmarks themselves.
Link to hwbot.org
HWBOT rules page (Make sure you read and understand this)
HWBOT FAQ page
Some key points to note about the rules.
Section 1.6 of the rules discusses the use of Windows 8.0 and newer OSes. Due to the ability to affect the reference clock of these operating systems the use of them is tied to specific benchmarks and hardware please reference this section if you plan to use any of these OSes.
Section 3.2e talks about hardware sharing. The basic idea here is to avoid a team getting a golden cpu/gpu and passing it around for all the members to submit with it. What this does not preclude you from is submitting with your friends and families systems if they do not intend to compete. Feel free to use their systems(with permission) to compete at HWBOT.
The following section is a list of all the current benchmarks and the associated requirements for a proper entry, I will be adding an example screenshot for each benchmark as I have time. I felt the need to include this as the rule pages at HWBOT are in need of updating and are not all correct. I have also included a download link for each benchmark. some of these benchmarks can be a little tricky to run and I will try to include how-to's for these specific benchmarks. Please be aware I am not including "Beta" benchmarks in this guide at this time. I am also only including one section for benchmarks that have multiple test such as Superpi, this is due to Superpi 1m and 32m have the same requirements and rules.
2D benches
3D Benches
Memory Benches
Motherboard Benches
Disk Benches
Terminology and Abbreviations
If you have made it this far I hope I have not scared you away but have armed you with the information that you need to be successful in your benchmarking goals. As a team we are always happy to have new members and to help support them, please feel free to ask us for help and we will do our best to guide you. As you continue your journey of benching please let me know of anything that you feel should be added to this guide to help the next person that comes along.
Planned updates
Finish Benchmark links
Include submission requirements
Proper screenshot for each benchmark
Add additional advanced guides
Expand on terminology and abbreviation section
Alphebetize terminology and abbreviations
Rewrite theory section
Clean up formatting
Add more cat pictures
Please be aware that this is currently a work in progress. I have included a "Planned Updates" section at the bottom of the first post of issues I know I still need to resolve. I decided to put this out in this state to start garnering feedback on things I cannot think of to improve this so please feel free to leave your comments or suggestions on how we can make this better.
I decided to write this guide to help people get started out in competitive benchmarking. I remember when I started out that there was not a good resource I could go to get all of the basics (rules, software, general theory, terminology) in one place and I spent a lot of time searching around to get a good handle on what I was doing and I made a lot of mistakes along the way. I am hoping to give those who follow after me a strong foundation to start from so that they can be successful and not get disheartened and leave the sport. Due to the evolving nature of our sport the information in this guide will change over time and I will try to keep the links up to date and the reference material current.
Before we get to deep into this guide I want to explain what this guide is and is not intended to be. We will start with what this guide is not.
This guide IS NOT intended to-
Be a substitute for good old fashioned research on your part, this is a springboard to get you started and give you the basics you need to know to better understand more advanced threads.
We will not be discussing how to overclock any specific systems or system overclocking in general.
We will not be including how to tweak benchmarks other than some basic generalizations.
We will not be discussing OSes outside of the rules that pertain to which OSes are allowed when.
This guide IS intended to-
Teach the basic theories of benchmarking.
Clarify the rules of Hwbot and how they affect each individual benchmark.
Provide links for basic system software that is needed to be successful in benchmarking.
Provide links for more advanced/specific guides to promote further research.
Set forth some best practices to help protect your data and hardware.
Explain benchmarking terminology and abbreviations.
Now that you have a better understanding of what I hope you gain from this, lets get started.
Advanced guides and Resources
I am going to start by providing some links for further reading after this guide so that you will have more resources to turn to for specific questions this guide does not cover.
How-to-become-a-Benching-Team-Member
New-to-the-Benching-Team-Introduce-yourself-here!
How-to-Create-a-bootable-USB-drive
How-to-make-a-Multi-ISO-USB-drive
Basic Theory of Competetive Benchmarking
Please bear in mind the following is my personal opinion of this sport and this will be colored with prejudices because of that.
Let me start by saying that when I refer to benchmarking throughout this guide I am talking about Competetive Benchmarking and not someone trying to push there system to see how it compared against reviews or past systems. For me benchmarking is like any other sport where we are driven to be better than everyone else, do not get me wrong there is a strong team spirit and we all grow better by helping each other out, but at the end of the day it is about can I make my system run faster and more efficient than your system. On top of that there is the desire to see if I can make my system run better than the last time I turned it on. I personally believe that to be a good benchmarker you need to have a desire to learn the ins and outs of your computer and how to properly tweak it to make it run efficiently. Yes, pushing the speeds of your hardware will net you gains and points in the beginning but unless you have that desire to really learn how to tweak your system you will eventually hit a wall where you can no longer push your system harder and you will see no further gains. In one year of benchmarking I have learned more about tweaking and pushing my system than i previously did leading up to that point.
Now that I rambled on for a little bit there here are some things to keep in mind when benchmarking.
Throw your general knowledge of system stability out the window and do not think about it as t does not apply to benchmarking. When running benchmarks your system needs to be just stable enough to run the program, get a screenshot, and save/submit it. This will lead to system freezes, crashes, blue screens etc. this is normal so get used to it and learn how to work through them.
Sometimes less is more, as an example running a single 4gb stick of ram will allow you to push your system harder than running 4x8gb of ram. This will not always hold true and is highly dependent on the type of benchmark you are running and you will have to learn what each one likes.
Extreme cooling is not necessary to be a good benchmarker. You may never see your name at the top of the world record ranking without it but you can do well on ambient cooling alone if you put the time into this sport.
I want to improve on this section and will be updating it going forward so check back for some more words of advice down the road.
Best Practices
These next few lines are merely guidelines that I suggest you review to help protect you data and hardware. They are not specifically necessary but when you destroy a cpu or corrupt your hdd you will wish you had put these into action.
Get a SSD( or HDD) specifically to set up for benching. Do not try benching on your normal install of windows as you will and I repeat you will eventually corrupt an OS and lose data.
Find a guide for your specific hardware and read it. Also look up voltage ranges for your hardware and stick to them. I am not saying that you should not exceed the safe voltage ranges just be aware that if you do you can damage your hardware and be willing to accept that loss. You do not want to be frying your CPU if it is the only computer you have in your house.
Research, research, research. I spend more time each week researching than I do actually benching. You need to spend time with your system to get a better understanding of how it is going to react but at the same time there is so much information out there that you do not have to rediscover everything on your own.
System Software
The following are links and basic explanations of the system software you will need to be successful when you begin competing. This is not an all encompassing list of software that is available just some basics to get you started and you can play with others from here to find what you like best.
CPU-Z (Used to validate 2D and 3D benchmarks, provides basic system information)
GPU-Z (Similar to CPU-Z but used for video cards and 3D benchmarks)
7-zip/ (Used to unpack benchmark files into Executables)
HWinfo (System info including temps and voltages)
Afterburner (GPU overclocking utility)
JAVA (Needed to run some benchmarks)
View attachment Snap Shot.7z(Scren shot software, could not find the download link so included a zip file here. Use 7-zip above to open it)
View attachment PCMark and 3DMark free codes.7z(Free codes for older versions of PCMark and 3DMark)
HWBOT links and rules
So if you have made it this far we are now going to finally get into the discussions of HWBOT and the benchmarks themselves.
Link to hwbot.org
HWBOT rules page (Make sure you read and understand this)
HWBOT FAQ page
Some key points to note about the rules.
Section 1.6 of the rules discusses the use of Windows 8.0 and newer OSes. Due to the ability to affect the reference clock of these operating systems the use of them is tied to specific benchmarks and hardware please reference this section if you plan to use any of these OSes.
Section 3.2e talks about hardware sharing. The basic idea here is to avoid a team getting a golden cpu/gpu and passing it around for all the members to submit with it. What this does not preclude you from is submitting with your friends and families systems if they do not intend to compete. Feel free to use their systems(with permission) to compete at HWBOT.
The following section is a list of all the current benchmarks and the associated requirements for a proper entry, I will be adding an example screenshot for each benchmark as I have time. I felt the need to include this as the rule pages at HWBOT are in need of updating and are not all correct. I have also included a download link for each benchmark. some of these benchmarks can be a little tricky to run and I will try to include how-to's for these specific benchmarks. Please be aware I am not including "Beta" benchmarks in this guide at this time. I am also only including one section for benchmarks that have multiple test such as Superpi, this is due to Superpi 1m and 32m have the same requirements and rules.
2D benches
CPU Frequency
PiFast
SuperPi
wPrime
XTU
PCMark 2004
PCMark 2005
PCMark Vantage
PCMark 7
Cinebench 2003
Cinebench R11.5
Cinebench R15
GPUPI for CPU
HWBOT X265
Y-Cruncher
HWBOT Prime
Geekbench 3
HWBOT rule page
No program download with this one as it uses CPU-Z which you should already have downloaded
Screenshot Requirements-
This benchmark does not specifically require a screenshot. This program instead requires submission of a validation file either directly or through submitting a saved file. Please see below video for instructions on how to submit.
No program download with this one as it uses CPU-Z which you should already have downloaded
Screenshot Requirements-
This benchmark does not specifically require a screenshot. This program instead requires submission of a validation file either directly or through submitting a saved file. Please see below video for instructions on how to submit.
PiFast
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
PiFast result details
DOS box
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
PiFast result details
DOS box
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
SuperPi
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
SuperPi result
Full calculation details
Calculation done pop-up window
Checksum detail (must be valid when checked Here)
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
SuperPi result
Full calculation details
Calculation done pop-up window
Checksum detail (must be valid when checked Here)
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
wPrime
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
Wprime application window
Benchmark result
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
Wprime application window
Benchmark result
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
XTU
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
This benchmark does not specifically require a screenshot. This program instead requires submission of a validation file either directly or through submitting a saved file. Please see below video for instructions on how to submit.
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
This benchmark does not specifically require a screenshot. This program instead requires submission of a validation file either directly or through submitting a saved file. Please see below video for instructions on how to submit.
PCMark 2004
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
PCMark04 benchmark settings
PCMark04 overall score
PCMark04 subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
PCMark04 benchmark settings
PCMark04 overall score
PCMark04 subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
PCMark 2005
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
PCMark05 benchmark settings
PCMark05 overall score
PCMark05 subtest scores
XP Startup subtest
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
Results.txt (display all subtests)
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
PCMark05 benchmark settings
PCMark05 overall score
PCMark05 subtest scores
XP Startup subtest
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
Results.txt (display all subtests)
PCMark Vantage
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
PCMark Vantage benchmark settings
PCMark Vantage overall score
PCMark Vantage subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
PCMark Vantage benchmark settings
PCMark Vantage overall score
PCMark Vantage subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
PCMark 7
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
PCMark7 benchmark settings
PCMark7 overall score
PCMark7 subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
PCMark7 benchmark settings
PCMark7 overall score
PCMark7 subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
Cinebench 2003
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
Cinebench 2003 result output
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
Cinebench 2003 result output
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
Cinebench R11.5
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
Cinebench R11.5 result output
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
Cinebench R11.5 result output
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
Cinebench R15
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
Cinebench R15 result output
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
Cinebench R15 result output
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
GPUPI for CPU
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
The screenshot must be obtained using the integrated screenshot functionality
GPUPI GUI
GPUPI for CPU – benchmark score
CPU-Z CPU information
CPU-Z memory information
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
The screenshot must be obtained using the integrated screenshot functionality
GPUPI GUI
GPUPI for CPU – benchmark score
CPU-Z CPU information
CPU-Z memory information
HWBOT X265
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
The screenshot must be obtained using the integrated screenshot functionality
HWBOT x265 Benchmark – benchmark score
CPU-Z CPU information
CPU-Z memory information
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
The screenshot must be obtained using the integrated screenshot functionality
HWBOT x265 Benchmark – benchmark score
CPU-Z CPU information
CPU-Z memory information
Y-Cruncher
No rule page yet
Program Download
Program Download
HWBOT Prime
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
*This program requires Java to be installed to run. Java should be installed prior to using 7 zip to extract the zip file downloaded from the above link.
Screenshot Requirements-
The screenshot must be obtained using the integrated screenshot functionality
HWBOT Prime GUI
HWBOT Prime benchmark score
CPU-Z CPU information
CPU-Z memory information
Program Download
*This program requires Java to be installed to run. Java should be installed prior to using 7 zip to extract the zip file downloaded from the above link.
Screenshot Requirements-
The screenshot must be obtained using the integrated screenshot functionality
HWBOT Prime GUI
HWBOT Prime benchmark score
CPU-Z CPU information
CPU-Z memory information
Geekbench 3
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
Geekbench3 launch application
Geekbench3 result output
Result validation URL (Not needed if using paid version of program)
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
Without Paid Version
Without Paid Version
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
Geekbench3 launch application
Geekbench3 result output
Result validation URL (Not needed if using paid version of program)
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
Without Paid Version
Without Paid Version
3D Benches
Aquamark
3DMark 99 Max
3DMark 2000
3DMark 2001 SE
3DMark03
3DMark05
3DMark06
3DMark11
3DMarkVantage
3DMark
Unigine Heaven
Catzilla
GPUPI
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
The screenshot must be obtained using the integrated screenshot functionality
Aquamark3 main window
Aquamark3 score and subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
CPU-Z Mainboard tab, for submissions made with motherboard IGP
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
The screenshot must be obtained using the integrated screenshot functionality
Aquamark3 main window
Aquamark3 score and subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
CPU-Z Mainboard tab, for submissions made with motherboard IGP
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
3DMark 99 Max
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
3DMark99 Max benchmark settings
3DMark99 Max overall score
3DMark99 Max subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
3DMark99 Max benchmark settings
3DMark99 Max overall score
3DMark99 Max subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
3DMark 2000
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
3DMark2000 benchmark settings
3DMark2000 overall score
3DMark2000 subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
3DMark2000 benchmark settings
3DMark2000 overall score
3DMark2000 subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
3DMark 2001 SE
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
3Dmark01 benchmark settings
3DMark01 overall score
3DMark01 subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
3Dmark01 benchmark settings
3DMark01 overall score
3DMark01 subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
3DMark03
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
3Dmark03 benchmark settings
3DMark03 overall score
3DMark03 subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
CPU-Z Mainboard tab, if IGP has been used
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
3Dmark03 benchmark settings
3DMark03 overall score
3DMark03 subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
CPU-Z Mainboard tab, if IGP has been used
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
3DMark05
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
3Dmark05 benchmark settings
3DMark05 overall score
3DMark05 subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
CPU-Z Mainboard tab, for submissions made with motherboard IGP
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
3Dmark05 benchmark settings
3DMark05 overall score
3DMark05 subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
CPU-Z Mainboard tab, for submissions made with motherboard IGP
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
3DMark06
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
3Dmark06 benchmark settings
3DMark06 overall score
3DMark06 subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
CPU-Z Mainboard tab, for submissions made with motherboard IGP
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
3Dmark06 benchmark settings
3DMark06 overall score
3DMark06 subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
CPU-Z Mainboard tab, for submissions made with motherboard IGP
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
3DMark11
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
3Dmark11 benchmark settings
3DMark11 overall score
3DMark11 subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
CPU-Z Mainboard tab, for submissions made with motherboard IGP
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
3Dmark11 benchmark settings
3DMark11 overall score
3DMark11 subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
CPU-Z Mainboard tab, for submissions made with motherboard IGP
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
3DMarkVantage
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
3DMark Vantage benchmark settings
3DMark Vantage overall score
3DMark Vantage subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
CPU-Z Mainboard tab, for submissions made with motherboard IGP
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
3DMark Vantage benchmark settings
3DMark Vantage overall score
3DMark Vantage subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
CPU-Z Mainboard tab, for submissions made with motherboard IGP
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
3DMark
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
3DMark benchmark settings
3DMark overall score
3DMark subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
CPU-Z Mainboard tab, for submissions made with motherboard IGP
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
3DMark benchmark settings
3DMark overall score
3DMark subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
CPU-Z Mainboard tab, for submissions made with motherboard IGP
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
Unigine Heaven
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
The screenshot must be obtained using the integrated screenshot functionality
Unigine Heaven main window
Unigine Heaven score
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
CPU-Z Mainboard tab, for submissions made with motherboard IGP
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
The screenshot must be obtained using the integrated screenshot functionality
Unigine Heaven main window
Unigine Heaven score
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
CPU-Z Mainboard tab, for submissions made with motherboard IGP
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
Catzilla
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
Allbenchmark benchmark settings
Allbenchmark overall score
Allbenchmark subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
CPU-Z Mainboard tab, for submissions made with motherboard IGP
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
Allbenchmark benchmark settings
Allbenchmark overall score
Allbenchmark subtest scores
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
CPU-Z Mainboard tab, for submissions made with motherboard IGP
GPU-Z Graphics Card tab
GPUPI
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
The screenshot must be obtained using the integrated screenshot functionality
GPUPI GUI
GPUPI – 1B benchmark score
CPU-Z CPU information
CPU-Z memory information
GPU-Z graphics card information
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
The screenshot must be obtained using the integrated screenshot functionality
GPUPI GUI
GPUPI – 1B benchmark score
CPU-Z CPU information
CPU-Z memory information
GPU-Z graphics card information
Memory Benches
Memory Clock
MaxxMem
HWBOT rule page
No program download with this one as it uses CPU-Z which you should already have downloaded
Screenshot Requirements-
This benchmark does not specifically require a screenshot. This program instead requires submission of a validation file either directly or through submitting a saved file. Please see video in the CPU frequency benchmark above for submission instructions.
No program download with this one as it uses CPU-Z which you should already have downloaded
Screenshot Requirements-
This benchmark does not specifically require a screenshot. This program instead requires submission of a validation file either directly or through submitting a saved file. Please see video in the CPU frequency benchmark above for submission instructions.
MaxxMem
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
MaxxMem main window
MaxxMem overall score
MaxxMem Read Bandwidth subtest score
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
MaxxMem main window
MaxxMem overall score
MaxxMem Read Bandwidth subtest score
CPU-Z CPU tab
CPU-Z Memory tab
Motherboard Benches
Reference Clock
HWBOT rule page
No program download with this one as it uses CPU-Z which you should already have downloaded
Screenshot Requirements-
This benchmark does not specifically require a screenshot. This program instead requires submission of a validation file either directly or through submitting a saved file. Please see video in the CPU frequency benchmark above for submission instructions.
No program download with this one as it uses CPU-Z which you should already have downloaded
Screenshot Requirements-
This benchmark does not specifically require a screenshot. This program instead requires submission of a validation file either directly or through submitting a saved file. Please see video in the CPU frequency benchmark above for submission instructions.
Disk Benches
AS SSD Benchmark
HWBOT rule page
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
No currently posted rules for this benchmark.
Program Download
Screenshot Requirements-
No currently posted rules for this benchmark.
Terminology and Abbreviations
MOBO - Motherboard
LOD - Level of Detail
SSD - Solid State Drive
HDD - Hard Disk Drive
GPU - Graphics card/Video Card
PSU - Power supply unit
LOD - Level of Detail
SSD - Solid State Drive
HDD - Hard Disk Drive
GPU - Graphics card/Video Card
PSU - Power supply unit
If you have made it this far I hope I have not scared you away but have armed you with the information that you need to be successful in your benchmarking goals. As a team we are always happy to have new members and to help support them, please feel free to ask us for help and we will do our best to guide you. As you continue your journey of benching please let me know of anything that you feel should be added to this guide to help the next person that comes along.
Planned updates
Proper screenshot for each benchmark
Add additional advanced guides
Expand on terminology and abbreviation section
Alphebetize terminology and abbreviations
Rewrite theory section
Clean up formatting
Add more cat pictures
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