Ashes of the Singularity

Publisher: Stardock

We use the built-in benchmark of Ashes of the Singularity, which runs through an automatic play-through scene in the game. We've selected the CPU-intensive benchmark option and used 'High' settings with MSAA disabled, all of which are located in the game's video options and benchmark menus. On startup, we also select the DirectX 12 version, which is only available to use in Windows 10. We use a 30-second Fraps benchmark to obtain the minimum and average frame rate during the benchmark, beginning at the start.

3DMark Time Spy

Publisher: Futuremark


3DMark recently added Time Spy, a DirectX 12 benchmark that runs at 1440p. It is designed to properly utilise the advantages of the DirectX 12 API. The benchmark is available for free, but you'll need to pay to change any of the settings, including the resolution. Nonetheless, it still serves as a useful at-a-glance comparison of performance in this increasingly important API.


VRMark
Publisher: Futuremark

VRMark is another synthetic GPU benchmark from Futuremark, this time specifically designed to assess a system's ability to handle VR gaming, with no VR headset is required. The Orange Room test assesses whether a system is capable of meeting the current minimum requirements for an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive VR headset. We run the test with its default settings, so users can easily compare scores here to the free version of this benchmark where settings cannot be changed.