The full 3DMark testing suite has officially launched on macOS, following the initial release of 3DMark Steel Nomad Light for iPhone. Released on Thursday, this native Mac version includes several benchmarks like Wild Life Extreme, Solar Bay, Steel Nomad, and Steel Nomad Light, some of which were previously exclusive to Windows and not included in the iPhone version.
The introduction of the native Mac version was driven by the insight that one in six iOS results were being run on Mac devices. It’s important to note that running an iOS application on macOS can skew testing results, as the maximum frame rates for iOS apps are typically limited by the display’s refresh rate.
All of the benchmarks utilize the Metal API, emphasizing a comprehensive evaluation of a device’s 3D rendering and CPU capabilities. In contrast to many benchmarking tools, 3DMark claims that its results are fully cross-platform, enabling comparisons between results from Windows, iOS, and Android devices.
The suite features some paid functionalities, including Explorer Mode for Steel Nomad benchmarks, which allows users to utilize a controller to explore scenes and capture custom images. Additional paid features encompass options to save results to an account, enable sound, customize benchmarks for varying resolutions, loop benchmarks for thermal testing, and provide HDR capabilities.
The 3DMark suite for macOS is available through Steam, with plans to offer it on the Epic Games Store and 3DMark.com in the near future. While the demo version is free, the paid version is priced at $35, ensuring cross-platform compatibility and featuring Steam achievements.
It requires an Apple Silicon Mac to operate. *AppleInsider* is set to integrate this benchmark into our testing suite and encourages users running the application on their Macs to share their results in the forums.
Leave a Reply