Today FinalWire released an update to the PC editions of its award-winning system information software. Version 5.70 comes with new multi-threaded ray tracing benchmarks, which fully utilize the latest instruction set extensions (AVX, AVX2, FMA). The new floating point tests use more realistic workloads and put more intensive load on the CPU.

The new AIDA64 edition is now capable of displaying hardware monitoring information on RGB LED backlit mice and provides information on the Vulkan capabilities of the latest AMD and NVIDIA graphics processors. Additionally, it can now read and display sensor readings for Corsair AXi power supply units.DOWNLOAD: FinalWire AIDA64 v5.70

AMD released its monthly major update to Radeon Software Crimson Edition, its software suite that provides drivers and system software for AMD Radeon discrete and integrated graphics processors. Version 16.2 Beta comes with game-specific optimization for "Ashes of the Singularity" Benchmark 2.0, including support for features such as DirectX 12 multi-GPU and asynchronous compute shaders. Performance improvements are added for "Rise of the Tomb Raider," and CrossFire profiles are added for "Tom Clancy's The Division" and XCOM 2. A number of bugs related to "Rise of the Tomb Raider" and "Fallout 4" were fixed.DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.2 Beta for Windows 10/8.1/7 64-bit | Windows 10/8.1/7 32-bit

The change-log follows.

Intel's next major CPU architecture, codenamed "Skylake," could be classified as the company's 6th generation Core processor family. It will succeed the brief stint Core "Broadwell" will have at the market, with no major chips for PC enthusiasts to look forward to. The Core i7-6700K appears to be the flagship product based on the Skylake-D silicon, succeeding the i7-4770K and i7-4790K. The Core i5-6600K will succeed the i5-4670K and i5-4690K.

The i7-6700K is a quad-core chip, with HyperThreading enabling 8 logical CPUs. Its nominal clock will be 4.00 GHz, with a rather shallow 4.20 GHz Turbo Boost frequency. It will feature an 8 MB L3 cache, and an integrated memory controller that supports both DDR4 and DDR3 memory types. This makes Skylake a transition point for the mainstream PC market to gradually upgrade to DDR4. You'll have some motherboards with DDR3 memory slots, some with DDR4 slots, and some with both kinds of slots. The resulting large uncore component, and perhaps a bigger integrated GPU, will result in quad-core Skylake parts having TDP rated as high as 95W, higher than current Haswell quad-core parts, with their 88W TDP.

Futuremark is excited to introduce our new 3DMark API Overhead feature test - the world's first independent test for measuring differences in DirectX 12, DirectX 11 and Mantle API performance. It's also the very first public application to use DirectX 12 full stop. This is cutting edge stuff! Developed with input from AMD, Intel, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and the other members of our Benchmark Development Program, the 3DMark API Overhead feature test lets you compare the performance of DirectX 12, DirectX 11, and Mantle.

The purpose of the test is to compare the relative performance of different APIs on a single system, rather than the absolute performance of different systems. The API Overhead feature test is not a general-purpose GPU benchmark, and it should not be used to compare graphics cards from different vendors. (We are working on a DirectX 12 benchmark with game-like workloads, which we expect to release soon after the public launch of Windows 10.)

DOWNLOAD: Futuremark 3DMark v1.5.884

Here are some of the first purported benchmarks of NVIDIA's upcoming flagship graphics card, the GeForce GTX TITAN-X. Someone with access the four of these cards installed them on a system driven by a Core i7-5960X eight-core processor, and compared its single-GPU and 4-way SLI performance on 3DMark 11, with its "extreme" (X) preset. The card scored X7994 points going solo - comparable to Radeon R9 290X 2-way CrossFire, and a single GeForce GTX TITAN-Z. With four of these cards in play, you get X24064 points. Sadly, there's nothing you can compare that score with.

NVIDIA unveiled the GeForce GTX TITAN-X at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2015. It was just that - an unveiling, with no specs, performance numbers, or launch date announced. The card is rumored to be based on the GM200 silicon - NVIDIA's largest based on the "Maxwell" architecture - featuring 3072 CUDA cores, 192 TMUs, 96 ROPs, and a 384-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, holding 12 GB of memory. The benchmark screenshots reveal core clock speeds to be around 1.00 GHz, and the memory clock at 7.00 GHz.

In its latest update to 3DMark (2013), version 1.4.775, Futuremark rolled out what it claims to be the first comprehensive benchmark for systems with 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) displays. The suite's high-end graphics benchmark, FireStrike, now comes with a third variant, besides the standard (1920 x 1080), and Extreme (2560 x 1440) ones; called FireStrike Ultra. Unlocked on the Advanced and Professional licenses, FireStrike Ultra doesn't need you to have an Ultra HD display, just a GPU with at least 3 GB of video memory. The main benchmark selection window has been polished up a bit more, and the benchmark logging now includes more details that should help with customer-support.DOWNLOAD: 3DMark (2013) v1.4.775

The change-log follows.

Here are some of the first pictures of an AIC partner branded NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 graphics card, the Galaxy GTX 970 GC. Spotted across Chinese PC enthusiast forums and social networks, the latest set of leaks cover not just pictures of what the GTX 970 looks like, but also what's under its hood. To begin with, Galaxy's card appears to be built for the high-end market segment. A meaty twin-fan aluminium fin-stack heatsink, coupled by a spacey backplate cover a signature Galaxy blue PCB, holding NVIDIA's new GTX 970 GPU, and 4 GB of GDDR5 memory. The card appears to feature a high-grade VRM that draws power from a combination of 8-pin and 6-pin PCIe power connectors.

Here are some of the first benchmarks of Intel's ambitious Core M processor, a performance-segment dual-core processor with a thermal envelope of just 4.5W, making it ideal for tablets, ultra-portables, and mainstream desktops. At IDF 2014, Intel showed off a 12.5-inch tablet running a Core M 5Y70 chip. An MCM of the CPU and PCH dies, the CPU die features two "Broadwell" 64-bit x86 cores, a large new graphics processor with 24 execution units and 192 stream engines, 4 MB of shared L3 cache, a dual-channel LPDDR3 memory controller, and a PCI-Express 3.0 root complex. The PCH die wires out the platform's various connectivity options.

The 12.5-inch Core M tablet was put through three tests, Cinebench R11.5, SunSpider 1.0.2, and 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited. With the multi-threaded CPU-intensive Cinebench R11.5, the Core M scores a respectable 17 FPS in the GL bench, with 2.48 pts CPU. That's about 60 percent the performance of a Core i7-870. Significantly higher than anything Atom, Pentium, or AMD E-Series. With SunSpider, the Core M put out a score of 142.8, under Internet Explorer 12 running under Windows 8.1. With 3DMark IceStorm Unlimited, the Core M sprung up a surprise - 50,985 points. That over double that of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, and faster than the IGPs AMD E-Series APUs ship with. Color us interested.

Hot on the heels of all the hardware announcements at Computex, our new 3DMark Sky Diver benchmark test is ready to download and use today. Every single 3DMark user - more than a million and counting - will get Sky Diver as a free update. For new users, Sky Diver is unlocked and ready to use in all editions of 3DMark. And for a limited time, you can buy 3DMark Advanced Edition, which includes more tests, custom settings and other features, from Steam for only $9.99 (60% off).

Sky Diver is a new DirectX 11 benchmark test for gaming laptops and mid-range PCs. It's ideal for testing mainstream graphics cards, mobile GPUs, integrated graphics and other systems that cannot achieve double-digit frame rates in the more demanding Fire Strike test.DOWNLOAD: 3DMark v1.3.708 with Sky Diver

Futuremark today announced 3DMark Sky Diver, a new DirectX 11 benchmark test for gaming laptops and mid-range PCs. 3DMark Sky Diver is the ideal test for benchmarking systems with mainstream DirectX 11 graphics cards, mobile GPUs, or integrated graphics. A preview trailer for the new benchmark shows a wingsuited woman skydiving into a mysterious, uncharted location. The scene is brought to life with tessellation, particles and advanced post-processing effects. Sky Diver will be shown in full at Computex from June 3-7, or find out more here.

Jukka Makinen, Futuremark CEO said, "Some people think that 3DMark is only for high-end hardware and extreme overclocking. Yet millions of PC gamers rely on 3DMark to choose systems that best balance performance, efficiency and affordability. 3DMark Sky Diver complements our other tests by providing the ideal benchmark for gaming laptops and mainstream PCs."

Eurocom has benchmarked the M4, the world's most powerful 13.3" QHD+ notebook. It is equipped with a breathtaking 3200x1800 QHD+ display, an Intel Core i7 Extreme Processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M graphics. Eurocom has benchmarked and stress tested the M4 to exemplify the performance that is squeezed into its ultra portable chassis. The 5,760,000 pixels of the 13.3" 3200x1800 QHD+ display are powered by the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M graphics with 2GB DDR5 VRAM, 640 CUDA Cores, with a GPU core able to run at up to 1029MHz +boost.

Powered by a full line of 4th Generation Intel Core i7 processors utilizing the Intel HM87 Express Chipset including the Intel Core i7-4940MX Processor Extreme with 4 cores and 8 threads running at 3.1 GHz (up to 4 GHz max turbo frequency) with 8 MB L3 cache. The integrated Trusted Platform Module 1.2 from Infineon Technologies ensures that digital certificates, passwords and keys are made more secure from software attacks and physical theft. TPM provides the ability for a computing system to run applications more secure and allows secured remote access to perform electronic transactions and communication more safely. The increased security, brought on by the TPM 1.2 can save organizations in IT management costs.

While you are waiting patiently for AMD to get their Mantle drivers out of the lab and into gamers' hands, you may want to head over to Steam as Oxide Games and Publisher Stardock have released a free demo of their Nitrous Engine there, which supports Mantle.

The demo is called "Star Swarm Benchmark", and is a real-time showcase for what the engine is capable of doing. The demo shows two artificial intelligence controlled fleets of starships battling it out. The developers want you to know that the demo is not a deterministic simulation, and repeated runs may produce varying benchmark results due to the highly threaded nature of the Nitrous Engine.

In the run up to its rumored February 18th launch, GeForce GTX 750 Ti, the first retail GPU based on NVIDIA's next-generation "Maxwell" GPU architecture, the card is finding itself in the hands of more leaky PC enthusiasts, this time, members of Chinese PC enthusiast community site PCOnline. The site used an early driver to test the GTX 750 Ti, which it put through 3DMark 11 (performance preset) and 3DMark Fire Strike. In the former, the card scored P4188 points, and 3170 points in the latter. The test-bed details are not mentioned, but one can make out a stock Core i7-4770K from one of the screenshots. Also accompanying the two is an alleged GPU-Z 0.7.5 screenshot of the GTX 750 Ti, which reads out its CUDA core count as 960. Version 0.7.5 doesn't support GTX 750 Ti, but it has fall-backs that help it detect unknown GPUs, particularly from NVIDIA. Its successor, GPU-Z 0.7.6, which we're releasing later today, comes with support for the chip.

EVGA has teamed up with ALLBenchmark, the developer of the popular Catzilla benchmark, to release an official EVGA version. Catzilla, a cross-API benchmark designed for OpenGL 4.0 and DirectX 9 or 11, and Windows operating systems (64-bit and 32-bit Windows 8, 7, XP, and Vista), is a quick, yet comprehensive benchmarking program that uses algorithms found in the latest PC video games, so users can see how their PCs will handle the most demanding games.

Following Catzilla's simple 500 MB download, a PC's hardware is tested with an epic video of two battling "Catzillas". The video, with advanced HD graphics, fiery particle effects and explosive scenes, serves as an entertaining animated short as well as the basis for the comprehensive benchmark test. Platige Image - the award-winning studio behind graphics seen in several video games, commercials, animations and films, including The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 - created the artwork in the Catzilla video.

Listening to feedback from its customers, FinalWire has revamped its professional portfolio, which now includes three AIDA64 editions for business customers. The company today introduced a new product, a dedicated network audit solution called AIDA64 Network Audit, which allows system administrators to make a detailed inventory of the PC fleet in an automated manner, and track changes in both hardware and software. At the same time, its flagship offering, AIDA64 Business has been enhanced with hardware monitoring and benchmarking functionality, while AIDA64 Engineer now supports additional expert tools for corporate engineers and IT technicians.

"Today every company needs an IT asset management solution, but customers' demands can be very different. This is what we learned from our clients and this is what we had in mind when we decided to introduce a new AIDA64 edition for business users. Now we have a targeted and lower-priced offering for companies looking for a dedicated network audit solution, while our upgraded flagship product, AIDA64 Business offers much more value for money to customers who need complete PC management functionality", said Tamas Miklos, managing director of FinalWire.

PCMark 8, the latest release in our series of popular benchmarking tools, will be available to download and buy from Steam within the next few hours. PCMark 8 combines performance benchmarking, battery life testing, a dedicated benchmark for SSDs and HDDs, and real-world tests using popular applications from Adobe and Microsoft. It's an essential tool for anyone who wants to get the most out of their hardware.

PCMark 8 includes five new benchmark tests, each designed around a typical use scenario. Choose the benchmark that best matches your needs, or run all five for a complete picture of your PC's performance. Each benchmark produces a score you can use to compare systems as well as detailed results you can use to gain a deep understanding of system performance.

More benchmarks of Intel's upcoming socket LGA2011 flagship client processor, the Core i7-4960X "Ivy Bridge-E," surfaced on the web. Tom's Hardware scored an engineering sample of the chip, and wasted no time in comparing it with contemporaries across three previous Intel generations, and AMD's current generation. These include chips such as the i7-3970X, i7-4770K, i7-3770K, i7-2700K, FX-8350, and A10-5800K.

In synthetic tests, the i7-4960X runs neck and neck with the i7-3970X, offering a 5 percent performance increment at best. It's significantly faster than the i7-3930K, Intel's $500-ish offering for over 7 quarters running. Its six cores and twelve SMT threads give it a definite edge over quad-core Intel parts in multi-threaded synthetic tests. In single-threaded tests, the $350 i7-4770K is highly competitive with it. The only major surprise on offering is power-draw. Despite its TDP being rated at 130W, on par with the i7-3960X, the i7-4960X "Ivy Bridge-E" offers significantly higher energy-efficiency, which can be attributed to the 22 nm process on which it's built, compared to its predecessor's 32 nm process. Find the complete preview at the source.

Eagerly waiting to see how the so-called 5 GHz processor from camp AMD performs in the real world? Well, some lucky user over at VR-Zone forums got a chance to get this hands dirty with the yet-to-be on sale AMD FX-9590 processor, and decided to post his benchmark scores with all of us (much to our joy).

While the performance of AMD's fastest and hottest babe till date is no-doubt good, it comes at the price of an exorbitantly high 220W TDP, and of course a near $1000 price tag (if reports turn out to be 100% true). The CPU vCore is running at a high 1.5v, but then again we've always seen AMD chips operate at higher voltages than their Intel counterparts. No doubt, despite all this, system builders are going to have a gala time going ape over the 5 GHz FX-9590.More results follow.

Coinciding with exciting new processor launches from AMD and Intel, Futuremark is proud to announce the release of PCMark 8 Professional Edition - the Complete Benchmark for Windows. Designed around common scenarios in the home and office, PCMark 8 is an essential benchmark for the latest Windows 8 notebooks, tablets and desktop PCs, especially those powered by new AMD Richland and Intel Haswell processors. PCMark 8 Professional Edition is licensed for commercial use and is intended for business, press and industry users. Additional PCMark 8 editions for home users will be released later in June.

FinalWire Ltd. today announced the immediate availability of AIDA64 Extreme Edition 3.00 software, a streamlined diagnostic and benchmarking tool for home users; and the immediate availability of AIDA64 Business Edition 3.00 software, an essential network management solution for small and medium scale enterprises.

The new AIDA64 release introduces completely rewritten memory bandwidth and memory latency benchmarks, optimized for AVX2, AVX and SSE capable AMD, Intel and VIA processors. The latest AIDA64 update also implements optimized 64-bit benchmarks for AMD "Kabini" and Intel "Haswell" processors, and supports the latest AMD Radeon and nVIDIA GeForce graphics accelerators.DOWNLOAD: AIDA64 v3.00 Installer, AIDA64 v3.00 ZIP

Futuremark updated 3DMark 11 to version 1.0.4, which makes the benchmark fully compatible with Windows 8. The update also addresses other compatibility issues and a few uncommon bugs. Benchmark scores are not affected and scores from this new version can be compared with scores from the previous version 3DMark 11 v1.0.3.DOWNLOAD: 3DMark 11 v1.0.4

Valley Benchmark is a new GPU stress-testing tool from the developers of the very popular and highly acclaimed Heaven Benchmark. The forest-covered valley surrounded by vast mountains amazes with its scale from a bird's-eye view and is extremely detailed down to every leaf and flower petal. This non-synthetic benchmark powered by the state-of-the art UNIGINE Engine showcases a comprehensive set of cutting-edge graphics technologies with a dynamic environment and fully interactive modes available to the end user.

Offering a rare chance to experience a breath of untapped, crystal clear air, Valley Benchmark allows you to encounter a morning high up in the mountains when the snow-capped peaks are just barely glittering in the rising sun. Be it flying over the vast green expanses or hiking along rocky slopes, this journey continues as long you wish. Unique in every corner, this open-space world provides a wonderfully relaxing experience under the tranquil music and sounds of nature.DOWNLOAD: Unigine Valley for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux

UNIGINE Corp. has released a new, enhanced version 4.0 of Heaven Benchmark, the GPU intensive benchmark that gained massive popularity among overclockers and hardware manufacturers for hammering their graphics cards to the limits. This powerful tool can be effectively used to determine the stability of a GPU under extremely stressful conditions, as well as check the cooling system's potential under maximum heat output. It provides completely unbiased results and generates true in-game rendering workloads across all platforms, such as Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.

Heaven Benchmark immerses a user into a magical steampunk world of shiny brass, wood and gears. Nested on flying islands, a tiny village with its cozy, sun-heated cobblestone streets, an elaborately crafted dirigible above the expanse of fluffy clouds, and a majestic dragon on the central square gives a true sense of adventure. An interactive experience with fly-by and walk-through modes allows for exploring all corners of this world powered by the cutting-edge UNIGINE Engine that leverages the most advanced capabilities of graphics APIs and turns this benchmark into a visual masterpiece.DOWNLOAD: Unigine Heaven 4.0 for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux

A little later this week, Unigine Corp. will be announcing two new GPU benchmark apps, the Valley 1.0, and Heaven 4.0. The two apps are cross-platform, in that they support both Windows and Linux (x86/x64). On Windows, the two can max out feature-sets of the latest DirectX 11.x APIs, while on Linux, the two take advantage of the latest OpenGL 4.x. Valley uses an entirely new test scene that's a beautiful springtime depiction of a valley. Distant snow-capped peaks, a treeline, and dense foliage, the scene's got it all, coupled with lighting, and depth of field effects. Definitely something we'd like our GPUs to trip on.

Moving on, Unigine's second benchmark suite for the season is Heaven 4.0, while builds on the current Heaven 3.0 benchmark. It adds SSDO (scene-space dimensional occlusion), improved lens flare, a rendered starscape at night time, GPU temperature and clock monitoring, improved multi-GPU detection, and various bug fixes. The two should be released some time around Thursday (14/02).

Futuremark released the newest installment to its 3DMark franchise. It's the first 3DMark to lack a version name, making it a "reboot" of sorts. For starters, the new 3DMark is a collection of three independent benchmark suites, each with its own demos, game tests, physics tests, and combined tests, and scoring.

Among the three suits are "Ice Storm," designed for tablets, mobile devices, and entry-level desktops, which needs nothing more than a DirectX 9.0c GPU to get going; "Cloud Gate," for notebook and home desktops, which needs a DirectX 10 feature-level GPU; and "Fire Strike," an over-the-top suite designed for today's gaming desktops, which can make even the fastest graphics cards sweat (for example, our GTX 680 in the screenshots below). The physics tests of each of these can benefit from having multiple cores and advanced instruction sets. TechPowerUp is a premier launch partner, hosting downloads on behalf of Futuremark. Grab yours below.DOWNLOAD: 3DMark (2013)