You may have heard that Microsoft will end support for Windows 7 on January 14, 2020. Benchmarks also have a natural lifespan that ends when they no longer provide meaningful results on modern hardware. When old benchmarks are used with new hardware, the results can be skewed or limited in ways that reduce their accuracy and relevance.

Today, we're announcing that, from January 14, 2020, we will no longer offer updates or support for 3DMark 11, PCMark 7, Powermark, 3DMark Cloud Gate, and 3DMark Ice Storm benchmarks. These benchmarks, all of which were released between 2011 and 2013, no longer provide useful, comparable results with modern hardware. In every case, there is a newer and more relevant benchmark test that you should use instead.

Futuremark released updates for PCMark 7 and PCMark Vantage today. These updates bring Windows 8 compatibility and fix a few issues. You'll find the complete release notes for both updates below. Please note that PCMark 7 scores ARE affected by the changes in this update. If you use PCMark 7 in your testing you should NOT compare scores from PCMark 7 v1.4.0 with any previous version. PCMark Vantage scores are not affected by the update to v1.2.0.

DOWNLOAD: PCMark 7 v1.4.0 | PCMark Vantage v1.2.0

PCMark 7, a new Futuremark benchmark that offers complete PC performance testing for Windows 7, was released today and is now available to download and purchase from here. PCMark 7 is available in 3 editions: the free Basic Edition that offers unlimited runs of the PCMark test suite without registration or expiry, the Advanced Edition which includes all 7 benchmark tests and the Professional Edition which unlocks all features and is licensed for commercial use. PCMark 7 is the latest benchmark from developer Futuremark and joins existing Windows PC tests PCMark05 for Windows XP and PCMark Vantage for Windows Vista.

PCMark 7 provides a set of 7 PC tests for measuring different aspects of PC performance with a high degree of accuracy. Overall system performance is measured by the PCMark test. The Lightweight test measures the capabilities of entry level systems and mobility platforms unable to run the full PCMark test. Common use performance is measured by the Entertainment, Creativity and Productivity tests. Component performance is measured by the Computation and Storage hardware tests. The Storage test is ideal for testing solid state drives (SSDs) and external hard drives in addition to the system drive.

Futuremark today confirmed that PCMark 7, a new benchmark offering complete PC performance testing for Windows 7, will be released on May 3, 2011. PCMark 7 will be available in 3 editions: the Basic Edition, a free download offering unlimited runs of the main PCMark test, the Advanced Edition which includes all 7 PC tests and the Professional Edition which unlocks all features and is the only edition licensed for commercial use. The Advanced and Professional Editions can be pre-ordered now from this page.

PCMARK 7 BASIC EDITION - Free, available from May 3, 2011

• Free PC test offering unlimited runs of the main PCMark test suite
• Browse, search and compare results online
• Store one result online

Futuremark, the developer of the world's most popular benchmarking software, announced PCMark 7 today, a new benchmark offering complete PC performance analysis for Windows 7. PCMark 7 includes 7 separate test suites combining more than 20 individual workloads covering storage, computation, image and video manipulation, web browsing and gaming. A release date has not been announced though the official website states that PCMark 7 is coming soon.

"Hardware innovations like solid state drives (SSDs), and new form factors such as netbooks and tablets are greatly increasing the range of PC performance available to businesses and home users," said Jani Joki, Director of PC Products and Services at Futuremark. "With so much choice available, PCMark 7 is an essential and easy to use tool to test and compare PC performance accurately and reliably across a wide range of usage scenarios."