TheRetroArcade
Veteran
Posts: 1,997
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
Dated and clunky, just like me.
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A quarter of a century ago, Finnish software company MadOnion released its third iteration of a certain benchmark tool called 3DMark, and together with the launch of Nvidia's GeForce 3 series of graphics cards, 3DMark2001 showcased the potential of shaders in DirectX-powered games. For myself, it was the start of a period in my life which ultimately saw me working for the company, rebranded as Futuremark Corporation, and becoming neck-deep in everything gaming and graphics.
While I don't feel especially different 25 years on, comparing the graphics tests in 3DMark2001 to today's games shows just how much things have changed. Not just in terms of raw visual fidelity, but also in how much more complex rendering has become, replete with numbers that would have blown my tiny mind to pieces if I'd known what things would be like, all that time ago.
Take the very first graphics test in 3DMark2001. With overtones of Terminator 2, it follows a beefy truck, bouncing through a destroyed land, dodging attacks from gigantic, stomping robots. For each graphics test, 3DMark ran two versions, low and high detail, but in the video below, I've only included the high one.
With an average of 68,000 triangles per frame in the test, it was a serious workout for any graphics card back then. Now, you'll see two or three times as many polygons, just for a single vehicle in Forza Horizon 5. And it's a similar story with textures: 3DMark2001 uses around 16 MB per frame in the first test, whereas today's games use several hundred times more.
I mention Forza simply because it was the first game that popped into my head when trying to think of a modern game with trucks bouncing around a world, but it highlights another massive change since 2001. Back then, most 3D games were very limited in how much detail they could show in a scene, typically called draw distance, due to the limitations of early GPUs.
Now, game worlds like that in Forza, plus so many open-world RPGs, give you richly filled landscapes, with vistas that are no mere backdrops. If you can see it, you can often go and explore it.
The second graphics test in 3DMark2001 involves a medieval-like town, being attacked by a scantily-clad, low-polygon person atop a fire-breathing dragon. For the most part, some of the graphics still hold up quite well, partly because each frame com...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
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Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
A quarter of a century ago, Finnish software company MadOnion released its third iteration of a certain benchmark tool called 3DMark, and together with the launch of Nvidia's GeForce 3 series of graphics cards, 3DMark2001 showcased the potential of shaders in DirectX-powered games. For myself, it was the start of a period in my life which ultimately saw me working for the company, rebranded as Futuremark Corporation, and becoming neck-deep in everything gaming and graphics.
While I don't feel especially different 25 years on, comparing the graphics tests in 3DMark2001 to today's games shows just how much things have changed. Not just in terms of raw visual fidelity, but also in how much more complex rendering has become, replete with numbers that would have blown my tiny mind to pieces if I'd known what things would be like, all that time ago.
Take the very first graphics test in 3DMark2001. With overtones of Terminator 2, it follows a beefy truck, bouncing through a destroyed land, dodging attacks from gigantic, stomping robots. For each graphics test, 3DMark ran two versions, low and high detail, but in the video below, I've only included the high one.
With an average of 68,000 triangles per frame in the test, it was a serious workout for any graphics card back then. Now, you'll see two or three times as many polygons, just for a single vehicle in Forza Horizon 5. And it's a similar story with textures: 3DMark2001 uses around 16 MB per frame in the first test, whereas today's games use several hundred times more.
I mention Forza simply because it was the first game that popped into my head when trying to think of a modern game with trucks bouncing around a world, but it highlights another massive change since 2001. Back then, most 3D games were very limited in how much detail they could show in a scene, typically called draw distance, due to the limitations of early GPUs.
Now, game worlds like that in Forza, plus so many open-world RPGs, give you richly filled landscapes, with vistas that are no mere backdrops. If you can see it, you can often go and explore it.
The second graphics test in 3DMark2001 involves a medieval-like town, being attacked by a scantily-clad, low-polygon person atop a fire-breathing dragon. For the most part, some of the graphics still hold up quite well, partly because each frame com...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?