Benchmark Developer 3DMark Releases Steel Nomad Series for Cross-Platform Performance Evaluation
On May 21st, 3DMark developers are expected to launch the new Steel Nomad benchmark series. These cross-platform successors of Time Spy and Time Spy Extreme act as recommended benchmarks minus the process of ray tracing. There are two versions: the 4K-resolution 3DMark Nomad and 3DMark Nomad Light which tests graphics card performance at a resolution of 1440p.
The original Steel Nomad works to measure performance without ray tracing on high-performing devices operating Windows, macOS, and Linux. For lighter machines such as Windows laptops with integrated graphics, Arm Windows computers, Apple Silicon chip computers, and iOS and Android devices, Steel Nomad Light is recommended. Test versions for Windows x86 and Windows Arm will be available on May 21st, followed by Linux and macOS versions. Light versions for Android and iOS will be released later.
Hardware portal PC Games Hardware has already performed the first tests of the new 3DMark Nomad on a high-performing PC using a Core i9-13900KS and DDR5-7600 memory. Latest graphic drivers from AMD, Nvidia, and Intel were employed for the test platform. Depending on the configuration, either AMD SAM or ReBar technologies were employed, providing the central processor with access to all video card memory.
Some key observations from the tests include:
- GeForce RTX 4090 surpasses RTX 4080 Super by 43% in the tests;
- GeForce RTX 4070 performs 1300% faster than GeForce GTX 970;
- Intel Arc A770 offers similar performance to Radeon RX 6700 XT.
The only video card to score over 40K in the Steel Nomad test was the GeForce RTX 4090. It demonstrated a score of 43.2K at default settings, increasing to 46.3K at maximum overclocking. The fastest AMD video card, Radeon RX 7900 XTX, scored 28.9K at default settings, which rose to 31.7K after additional overclocking. Thus, there was a 49% to 46% difference in favor of the GeForce RTX 4090 over Radeon RX 7900 XTX. A summary of all results gathered by PC Games Hardware is shown below and can be viewed in detail.
The 3DMark Nomad test will be made available as a free update for licensed 3DMark benchmark package owners on May 21.
