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3DMark adds new mobile benchmark for OpenGL ES 3
3DMark, one of the industry’s leading gaming benchmark companies, has just released a new graphics benchmark for Android devices named Sling Shot, which tests your device against a range of OpenGL ES 3.1 and 3.0 API features.
The new Sling Shot benchmark is designed to put your smartphone through its graphics paces and consists of three different tests, two graphics scenarios and one physics test. The first graphics test puts heavy emphasis on geometry processing and only uses simple shaders, while the second test reverses the situation to stress more mathematically complex shaders. The physics test’s math is computed on your phone’s CPU.
Inside the test, you will find examples of the latest graphical effects included as part of the OpenGL ES 3.0 and 3.1 APIs. These include, surface, particle and volumetric illumination, depth of field, and bloom post processing. End results are displayed in a modified graph, which contains information about the frames per second, CPU clock speed, battery drain, and, perhaps most importantly these days, your handset’s temperature.
Most last generation handsets can run the ES 3.0 test, which runs at 1080p before being scaled to your actual display resolution. Newer devices, such as the HTCOne M9 or Galaxy S6, can run both 3.0 and 3.1 options. Sling Shot using ES 3.1 bumps the resolution up to a full QHD (2560 x 1440) resolution before downscaling to your display’s actual size. This mode also makes use of more advanced Compute Shaders rather than Pixel Shaders for the first graphics test. Both modes can also be run “off-screen” using the Unlimited mode.
As part of the update, the benchmark suite now also supports Android TV devices so you can benchmark your set-top gaming performance, new UI changes for selecting your desired benchmark, and Russian localization.
The new 3DMark benchmark replaces the standalone Sling Shot app which was used for testing back in April and scores between the two versions are not comparable. You can download the 3DMark suite for free from the Google Play Store.