'Futuremark' Is No More; Benchmark Maker Adopts Parent Company's 'UL' Branding
The name "Futuremark" has been synonymous with PC benchmarking for over 20 years, but the company’s owners retired the iconic name in favor of its parent company branding. Futuremark will henceforth be known as UL.
Futuremark created and distributes the 3DMark, PCMark, and VRMark benchmarking tools, which are used by hundreds of publications (including Tom’s Hardware) and thousands of gamers around the world to evaluate hardware performance. Futuremark is essentially a household name within the PC enthusiast community. UL purchased Futuremark in October 2014, and for the past three and a half years, Futuremark operated under its original name. However, effective today, that's over and done with; the Futuremark.com website is closed, and the URLs now redirect to benchmarks.UL.com. And the company renamed the Futuremark social media feeds as "UL Benchmarks."
UL said that the name change would not affect existing benchmark tools. 3DMark, PCMark, and VRMark will continue to function as they did under the Futuremark branding, and UL will continue to offer professional and consumer versions of its benchmark tests. UL will even continue to host legacy Futuremark benchmarks on its website.
To celebrate the company’s rebranding, UL is offering deep discounts on its benchmark software until April 30. 3DMark, PCMark 10, and VRMark are all available for 75% off the regular price, which works out to $7.49 each for 3DMark and PCMark and $4.99 for VRMark. And if you need a copy of all three, you can save another 6% by purchasing a bundle pack.
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Kevin Carbotte is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware who primarily covers VR and AR hardware. He has been writing for us for more than four years.
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bit_user Much love for Futuremark and their Demoscene* roots.Reply
UL is offering deep discounts on its benchmark software
Sold.
This is about what they should normally cost. As a casual user, I only run these a handful of times. I'm happy to pay, but let's be realistic...
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Mike Coberly So nothing was said about the Hall Of Fame? I assume they're gonna toss that aside, or possibly place it behind a paywall. :(Reply -
araczynski Wow, didn't even know UL bought them years ago, that alone gives them street cred in my eyes. I know everyone and their dog uses it, but that doesn't mean I trust it. Until now.Reply -
chicofehr This is the same company that puts UL on the side of many electrical/electronic products as a safety symbol. They usually do safety 'benchmarks'.Reply -
ul_benchmarks @MIKE COBERLY Our change in company name does not affect the Hall of Fame. Don't worry, we have no plans to take it down or put it behind a paywall. You can find answers to some other common questions about our rebranding here: https://benchmarks.ul.com/welcomeReply -
bit_user Reply
They are also branching out into cyber security.20914681 said:This is the same company that puts UL on the side of many electrical/electronic products as a safety symbol. They usually do safety 'benchmarks'.