Roughly ten months ago, we had our first look at Futuremark’s VRMark virtual reality benchmark tool. The company sent us an experimental latency detection device and an early build of the professional version of VRMark to test. The early version of VRMark featured an HMD latency test, but it didn’t include a system performance evaluation tool.
In April, Futuremark released an update for 3DMark that included a preview of what you can expect from VRMark. The preview also didn’t include a performance test, but it allowed you to see some of the environments that the performance test passes through.
Now, seven months after the preview, Futuremark finally released the full VRMark test suite.
VRMark is available in two versions. You can get the basic VRMark test free, which includes a test called the Orange Room benchmark. The Orange Room test is ideal for testing PCs with the recommended VR specifications for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
To pass the Orange Room benchmark, your PC must maintain a target framerate of 109 fps and never dip below that level. Thanks to Oculus’s Asynchronous Space Warp technology, you can run an Oculus Rift on lower-powered hardware than the Vive. If your system maintains 81 fps throughout the test, it is capable of running Rift games on low settings.
If you have a top-end PC with a pair of 10-series cards and Intel’s latest i7 processor, you might want to consider purchasing VRMark Advanced Edition, which includes the Blue Room test that Futuremark designed for high-performance PCs. The Blue Room test demands far more from your PC than VR games do. If your system can pass the Blue Room test, it's ready for future VR content and perhaps second-generation HMDs.
VRMark Advanced Edition also allows you to see the detailed results following a test. The software also generates hardware monitoring charts for frame rate, GPU frequency, GPU load, and GPU temperature.
Both versions of VRMark include Experience Mode, which lets you roam around freely through the benchmark environments. The Basic Edition lets you fly around the Orange Room, and the Advanced Edition allows you to roam freely in the Blue Room.
VRMark runs the benchmark tests on your monitor, but you can use a VR HMD to explore Experience Mode.
VRMark is available now from Futuremark’s website and the Steam marketplace. The Basic Edition is free for everyone to download and try. The Advanced Edition costs $19.99.
