UL Benchmarks is thrilled to launch 3DMark Steel Nomad and 3DMark Steel Nomad Light. 3DMark Steel Nomad is deemed the successor of 3DMark Time Spy, launched in 2016. Over time, the average Time Spy score has approximately tripled. This, alongside game and hardware technology developments over the last eight years, meant that Time Spy was starting to show its age, and a new non-ray-traced benchmark was needed. Steel Nomad is a non-raytraced, cross-platform GPU benchmark that uses graphics technologies.



Running at a native 4k resolution, it improves upon Time Spy with more modern implementations of graphics technologies and is roughly three times heavier for your PC than Time Spy, and almost seven times heavier than Fire Strike. You can see this is not reflected in the data from a high-end GPU from 2024, as CPU bottlenecking is negatively impacting frame times in Fire Strike and Time Spy.

Steel Nomad launches today on Windows and Windows-on-Arm using the DirectX 12 and Vulkan APIs, Android using Vulkan, and iOS using Metal. As a cross-platform benchmark, we’ll be releasing support for new APIs and platforms throughout the year. Also, due to popular demand, we’ve brought back sound for this benchmark.

3DMark Steel Nomad for macOS and Linux will come at a later date.



With the addition of these two benchmarks, the 3DMark application provides a complete set of benchmarks for testing modern gaming hardware in both raytraced and non-raytraced gaming situations.

Explorer Mode

In Explorer mode, you’ll be able to explore the benchmark scene and toggle or change graphics settings. Hidden in the world are several secret locations for you to find and many Easter eggs referencing the last 25 years of 3DMark Benchmarks. We recommend enabling sound for the full experience. Explorer mode for Steel Nomad and Steel Nomad Light is available for everyone who has purchased 3DMark.

Updates to 3DMark Editions
For those of you trying out 3DMark with the 3DMark Demo before you buy, the 3DMark Steel Nomad and 3DMark Steel Nomad Light benchmarks will also be available for you to run. As with all other benchmarks in the 3DMark Demo, you won’t be able to access custom benchmark settings, HDR, or modes such as Explorer and VS. Mode.

With the release of Steel Nomad, we’re also updating the naming of 3DMark editions to align better with their intended users. This does not affect any features in these editions.



Availability
3DMark Steel Nomad is available as a free update to all 3DMark users. 3DMark is available to purchase on Steam, the Epic Games Store, or directly from UL Solutions for $34.99. To celebrate the launch of Steel Nomad, 3DMark will be 75% off for one week.