GPU Benchmarking Methods Investigated: Fact vs. Fiction

This is not really an overclocking related article, but very interesting nonetheless, especially if you read through OC hardware reviews once in a while. To all results, there's a reviewer bias factor present which either affects the numbers (mostly unintentionally) or the conclusion that follows the numbers. I would strongly advise anyone to look at benchmark results and review conclusions with a critical eye ... and the same goes for overclocking results!

The most important thing about accurately benchmarking a game comes down to one word: research. It isn’t often that the first level or in-game benchmark will give an accurate representation of GPU performance. Using one of these aforementioned methods could lead a writer to come up with the wrong conclusion if he takes the easy way out. Knowing the game one is testing through actual playing time is essential. There is no way anyone should be basing a conclusion off of games they aren’t totally familiar with because as we have seen, the risk of projecting the wrong information through incorrect benchmarks is very high indeed. Many wrongfully think it is fine to load up a few stand-alone benchmarks, hope the results line up with gameplay and be done with it.