Some people don't seem to understand the purpose of benchmarking software. If that is you, then 3DMark probably isn't for you. Most games pre-render their cutscenes, as some computers can't handle them. 3DMark renders extremely complex scenes locally on your system. This allows you to measure the power of your setup, and see how it will perform in games. The other advantage is for overclocking. You can get a score before and after the overclock. This will give you a baseline to see how much improvement you've squeezed from a device with your overclocks. Additionally, an overclock isn't always stable once a card reachers higher heat, or you push it to its limits. 3DMark can also be used to test your stability. If you can run it for a few hours without a crash, your overclock is probably stable! On top of that, the scenes are a joy to look at, and really fun for showing off your computer when friends come over! If you are more than a gamer, a computer enthusiast, pick this up! You won't be dissapointed. If you want a free alternative, check out the "Unigine" benchmarks. They are fun too, but won't give the indepth details that 3Dmark will. -PR0XIDIAN