PCMark 7, a new Futuremark benchmark that offers PC performance testing for Windows 7, was released today and is now available to download and purchase from http://www.pcmark.com/. PCMark 7 is available in 3 editions: the free Basic Edition that offers unlimited runs of the PCMark test suite without registration or expiry, the Advanced Edition which includes all 7 benchmark tests and the Professional Edition which unlocks all features and is licensed for commercial use. PCMark 7 is the latest benchmark from developer Futuremark and joins existing Windows PC tests PCMark05 for Windows XP and PCMark Vantage for Windows Vista.

PCMark 7 provides a set of 7 PC tests for measuring different aspects of PC performance with a high degree of accuracy. Overall system performance is measured by the PCMark test. The Lightweight test measures the capabilities of entry level systems and mobility platforms unable to run the full PCMark test. Common use performance is measured by the Entertainment, Creativity and Productivity tests. Component performance is measured by the Computation and Storage hardware tests. The Storage test is ideal for testing solid state drives (SSDs) and external hard drives in addition to the system drive.

With the launch of PCMark 7 today, everyone can use this PC test and its online services found at www.pcmark.com to compare the PCMark scores from thousands of systems.

PCMark 7 lets PC home users and business managers make valid performance comparisons across such a wide range of hardware and usage scenarios.

The video transcoding workloads, for example, use dedicated hardware acceleration if it is available. This allows for a better comparison between newer components which enable acceleration and older parts that rely on brute force calculation alone.

The storage workloads in PCMark 7 have been developed to accurately and fairly compare systems with either SSD or HDD storage drives. An SSD may be ten times faster than an HDD, but upgrading will not make your PC ten times faster. Tests that use the storage workloads take this into account, and comparing the scores between systems with an SSD and without will give you an accurate estimate of the difference in performance for your complete system, not just that one isolated component.
PCMark 7's storage workloads use recordings of how real applications, including Microsoft Word, Windows Live Photo Gallery, Windows Live Movie Maker, Windows Media Center, Windows Media Player, Internet Explorer, Windows Defender (Security Essentials) and even World of Warcraft, access and use the PC's storage device. These recordings are used in the benchmark to replicate how real applications behave without needing to install, run and measure each individual application.
PCMark 7 is available in the following editions:

PCMARK 7 BASIC EDITION – Free download

- Free PC test offering unlimited runs of the main PCMark test
- Browse, search and compare results online
- Store one result online

PCMARK 7 ADVANCED EDITION - $39.95

- Includes all 7 PC tests with more than 25 individual workloads
- Browse, search and compare results online
- Unlimited online results storage
- Hide results from public view
- Offline result management
- Advert-free online service

PCMARK 7 PROFESSIONAL EDITION - $995.00

- Licensed for commercial PC system testing
- Includes all 7 PC tests with more than 25 individual workloads
- Command line automation
- Browse, search and compare results online
- Unlimited online results storage
- Hide results from public view
- Offline result management
- Advert-free online service
- Priority support