UL Solutions, the creators of the renowned 3DMark benchmarking tool, have recently launched Solar Bay, an innovative cross-platform ray tracing benchmark. Made as a free update for 3DMark users, Solar Bay is specifically designed for devices with integrated GPUs like laptops and mobile phones. By utilizing the Vulkan 1.1 API, Solar Bay introduces both a benchmark and a stress test, offering a unique user experience.
With the growing importance of ray tracing in PC gaming graphics, 3DMark has already introduced Port Royal and Speedway benchmarks. However, these benchmarks cater to graphics cards with higher performance and power requirements. The advent of ray tracing in the mobile space presents a new opportunity, making a ray tracing benchmark like Solar Bay an essential addition for battery-powered devices such as phones, tablets, and laptops.
Solar Bay Benchmark Features
The Solar Bay benchmark comprises three stages, each stage progressively increasing the ray tracing workload by 100%. By crunching the numbers, the benchmark provides users with a score that allows for easy comparisons between devices. The stress test, on the other hand, is valuable for assessing throttling. For users seeking to optimize their laptops in terms of cooling, noise level, and clock speed, Solar Bay offers an ideal tool.
Impressive Performance
To put Solar Bay to the test, I ran it on my current memory testing system, equipped with an RTX 4090, i9 13900K, and 2x16GB of DDR5-5600. The system delivered an impressive score of 194,320, with all three stages producing over 700 FPS. Undeniably, the RTX 4090 is a powerhouse when it comes to performance.
For comparison, the highest AMD result reached 156,489 using a Radeon RX 7900 XTX. This is a remarkable showing for an AMD card, considering that both the RTX 4090 and the AMD card’s performance are limited by the CPU.
Windows users can easily obtain 3DMark and Solar Bay for $34.99 through various platforms, including Steam, Epic Games, or directly from UL Solutions. Meanwhile, Android users can access it via the Google Play store. As for iOS availability, there is currently no official word, but it is highly likely that Solar Bay will eventually become available for iOS. While iOS already supports Vulkan, adapting Solar Bay to Apple’s Metal API would require additional effort.
Solar Bay emerges as an essential addition to the 3DMark toolset, catering to the demands of ray tracing benchmarks specifically designed for battery-powered devices. Whether you are a professional seeking optimal performance or an enthusiast aiming to benchmark your device, Solar Bay offers an insightful experience. With its diversified availability and impressive performance results, Solar Bay is undoubtedly a new benchmark to watch out for.
Leave a Reply