Reference estimate guide
Desktop GPU Volume Shader BM Guide
How to interpret Volume Shader BM reference ranges for discrete desktop GPUs, including power, drivers, resolution, and shader-heavy presets.
These notes describe reference ranges and testing conditions. They are not official vendor rankings and should not be mixed with live leaderboard submissions without matching the same preset, browser, and power mode.
Devices tracked
6
Reference devices in this class.
Source label
Device pages clearly label conservative estimates separately from community samples.
Compare fairly
Keep browser, preset, power profile, render size, and thermal state fixed before comparing.
Desktop GPUs usually show the clearest separation between light presets and heavy shader workloads because they have higher power limits and stronger cooling than mobile devices.
For fair comparisons, keep the browser, preset, render size, driver state, and monitor refresh behavior fixed. A high-end desktop GPU can be limited by a small canvas or browser scheduling before it reaches native benchmark-style load.
Reference ranges on this site are orientation points, not certified rankings. Use the live leaderboard for browser-submitted results and keep reference estimates labelled separately.
Comparison guidance
- Use Cloud Layer or 3D Fractal when you need a stronger shader ALU signal.
- Use the same desktop power profile and avoid background overlays or capture tools when recording FPS.
- Compare against broader suites such as 3DMark or UNIGINE only as context, because Volume Shader BM is a focused WebGL workload.
Common bottlenecks
Driver and browser backend
Chrome, Edge, and Firefox can choose different GPU paths, so browser changes can move the score.
Canvas size
A larger browser window increases the shaded pixel count and can lower FPS even on strong cards.
Power and fan policy
Quiet or eco modes can reduce sustained clocks during long shader runs.
Recommended presets
Reference devices in this class
| Device | FPS | 1% low | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Ada Lovelace / 2022 | 220-270 | 160-195 | Reference estimate |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Ada Lovelace / 2022 | 175-215 | 125-155 | Reference estimate |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX RDNA 3 / 2022 | 170-210 | 120-150 | Reference estimate |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ada Lovelace / 2023 | 115-150 | 82-110 | Reference estimate |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ampere / 2021 | 60-90 | 42-65 | Reference estimate |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Pascal / 2016 | 28-45 | 18-32 | Reference estimate |
Device class FAQ
Can Volume Shader BM replace 3DMark on a desktop GPU?
No. It complements broader suites by isolating a browser WebGL shader workload.
Why is my desktop GPU under 60 FPS?
Check preset, window size, browser, power mode, driver state, and whether the device is using the intended GPU.