Ok, I thought I would throw this in here with the help of the Hitman from the AlienWare Forum's...
For "currently" valid benchmarks: 3DMark03 & 3DMark2001 SE
No benchmark results from 3DMark03 can be compared to those obtained from any previous version of 3DMark, as each one uses a completely different rendering system and test procedure to obtain the final results.
Use Build 330 SE for 3DMark2001 SE...http://www.futuremark.com/download/?3dmark2001.shtml
Use Build 340 for 3DMark®03...http://www.futuremark.com/download/?...patch340.shtml
Use the latest NVIDIA Forceware or ATI Catalyst Drivers for XP, and approved for use at 3DMark03 default benchmark settings.
If you are to use any Anisotropic Filtering or AntiAliasing, set the driver settings to "Application" and use the AF and AA settings from within 3DMark03.
Restart the computer before running the benchmark and after making any driver/hardware changes.
Set all your display properties settings to "Default" under Direct3D.
Disable any networking connections and file sharing. Any network activity is likely to affect the tested system and its performance.
Close any open applications and background programs.
Run each test more than three times. This will help to ensure that the effect that any anomalous result has on the final result is kept to a minimum.
Do not attempt to initiate any other system activity while 3DMark03 or 3DMark2001 SE is benchmarking.
3DMark03 will instruct the graphics adapter drivers to disable Vsync. Check to guarantee that Vsync is disabled.
Always use the same monitor and monitor settings, such as refresh rate.
Compare hardware and detailed settings only by running benchmarks on "clean" systems. Bring all maintenance up to date..."Drives Defragged"... Make sure everything is running efficiently first.
Disable the System Restore feature on Windows ME, Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
It is highly recommended that you have the latest official version of DirectX (9.0a minimum, 9.0b recommended) installed.
Taking a screenshot affects your test result by a temporary performance drop. Therefore the result of the current test will be discarded, when you take a screenshot.
In order to keep the reported scores comparable, it is recommended that the default setting be used for generic references (i.e. 3500 3D marks running on 1024x768 resolution, 32 bit color, compressed textures, 24 bit z-buffer and double buffering, VSync off) in addition to the other reported scores. Referring to the default setting will make comprehending the results easier for the mainstream end users who run 3DMark03 in their own systems.
A few other thoughts ...
3DMark2001SE loves memory bandwidth. A higher score can usually be obtained by running higher FSB/memory or even just tweaking the memory and running it at faster settings.
Adjust all the display settings to performance. Performance and quality do not go hand in hand. The faster the performance the lower the quality. The higher the quality the lower the performance, and so forth. You will kill the score if you are running a "balanced" setting in your video driver applet instead of a performance one. Worse yet, a "quality" setting will trash the benchmarks.
Happy Testing and may the best score win...
For "currently" valid benchmarks: 3DMark03 & 3DMark2001 SE
No benchmark results from 3DMark03 can be compared to those obtained from any previous version of 3DMark, as each one uses a completely different rendering system and test procedure to obtain the final results.
Use Build 330 SE for 3DMark2001 SE...http://www.futuremark.com/download/?3dmark2001.shtml
Use Build 340 for 3DMark®03...http://www.futuremark.com/download/?...patch340.shtml
Use the latest NVIDIA Forceware or ATI Catalyst Drivers for XP, and approved for use at 3DMark03 default benchmark settings.
If you are to use any Anisotropic Filtering or AntiAliasing, set the driver settings to "Application" and use the AF and AA settings from within 3DMark03.
Restart the computer before running the benchmark and after making any driver/hardware changes.
Set all your display properties settings to "Default" under Direct3D.
Disable any networking connections and file sharing. Any network activity is likely to affect the tested system and its performance.
Close any open applications and background programs.
Run each test more than three times. This will help to ensure that the effect that any anomalous result has on the final result is kept to a minimum.
Do not attempt to initiate any other system activity while 3DMark03 or 3DMark2001 SE is benchmarking.
3DMark03 will instruct the graphics adapter drivers to disable Vsync. Check to guarantee that Vsync is disabled.
Always use the same monitor and monitor settings, such as refresh rate.
Compare hardware and detailed settings only by running benchmarks on "clean" systems. Bring all maintenance up to date..."Drives Defragged"... Make sure everything is running efficiently first.
Disable the System Restore feature on Windows ME, Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
It is highly recommended that you have the latest official version of DirectX (9.0a minimum, 9.0b recommended) installed.
Taking a screenshot affects your test result by a temporary performance drop. Therefore the result of the current test will be discarded, when you take a screenshot.
In order to keep the reported scores comparable, it is recommended that the default setting be used for generic references (i.e. 3500 3D marks running on 1024x768 resolution, 32 bit color, compressed textures, 24 bit z-buffer and double buffering, VSync off) in addition to the other reported scores. Referring to the default setting will make comprehending the results easier for the mainstream end users who run 3DMark03 in their own systems.
A few other thoughts ...
3DMark2001SE loves memory bandwidth. A higher score can usually be obtained by running higher FSB/memory or even just tweaking the memory and running it at faster settings.
Adjust all the display settings to performance. Performance and quality do not go hand in hand. The faster the performance the lower the quality. The higher the quality the lower the performance, and so forth. You will kill the score if you are running a "balanced" setting in your video driver applet instead of a performance one. Worse yet, a "quality" setting will trash the benchmarks.
Happy Testing and may the best score win...
and a stickie. 
