As a designer, your end goal is to produce the best design possible. In order for you to do this, you will need various tools and resources available to you. While you can settle for using only what comes standard on your computer’s operating system or through a standalone program, many designers turn to free graphic design software. You’re here because you want to learn more about the best free graphic design software. You’ve already found the best free graphics editing software. But, there are still a few pieces of free graphic design software you haven’t tried yet.
There are a million graphics editors you can use to create your stunning graphics. Which one you choose greatly depends on what you’re making and who you want to make it for. This guide will help you get started with free graphic design software.
3DMark
This is probably the top result of almost any benchmarking-related software search. It was produced by a software company called Futuremark, which develops various benchmarking tools for both business and home use.
Something cool about 3DMark is that there is a free version available. If you plan on using a benchmarking tool regularly, however, it’s probably worth trying the Advanced Edition. You should also use the Advanced Edition if you’re looking to test for 4K settings as that preset is only available there. There is also a Professional Edition, but that one is intended for business use.
3DMark displays detailed charts for temperatures (both CPU and GPU) and shows how clock speed and frame rates change during testing. The best part of this software is that it recognizes the hardware you own and assigns a suitable benchmark test.
It is also available for Android and iOS platforms, which is another major positive.
PassMark PerformanceTest
PassMark is fast and easy to use, which is a good benchmark for any software (pun intended). PerformanceTest can benchmark your CPU, 2D/3D graphics, Memory, Storage, and CD drive via 28 standard benchmark tests across 6 suites. A detail that many tech nerds will love is the ability to create their own custom tests.
The biggest downside of PerformanceTest is that while it technically comes in two versions, free and paid, the free one barely resembles the full edition. It’s practically useless.
However, the paid version of PassMark is considered one of the best benchmarking tools because it is very intensive and thorough.
Heaven UNIGINE
This is a very intensive GPU benchmarking tool. The fact that it is primarily a GPU benchmarking software is what separates it from the others. It is designed to perform very heavy and prolonged stress tests for the graphics card and can be used to accurately measure its stability.
Another reason why this might be the best tool for overclockers is the ability to monitor the GPU cooler and see how much it can handle when pushed to the limit.
FurMark
Many believe that FurMark is overkill for stress testing GPU and rightly so. It puts a tremendous load on the GPU to the point it can damage your hardware due to overheating. However, you can take its basic test which is a standard OpenGL test for measuring the GPU’s stability. You can even provide a custom preset such as resolution, dynamic background, screen mode, throttle time and more.
While the tests are highly advanced, you can’t monitor many essential metrics with the FurMark application. You will have to use a software like MSI Afterburner utility to keep an eye on GPU’s usage and temperature. To conclude, go with FurMark if you have the experience and expertise required in stress testing GPU.
MSI Kombustor
MSI Kombustor is MSI’s well-known tool for stress testing and benchmarking the GPU. It’s specially designed to push your graphics card to the absolute limit through several intensive simulations and demos. Among other things, MSI Kombustor also measures the thermal performance and tests the stability of the GPU.
To take full advantage of MSI Kombustor, you should use another MSI utility called Afterburner. It’s an overclocking tool by MSI that gives you full control over your graphics cards. You can customize the fan profiles and adjust the GPU’s clock frequency and voltage. It will allow you to find the perfect balance between performance and temperature.
OCCT
While OCCT is popularly known for stress testing CPU, it can also torture the GPU to its absolute brink. You can use OCCT to test the stability of your overclocking parameters like voltage, frequency, and resolution. It deploys OCCT’s version of the GPU stability test which is called the furry donut. The graphics rendering engine is so powerful that historically it has blanked out screens of computers powered by a major graphic card. As a result, the test has revealed major design flaws in the architecture of the GPU chipset.
Having said that, the best part about OCCT is that it’s not just a stress testing software, but also allows you to detect GPU errors and monitor the active readings. You can take advantage of the GPU: MEMTEST to find errors in the graphic’s card memory. All in all, OCCT is a multi-purpose tool to stress test the GPU and you should definitely give it a try. The only downside is that you don’t get a benchmark score, but that is passable.
Novabench
Best for testing and optimizing system performance.
Novabench benchmark tool lets you test computer performance within minutes. The app provides detailed information about graphic performance. You can also compare the results online to know about any performance issues.
Features:
- Check disk read and write and memory transfer speed.
- Compare performance.
- Troubleshoot and repair system.
Verdict: Setting up and running the benchmark tool is easy. To get the most accurate benchmark results, close apps and don’t use the computer during testing. You must buy the Pro version if you want detailed performance monitoring and reporting features.
Price:
- Basic: Free
- Advanced: $19
Website: Novabench
PassMark
Best for benchmarking and diagnosing system performance.
PassMark allows you to test the detailed performance of your computer. You can check and monitor 2D and 3D graphics performance. The free benchmarking tool also allows you to test processor, memory, and storage performance.
Features:
- Compare GPU, memory, and storage performance
- Customize tests
- Stress test
Verdict: PassMark is an easy-to-use and quick benchmarking tool to test GPU performance. The application can be used for benchmarking and comparing both desktop and mobile systems.
Price: Free
AIDA64 Extreme
AIDA64 Extreme is a GPU benchmark software that provides detailed information on computer components. The information given by this software can be saved in CSV (Comma Separated Values), HTML, or XML formats.
Features:
- This GPU benchmark software offers more than 50 pages of information on installed programs, software licenses, etc.
- It provides details of computer internals without the need to open it.
- Supports multi-threaded memory and cache to analyze system RAM bandwidth.
- It has a panel that can be used with different graphs, custom images linked with sensor data.
- AIDA64 Extreme can display data on devices like LCD or VFD (Variable Frequency Drive).
Conclusion:
Graphic design is a crucial part of any business’ online marketing. With the right graphic design, you can positively impact conversion rates and appeal to your target audience. But graphic design can be expensive. If you’re starting out small or on a budget, you’ll find that it can be difficult to afford quality graphic design services. Thankfully, there are many affordable alternatives available.