Earlier today, we reported that the HWBot website, which collects PC benchmark scores from its community members, decided to ban all Windows 8 scores from its database. The site claims that the decision was due to a change in the real time clock (RTC) in Windows 8 that can cause benchmark programs to show inaccurate results if the CPU base clock (BCLK) frequency is changed in software.
HWBot says that this issue affects scores generated by the 3DMark and PCMark programs made by Futuremark. In a post on their website today, Futuremark responds to the HWBot Windows 8 ban decision. It says that it is "investigating the Windows 8 RTC issue". However, it added:
... it is worth clarifying that the exploit described by HWBot has no practical benefit for hardware manufacturers or PC gamers since it only serves to create a false score that does not reflect actual performance. Furthermore, the steps required to exploit this issue are quite unusual and could not be happened upon by accident.
The statement added that PC owners can still use 3DMark to test their Windows 8 rig "without concern" and that PC systems that have their CPU overclocked from the BIOS are unaffected by this issue. Reviews of PC systems that have used 3DMark to perform benchmarks for comparisons are also not affected by this exploit.
Source: Futuremark | Image via Futuremark
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