Candella Software, an independent contract software developer from the UK, announced Tuesday the release of a new benchmark that is set to demonstrate the benefits of the most advanced hardware available to date and provide an understanding of its performance in upcoming game titles.

The benchmark called Rydermark will utilize a proprietary multithreaded game engine developed for a game scheduled for future release, will require a high-end personal computer (PC) featuring a dual-core microprocessor as well as DirectX 9 shader model 3.0-capable graphics card with 512MB of memory onboard, according to Candella Software.

Candella said that the new benchmark will use true 64-bit high dynamic range lighting with antialiasing, parallax occlusion mapping, soft shadows, normal mapping, soft particles, full scene motion blur, depth-of-field, heat haze, volumetric fire and realistic water physics.

While benchmarks like 3DMark collect input from around the industry and offer some kind of “virtual” game engine of the future that does reflect the trends, but is still artificial, Candella claims that Rydermark will use 3D models, textures and shaders developed for an actual videogame, which will give users understanding of how the particular title will perform and what will the next-generation games – those that use advanced graphics technologies – require in general.

Rydermark, which is targeted at he PC hardware enthusiast and gaming communities, will be available free for download from all the major file download and gaming websites this holiday season.