About Us
An independent, free resource for understanding Cinebench — what to download, how to run it, and what your scores really mean.
This website is an independent guide dedicated to one thing: helping people download Cinebench, run it correctly, and understand what their benchmark scores actually mean. Whether you are buying a new CPU, tuning thermals on a laptop, or comparing two systems side by side, our goal is to give you a number you can trust and the context to act on it.
We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Maxon, the developer of Cinebench. We are a reader-focused publication that exists to make a confusing topic clear.
Why we built this
Cinebench has served as a gold-standard test for the hardware industry for more than two decades. Yet a lot of the information around it is scattered across forums, old reviews, and marketing pages — which version to run, how scores compare across releases, what the MP ratio represents, and why two identical systems can post different results. Much of it is outdated or simply wrong. We bring it together in one clear, accurate, up-to-date place so you do not have to piece it together yourself.
What we cover
- How to download and run each Cinebench version, from R15 to 2026, including system requirements and first-run setup.
- How to read single-core, multi-core, SMT, and GPU scores — and which ones matter for your workload.
- The MP ratio: what it is, how it is calculated, and why it carries new meaning in Cinebench 2026.
- Reference score ranges by CPU and GPU tier, and the reasons two identical systems can legitimately differ by 10 to 15 per cent.
- Using Cinebench as a stress test, diagnosing thermal throttling, and getting consistent, repeatable results.
- How Cinebench compares to other benchmarks, so you know when to reach for a different tool.
Our editorial approach
Everything we publish is grounded in how Cinebench actually behaves. We keep our guides practical and free of hype, we explain the reasoning behind every recommendation, and we are explicit about the limits of what a benchmark can tell you. When hardware, drivers, or new releases change the picture, we revise the relevant guides rather than leaving stale numbers in place.
Who this is for
Hardware reviewers, PC enthusiasts, content creators, IT professionals, overclockers, and anyone who has ever looked at a Cinebench score and wondered whether it is good, why it dropped on the second run, or whether it can be compared to a number from a different version. If that is you, you are in the right place.
Get in touch
Found an error, have a question, or want to suggest a topic? We read every message. Reach us through our contact page.
Last reviewed: June 2026.