MadOnion.com Introduces XL-R8R

Toronto, Ontario– September 22, 2000– MadOnion.com (formerly Futuremark Corporation), the leading provider of PC performance information and Web services, today announced the release of XL-R8R (pronounced Accelerator), the first intelligent PC hardware upgrade recommendations service. XL-R8R allows a user to profile their PC configuration and get personalized recommendations on how to improve the PC’s performance effectively and affordably.
Developed for the PC user interested in exploring their system, XL-R8R tells individuals precisely how to enhance their PC’s performance – XL-R8R not only tells the user how to maximize the efficiency of their home office applications and improve their gaming experience, it also offers solutions for issues such as how to improve their PC’s performance in order to optimize their Video/DVD experience.
XL-R8R works by gathering a matrix of performance indicators from the user’s PC system in order to inspect the PC’s hardware configuration. Having attained this information, XL-R8R then accesses MadOnion.com’s Internet PC Performance Database in order to provide detailed performance analysis and upgrade recommendations tailored specifically for each individual user. The performance database contains hundreds of thousands of 3DMark, Video2000, and SYSmark2000 results and provides the user with a PC Performance Score that reflects results from comparable systems from around the globe.
“Not everyone who owns a PC system is a computer expert, but many of these users want to know more about which component of their computer – from the video card to the CPU to the RAM – to upgrade in order to improve their PC’s performance,” said Nathan Harley, VP of Marketing, MadOnion.com. “XL-R8R allows PC users to tap into our extensive PC Performance Database of over 1 million benchmarking results and share the expertise of our global community of users.”

Key Features of XL-R8R include:

• XL-R8R is the world's first Intelligent PC Hardware Upgrade Recommendations Service, developed by MadOnion.com and delivered by its vast PC Performance Database
• The very latest in 3D-Graphics: XL-R8R's visuals treat users to the very latest in PC-Graphics, and give them an idea of where PC games could be going in the future.
• Membership in the MadOnion.com Community: We encourage users to join our discussion groups and chat rooms for in-depth information regarding all the PC-Hardware issues.
• Know Your PC: Users can teach themselves the most important internal components of their beloved beige box. Entertain the many wonderful possibilities of PC upgrading.
• Boost System Performance... for Free: Make sure things run as smoothly and as fast as they can with the latest tips and tricks from MadOnion.com.
• All Points Maintenance Check: XL-R8R makes maintaining a PC for maximum efficiency an absolute breeze.
• Compare and Share: XL-R8R gives users a system score, as well as a detailed and summarized System report, that allows them to compare results and system specs with friends.
• Help in Dealing with Customer/Technical Support: A printout of the Summarized System Report will make discussing problems with Hardware Technical Support Departments much less frustrating. XL-R8R provides users with system specs in a format that is easy to read.

Minimum System Requirements for XL-R8R

• Intel® Celeron® processor 300+MHz or compatible
• 64 MB of memory 50 MB of free hard disk space
• Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME or Windows 2000 Professional
• Microsoft DirectX 7
• 3D Accelerator similar or above an ATI Rage128, nVidia RivaTNT or 3Dfx Voodoo3
• A desktop resolution of 640x480 with 16bit colors, or better
• Access to the Internet is required to use XL-R8R's online services

Pricing and Availability

XL-R8R is available now as a free shareware download at www.MadOnion.com.
An XL-R8R CD, packed with bonus materials, can be purchased from www.MadOnion.com/products/purchase/#xl-r8r for $14.99 USD plus $4.99 shipping and handling.

About MadOnion.com

MadOnion.com is the leading provider of PC performance information and Web services. Powered by an Internet-based engine, MadOnion.com is known for its leading-edge benchmark products such as 3DMark™ 99 MAX, 3DMark™ 2000, and Video2000. MadOnion.com, in strategic alliance with BAPCo, serves as the diffusion partner for SYSmark®2000 and as co-developer of WebMark2001. MadOnion.com has offices in San Jose, Toronto and Helsinki. For more information, please visit www.MadOnion.com.

3DMark™, Futuremark™, MadOnion.com™ are trademarks of MadOnion.com formerly Futuremark Corporation, Ltd. MAX-FX Technology™ is a trademark of Remedy Entertainment, Ltd. All other brands and names are property of their respective owners.

For more information please refer to http://company.MadOnion.com/products/xl-r8r/ or contact:
Nathan Harley
Vice President, Marketing
MadOnion.com
416-972-6275
nathan@MadOnion.com
Heather Steele
Account Executive
High Road Communications
416-368-8348
hsteele@highroad.com