SPECopc
Announces New Viewperf Version;
Develops First Viewset Based on 3ds max
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SPECopc
Announces New Viewperf Version; |
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| SPEC/GPC's OpenGL Performance Characterization (SPECopc)
group announces a major new version of its Viewperf performance evaluation
software and a new viewset based on 3ds max. The new benchmark and viewset
will be available for free downloads on this web site in the first half
of 2002.
SPECviewperf 7.0 has been upgraded so that general state changes can now be made during frames, bringing the benchmark much closer to how applications behave in the real world. Data traversal, facet color processing, and display of lighting and textures can now be changed from frame to frame. The 3ds max viewset has been designed to take advantage of the new features within SPECviewperf 7.0. The viewset's frames are based on traces of graphics commands made while running 3ds max. As a result, vendors and users can tune their graphics subsystems to the 3ds max viewset and see performance improvements in the actual application. The 3ds max viewset is the first to be based on an existing SPECapc benchmark. Although the models might be the same, SPECviewperf and SPECapc benchmarks serve audiences that tend to have different benchmarking needs, according to Bill Licea-Kane of ATI, SPECopc's chair. "SPECviewperf is easy to run, does not require that the user have the actual application, can be run on any OpenGL platform, and exercises the graphics subsystem component of the application," says Licea-Kane. "SPECapc benchmarks are much closer to the overall application behavior - measuring graphics, CPU and I/O performance. They require that the user has the application installed and the time and skill to run a more extensive benchmark. Actual graphics subsystem performance within SPECapc benchmarks can sometimes be difficult to separate from the final result." SPECviewperf measures the 3D rendering performance of systems running under the OpenGL application programming interface (API). Viewsets are the test files that run under SPECviewperf. Developed for the SPECopc group by independent software vendors (ISVs), viewsets represent the same mix of graphics rendering and manipulation found in actual applications or a class of applications. SPECopc is a project group of the Graphics Performance Characterization (GPC) Group, which in turn is part of the Standard Performance Evaluation Corp. (SPEC). SPEC is a non-profit corporation formed to establish, maintain and endorse a standardized set of relevant benchmarks that can be applied to the newest generation of high-performance computers. SPEC's membership includes computer hardware and software vendors, and leading universities and research facilities worldwide. ### Press contacts: |