GAINESVILLE, VA — The SPEC Graphics Performance Characterization Group (SPECgpc) has released an all-new version of its SPECviewperf benchmark that features new volume visualization viewsets for energy and medical applications, a redesigned GUI, improved scoring and reporting methods, and updated viewsets to support more recent versions of the applications on which they are based.
The new benchmark is available for free downloading to everyone except vendors of computers and related products and services that are not members of the SPEC Graphics and Workstation Performance Group (SPEC/GWPG). Non-member computer product and service vendors can purchase the benchmark for $2,500. SPEC/GWPG members include AMD, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Intel, Lenovo and Nvidia.
Reflecting real-world performance
SPECviewperf software measures the 3D graphics performance of systems running under the OpenGL and Direct X application programming interfaces. The benchmark’s workloads, called viewsets, represent graphics content and behavior extracted from professional applications, without the need to install the applications themselves.
Applications represented by viewsets in SPECviewperf 13 include 3ds Max and Maya for media and entertainment; Catia, Creo, NX and SolidWorks for CAD/CAM; Showcase for visualization; and two datasets representing professional energy and medical applications.
SPECviewperf 13 is a comprehensive upgrade of previous versions of the benchmark. Medical and energy viewsets incorporate new models and ray casting for volume visualization; the Maya viewset features new models based on the SPECapc for Maya 2017 benchmark; and the Creo viewset has been updated with fresh application traces. All other viewsets have been recompiled with minor changes.
Other major updates in SPECviewperf 13 include:
- Support for 4K resolution displays.
- New reporting methods, including JSON output that enables more robust and flexible result parsing.
- A new user interface that will be standardized across all SPEC/GWPG benchmarks.
- New workloads and scoring that reflect the range of activities found in real-world applications.
- Various bug fixes and performance improvements.
"We've spent thousands of hours debating, coding, testing, measuring, analyzing and re-debating in order to determine the most relevant aspects of applications represented in SPECviewperf's viewsets, then deciding how best to measure and report their performance," says Alex Shows, SPECgpc chair. "As a result, we believe that graphics performance improvements observed in SPECviewperf 13 for a particular system configuration will relate well to those seen in the real world."
Available for immediate download
The SPECviewperf 13 benchmark is available for immediate download on the SPEC website. It is supported under Microsoft Windows 10 64-bit RS3 or later. Results from SPECviewperf 13 are not comparable to those from earlier versions.