SPEC Releases SPECviewperf 10 for Linux/Unix

By DE Editors

A Linux/Unix version of SPECviewperf 10 graphics performance evaluation software is now available on CD or as a free download on from The Standard Performance Evaluation Corp. (SPEC; Warrenton, VA).

SPECviewperf is a worldwide standard for users assessing graphics performance for new purchases and upgrades, graphics card vendors testing products under development, OEMs evaluating graphics components, and consultants and publication editors reviewing new graphics systems.

Major new features in SPECviewperf 10 focus on performance evaluation in areas that are of increasing interest to the workstation market: higher-quality imaging and multi-core systems. SPECviewperf now provides the ability to compare performance of systems running in higher-quality graphics modes that use full-scene anti-aliasing. It also measures how effectively graphics subsystems scale when running multithreaded graphics content.

SPEC's graphics performance characterization group (SPECgpc) has also made architectural improvements to the software, the most significant of which is separating the Viewperf benchmark from its viewsets. This move should enable smaller downloads and more frequent updates of Viewperf functionality and viewset content in the future.

SPECviewperf measures the 3D graphics performance of systems running under the OpenGL application programming interface. The benchmark's test files, called viewsets, are developed by tracing graphics content from actual applications. Current viewsets represent graphics functionality in 3ds max, CATIA, EnSight, Maya, Pro/ENGINEER, SolidWorks, UGS NX, and UGS Teamcenter Visualization Mockup.

For details, contact The Standard Performance Evaluation Corp. (SPEC).

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.