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Benchmarks Used

Todays hardware supplied to the community is becoming faster and more powerful than most of us would ever imagine.  Therefore to ensure that you the reader have no unequivocal doubt in your mind to what the optimal performance of the hardware is; we use some of the best known professional benchmarks around which truly stretch these new hardware parts to their limits.  

In order to get the most out of all reviews we will endeavour to complete tests in both Microsoft Windows 32 Bit and 64 Bit modes were and when ever possible (and time scales permitting).   Some benchmarks are designed fully to run on 64 bit platforms and their results are completely different to that of the 32 bit platform.  Please take these points into careful consideration when comparing results.

SPECviewperf® 10
What is This Thing Called "SPECviewperf®"?

SPECviewperf® is a portable OpenGL performance benchmark program written in C. It was developed by IBM. Later updates and significant contributions were made by SGI, Digital (Compaq, HP), 3Dlabs (Creative Labs) and other SPECopcSM project group members. SPECviewperf provides a vast amount of flexibility in benchmarking OpenGL performance. Currently, the program runs on most implementations of UNIX, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Linux.

The OpenGL Performance Characterization (SPECopc) project group endorsed SPECviewperf as its first OpenGL benchmark. Performance numbers based on SPECviewperf were first published in the Q4 1994 issue of The GPC Quarterly.

SPECopc group member companies have ported the SPECviewperf code to their operating systems and window environments. The SPECopc project group maintains a single source code version of the SPECviewperf code that is available to the public.


Benchmarking with SPECviewperf

SPECviewperf parses command lines and data files, sets the rendering state, and converts data sets to a format that can be traversed using OpenGL rendering calls. It renders the data set for a pre-specified amount of time or number of frames with animation between frames. Finally, it outputs the results.

SPECviewperf reports performance in frames per second. Other information about the system under test -- all the rendering states, the time to build display lists (if applicable), and the data set used -- are also output in a standardized report.

A "benchmark" using SPECviewperf is really a single invocation of SPECviewperf with command-line options telling the SPECviewperf program which data set to read in, which texture file to use, what OpenGL primitive to use to render the data set, which attributes to apply and how frequently, whether or not to use display lists, and so on. One quickly realizes that there are infinite numbers of SPECviewperf "benchmarks" (an infinite number of data sets multiplied by an almost infinite number of command-line states).

Real-World Benchmarking

SPECopc project group members recognize the importance of real-world benchmarks. From the beginning, the group has sought benchmarks representative of the OpenGL rendering portion of independent software vendor (ISV) applications. Along these lines, the project group has come up with what it calls a viewset. A viewset is a group of individual runs of SPECviewperf that attempt to characterize the graphics rendering portion of an ISV's application.

Viewsets differ from SPECapc benchmarks in that they exercise only the graphics functionality of the application. This enables direct performance comparisons of graphics hardware. Since SPECviewperf does not require an application software license to run, it is accessible to a wider range of users than SPECapc benchmarks. It is also easier to use and runs faster than SPECapc benchmarks.

Viewsets are generally not developed by the SPECopc project group; they come from the ISVs themselves. Members of the SPECopc project group often "sponsor" the ISV. Sponsorship entails helping the ISV in several areas, including how to obtain the SPECviewperf code, how to convert data sets to a SPECviewperf format, how to use SPECviewperf, how to create SPECviewperf tests to characterize the application, how to determine weights for each of the individual SPECviewperf tests based on application usage, and finally to help offer the viewset to the SPECopc project group for consideration as a standard SPECopc viewset. Any ISV wishing to develop a viewset should contact gpcopc-info@spec.org.
Fundamental Upgrades

SPECviewperf 10 is available initially for Windows XP and Vista, with versions for Linux and Mac OS expected in upcoming months.

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.
Full Screen Anti-Aliasing and How it is Tested in SPECviewperf 10 - by Allen Bourgoyne

Below are a few brief snippets from the full article. The Full article may be found here. We strongly advise that you the reader actually take time in reading this full and interesting article to gain better understanding of what is actually being achieved.

SPECviewperf 10 includes new functionality to test performance for full-scene anti-aliasing (FSAA), a feature of most modern graphics cards. This document gives a brief description of FSAA, its benefits and limitations, and describes how to best interpret the results provided by SPECviewperf 10.

Interpreting SPECviewperf FSAA Test Results

SPECviewperf tests FSAA performance by running its standard test suite several times, setting the FSAA feature of the graphics card being tested to all possible FSAA sample values. If a graphics card supports up to 16 samples – supporting 16, 8, 4, and 2 samples – the test would run five times, running tests for 16, 8, 4, 2, and no samples.

The test is run with no FSAA enabled so that a baseline test result can be produced. The goal of the test is to determine what performance penalty, if any, enabling FSAA with a given sample rate incurs. During the individual tests, screen shots are captured. This allows the tester to review the effects that FSAA is having on the rendered image. It is important to note that as FSAA is altering the image, there is no way to automatically validate pixel accuracy of the images rendered. It is up to the tester to evaluate the individual image captures to determine if the FSAA-produced images for a given sample size are visually pleasing to the user. As mentioned earlier, a subjective evaluation is necessary as individual preference for the FSAA results plays a part with respect to the aesthetic quality of the images produced.

If the FSAA test produces a score that is within 10 percent of the non-FSAA score, under SPECviewperf 10 rules that score will be considered valid for the specific sample rate. If a SPECviewperf test score for a particular test is 20.0, for example, and the same test score with FSAA enabled with a sample of 8 produces 19.5, the official results will be listed as 20.0 with FSAA up to a sample of 8 enabled. Sample rates may affect individual tests differently with respect to performance, so each test will include the best FSAA sample rate score within the 10-percent threshold. If no sample rate falls within the 10-percent threshold, the test score will indicate that no FSAA sample rate achieved the performance threshold for this test.

In summary...

Full-scene anti-aliasing can be implemented in many ways, with varying results, even within a single graphics card vendor’s product line. Quality of images created with FSAA enabled is in the eyes of the beholder.

With its new testing for FSAA performance, SPECviewperf 10 relies on the tester to judge the visual quality of the image. FSAA performance is measured by the highest level of sampling achieved within 10 percent of the non-FSAA score.


Allen Bourgoyne is the Technical Marketing Manager for Workstation Graphics at AMD, and vice chair of the SPECopc project group.

 
Understanding the Impact of Windows Vista on SPECviewperf Performance Measurement - by Ian Willaims

Below are a few brief snippets from the full article. The Full article may be found here. We strongly advise that you the reader actually take time in reading this full and interesting article to gain better understanding of what is actually being achieved.

Windows Vista introduces many major new features that greatly improve user experience compared to Windows XP. Some of these features, however, affect performance benchmarking. This document aims to help SPECviewperf users better understand these features and how they impact performance measurement.

Inside Aero and DWM

A key feature of Windows Vista is the Aero user interface. Aero includes features such as transparent and blended windows, animated icons, and application preview. Because Aero is tightly integrated with the GPU, it is essentially a complete 3D application in itself, using much of the GPU’s capabilities and horsepower. Windows Vista’s Desktop Window Manager (DWM) is the underlying architecture and mechanism that enables Aero’s capabilities.

Fundamental Differences

Windows Vista architecture is fundamentally different than that for Windows XP, where the content of all 3D graphics windows is managed almost exclusively by the ICD graphics driver and no Desktop Window Manager exists. In XP, a 3D window represents a hole in the desktop as far as the operating system is concerned. The change in the DWM architecture between XP and Vista has two implications when benchmarking performance using SPECviewperf.

In Summary...

Vista delivers to Windows users a radical change in features and quality, which is good for the workstation industry in general. Inherent in the new features is an architectural re-design that has two main implications when benchmarking on Vista compared with Windows XP:

the impact of the Aero interface running concurrently with a benchmarked application; and
the impact of the architectural design of the Desktop Window Manager in situations when an application window updates faster than the display refresh rate.
In order to provide true apples-to-apples performance comparison between a specific system configuration running under Windows XP and the same configuration running under Windows Vista, both the DWM and Aero should be disabled. Unfortunately, this does not represent the default nor desired user experience of professional workstation users running Windows Vista applications – most users will want the DWM and Aero turned on. Benchmarking in this case is perfectly valid, but these results should not be compared to those generated while running Windows XP, even if testing is done with the same hardware configuration.

Ian Williams is Senior Applied Engineer at NVIDIA and chair of the SPECopc project group, developer of SPECviewperf.
SPECviewperf® 10 Viewset Descriptions
Currently, there are eight standard SPECopc application viewsets:
3ds max Viewset (3dsmax-04)    The 3dsmax-04 viewset was created from traces of the graphics workload generated by 3ds max 3.1. To ensure a common comparison point, the OpenGL plug-in driver from Discreet was used during tracing.

The models for this viewset came from the SPECapc 3ds max 3.1 benchmark. Each model was measured with two different lighting models to reflect a range of potential 3ds max users. The high-complexity model uses five to seven positional lights as defined by the SPECapc benchmark and reflects how a high-end user would work with 3ds max. The medium-complexity lighting models uses two positional lights, a more common lighting environment.

The viewset is based on a trace of the running application and includes all the state changes found during normal 3ds max operation. Immediate-mode OpenGL calls are used to transfer data to the graphics subsystem.

More detailed information Click Here http://www.spec.org/gpc/opc.static/3dsmax04.html
CATIA Viewset (catia-02)   The catia-02 viewset was created from traces of the graphics workload generated by the CATIA™ V5R12 application from Dassault Systemes.

Three models are measured using various modes in CATIA. Phil Harris of LionHeart Solutions, developer of CATBench2003, supplied SPEC/GPC with the models used to measure the CATIA application. The models are courtesy of CATBench2003 and CATIA Community.

The car model contains more than two million points. SPECviewperf replicates the geometry represented by the smaller engine block and submarine models to increase complexity and decrease frame rates. After replication, these models contain 1.2 million vertices (engine block) and 1.8 million vertices (submarine).

State changes as made by the application are included throughout the rendering of the model, including matrix, material, light and line-stipple changes. All state changes are derived from a trace of the running application. The state changes put considerably more stress on graphics subsystems than the simple geometry dumps found in older SPECviewperf viewsets.

More detailed information Click Here http://www.spec.org/gpc/opc.static/catia02.html
EnSight Viewset (ensight-03)   The ensight-03 viewset provides the ability to compare display list and immediate mode paths, and additional quality checks for display list results. It represents engineering and scientific visualization workloads created from traces of CEI's EnSight application.

CEI contributed the models and suggested workloads. Various modes of the EnSight application are tested using both display-list and immediate-mode paths through the OpenGL API. The model data is replicated by SPECviewperf 9 to generate 3.2 million vertices per frame.

State changes as made by the application are included throughout the rendering of the model, including matrix, material, light and line-stipple changes. All state changes are derived from a trace of the running application. The state changes put considerably more stress on graphics subsystems than the simple geometry dumps found in older viewsets.

More detailed information Click Here http://www.spec.org/gpc/opc.static/ensight03.html
Maya Viewset (maya-02)    The maya-02 viewset was created from traces of the graphics workload generated by the Maya 6.5 application from Alias.

The models used in the tests were contributed by artists at NVIDIA. Various modes in the Maya application are measured. Models used in this version of the Maya viewset contain many more vertices than those used in maya-01, better reflecting models used by animators in the real world.

State changes such as those executed by the application -- including matrix, material, light and line-stipple changes -- are included throughout the rendering of the model. All state changes are derived from a trace of the running application. The state changes put considerably more stress on graphics subsystems than the simple geometry dumps found in older viewsets.

More detailed information Click Here http://www.spec.org/gpc/opc.static/maya02.html
Pro/ENGINEER Viewset (proe-04)   The proe-04 viewset was created from traces of the graphics workload generated by the Pro/ENGINEER 2001™ application from PTC.

Two models and three rendering modes are measured during the test. PTC contributed the models to SPEC for use in measurement of the Pro/ENGINEER application. The first of the models, the PTC World Car, represents a large-model workload composed of 3.9 to 5.9 million vertices. This model is measured in shaded, hidden-line removal, and wireframe modes. The wireframe workloads are measured both in normal and antialiased mode. The second model is a copier. It is a medium-sized model made up of 485,000 to 1.6 million vertices. Shaded and hidden-line-removal modes were measured for this model.


This viewset includes state changes as made by the application throughout the rendering of the model, including matrix, material, light and line-stipple changes. The PTC World Car shaded frames include more than 100MB of state and vertex information per frame. All state changes are derived from a trace of the running application. The state changes put considerably more stress on graphics subsystems than the simple geometry dumps found in older viewsets.

More detailed information Click Here http://www.spec.org/gpc/opc.static/proe04.html
SolidWorks Viewset (sw-02)   The sw-02 viewset was created from traces of the graphics workload generated by the Solidworks 2004 application from Dassault Systemes.

The model and workloads used were contributed by Solidworks as part of the SPECapc for SolidWorks 2004 benchmark.

State changes as made by the application are included throughout the rendering of the model, including matrix, material, light and line-stipple changes. All state changes are derived from a trace of the running application. The state changes put considerably more stress on graphics subsystems than the simple geometry dumps found in older viewsets.

More detailed information Click Here http://www.spec.org/gpc/opc.static/sw02.html
UGS Teamcenter Visualization Mockup Viewset (tcvis-01)   The tcvis-01 viewset is based on traces of the UGS Teamcenter Visualization Mockup application (also known as VisMockup) used for visual simulation.

State changes such as those executed by the application -- including matrix, material, light and line-stipple changes -- are included throughout the rendering of the model. All state changes are derived from a trace of the running application. The state changes put considerably more stress on graphics subsystems than the simple geometry dumps found in older viewsets.




More detailed information Click Here http://www.spec.org/gpc/opc.static/tcvis01.html
UGS NX 3 (ugnx-01)    The ugnx-01 viewset is based on traces of the UGS NX 3 application. The traces represent very large models, some approaching 800MB of data per frame.

The new benchmark resulted from a collaborative effort among the automotive industry, UGS and SPEC/GPC.

State changes such as those executed by the application -- including matrix, material, light and line-stipple changes -- are included throughout the rendering of the model. All state changes are derived from a trace of the running application. The state changes put considerably more stress on graphics subsystems than the simple geometry dumps found in older viewsets.



More detailed information Click Here http://www.spec.org/gpc/opc.static/ugnx01.html
 
SPECapc for 3ds Max™ 9

Measures performance based on the workload of a typical user, including functions such as wireframe modeling, shading, texturing, lighting, blending, inverse kinematics, object creation and manipulation, editing, scene creation, particle tracing, animation and rendering. The benchmark runs under both OpenGL and DX implementations of 3ds max 9, and tests all the components that come into play when running the application.

Test models within SPECapc for 3ds Max 9 range from simple primitives to complex objects and large scenes. Multiple repetitions are used to test the limits of graphics cards. Separate results are reported for CPU and graphics scores.

The latest benchmark incorporates upgrades made in SPECapc for 3ds Max 8, including new models and functionality that reflect the content and workflow of today’s application users. The upgrades resulted from the cooperative efforts of Autodesk, independent 3ds Max animators, and SPECapc members. Major new features carried over from SPECapc for 3ds Max 8 include:

  • Larger models with greater complexity that provide more rigorous workloads for system components and better represent content created by 3ds Max professionals.
  • DirectX (DX) shaders that exercise advanced shader functionality within graphics systems.
  • Shorter run times achieved by streamlining code and eliminating tests that don’t contribute to a better understanding of system performance.
  • New and improved tests for radiosity, inverse kinematics and other advanced features.

The total number of seconds to run each test is normalized based on a reference machine, in this case a system with a 2.4-GHz Intel Xeon, Intel 860 chipset running Windows XP SP2 with 2GB of PC800 ECC RDRAM, an NVIDIA QuadroFX 1000 graphics card, and a 40GB ATA/100 hard drive. The normalization process ensures a scoring system where a bigger score is better. Composite scores are reported for interactive graphics and CPU rendering

 

  

MAXON CINEBENCH 10

It's a real-world test suite that assesses your computer's performance capabilities. MAXON CINEBENCH is based on MAXON's award winning animation software CINEMA 4D, which is used extensively by studios and production houses worldwide for 3D content creation. MAXON software has been used in blockbuster movies such and Spiderman, Star Wars, The Chronicles of Narnia and many more.

MAXON CINEBENCH runs several tests on your computer to measure the performance of the main processor and the graphics card under real world circumstances. The benchmark application makes use of up to 16 CPUs or CPU cores and is available for Windows (32- and 64-Bit) and Macintosh (PPC- and Intel-based).

   The resulting values among different Operating Systems are 100% comparable and therefore 
   very useful with regard to purchasing decision-making. It can also be used as a marketing tool for
   hardware vendors or simply to compare hardware among colleagues or friends.






How does MAXON CINEBENCH work?

The test procedure consists of two main components: The first test sequence is dedicated to the computer's main processor. A 3D scene file is used to render a photo realistic image. The scene makes use of various CPU-intensive features such as reflection, ambient occlusion, area lights and procedural shaders. In the first run, the benchmark only uses one CPU (or CPU core), to ascertain a reference value. On machines that have multiple CPUs or CPU cores, and also on those who simulate multiple CPUs (via HyperThreading or similar technologies), MAXON CINEBENCH will run a second test using all available CPU power.

The second test measures the performance of the graphics card and is run inside the 3D editor window. The project file used can test all graphics cards that support the OpenGL standard. In this scene, only the camera was animated. This scene places medium to low demands on graphics cards and tests the maximum speed with which the scene can be properly displayed.

Who should use MAXON CINEBENCH?

There is a wide range of applications for a real world benchmarking tool like MAXON CINEBENCH. Anyone who needs to compare the performance of computer hardware should put MAXON CINEBENCH into his or her tool box. Contrary to abstract benchmarks, which only test specific functions of CPUs or GPUs, a real world benchmark applies a user's common tasks to measure a system's performance.

You can download MAXON CINEBENCH R10 here

 

   SiSoftware Sandra (the System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant) is an  
   information & diagnostic utility. It should provide most of the information (including
   undocumented) you need to know about your hardware, software and other devices
   whether hardware or software.


It works along the lines of other Windows utilities, however it tries to go beyond them and show you more of what's really going on. Giving the user the ability to draw comparisons at both a high and low-level. You can get information about the CPU, chipset, video adapter, ports, printers, sound card, memory, network, Windows internals, AGP, PCI, PCIe, ODBC Connections, USB2, 1394/Firewire, etc.

Using the latest version SiSoftware Sandra 2007 SP1, listed below are just some of the Benchmark Modules that we use.

  • CPU Arithmetic Benchmark (MP/MT support)

  • CPU Multi-Media Benchmark (including MMX, MMX Enh, 3DNow!, 3DNow! Enh, SSE(2)) (MP/MT support)

  • File System (Removable, Hard Disks, Network, RamDrives) Benchmark

  • Memory Bandwidth Benchmark (MP/MT support)

  • Cache & Memory Bandwidth Benchmark (MP/MT support)

 
   PCMark®05 is everything you need to reliably and easily measure the performance of
   your PC and determine its strengths and weaknesses. With PCMark05, you will be
   able to select the optimal upgrades for your existing PC, or choose the right new PC that fits your specific needs. This easy-to-use product gives you the same tools and knowledge that virtually every professional tester in the industry uses.
 
   3DMark®06 is the worldwide standard in advanced 3D game performance
   benchmarking. A fundamental tool for every company in the PC industry as well as
   PC users and gamers, 3DMark06 uses advanced real-time 3D game workloads to measure PC performance using a suite of DirectX 9 3D graphics tests, CPU tests, and 3D feature tests. 3DMark06 tests include all new HDR/SM3.0 graphics tests, SM2.0 graphics tests, AI and physics driven single and multiple cores or processor CPU tests and a collection of comprehensive feature tests to reliably measure next generation gaming performance today. Futuremark's exclusive Online ResultBrowser web service tracks and compares 3DMark06 scores.
 
 

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