SPECapc for Maya 2023 Benchmark – Measuring Performance of the Latest High Performance Workstations

By Jessica Heerboth, SPECapc Committee Chair

In October of last year, SPEC released the SPECapc® for Maya 2023 benchmark, which offers application performance measurement for workstations running Autodesk Maya 2023. Maya is the 3D animation and visual effects software used by top artists in the industry to create realistic characters and stunning visual effects.

Workstation hardware performance has reached unprecedented levels, and the updates in the SPECapc for Maya 2023 benchmark include new and more complicated workloads and larger models compared to the previous version. With the SPECapc for Maya 2023 benchmark, workstation vendors will be better able to assess and compare their ability to meet the performance needs of Maya 2023 users, while users will be better able to determine the best workstations to purchase for their needs. The demand for the SPECapc for Maya 2023 benchmark is reflected in its growing popularity. More than 100 organizations have already downloaded the benchmark, with 61 downloads in just the first 10 weeks of 2023.

The SPECapc for Maya 2023 benchmark consists of 47 tests using eleven different models and animations. It includes eight different graphics tests in various modes and five different CPU tests. The graphics-oriented tests use six different Maya view settings — Shaded, Shaded SSAO, wireframe on shading, wireframe on shaded SSAO, textured, and textured SSAO. Various tests measure both animation and 3D model rotation performance. Five CPU tests within the benchmark perform CPU ray tracing and evaluation caching in various modes.

The benchmark features the following 11 models, with the largest containing 7.8 million triangles:

• Sol and Solette animation. 1.8M triangles, 1.25GB of texture
• Apollo 11 – well textured, modeled character
• Sven – 10 copies of a character model, rigged for animation
• Tiger – 1.3 GB realistically rendered tiger model, with hair
• Space crash – A Bifrost simulation of a spaceship crashing into water
• Jungle Escape – Action animation scene featuring the Sven character
• Room ray trace – a ray traced room (using CPU raytracing)
• Sol ray trace – Sol, ray traced (using CPU raytracing)
• Wood scene ray trace – a ray traced tree (using CPU raytracing)
• Wall of Death model – measures evaluation cache performance

The SPECapc for Maya 2023 benchmark is available as a free download 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.

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