SAN ANTONIO, July 24, 2002 -- SPEC/GPC's Application Performance Characterization (SPECapc) project group today released new software for evaluating performance of systems running Pro/ENGINEER 2001. SPECapc for Pro/ENGINEER 2001 is available for downloading on this web site. SPECapc also announced that it is developing a new Maya benchmark and a 64-bit version of the Pro/E benchmark.

Race car assembly for SPECapc for Pro/E 2001

SPECapc for Pro/ENGINEER 2001 is a completely new benchmark developed in conjunction with Cognitive Advantage, a Nashua, N.H., contract software engineering and performance evaluation firm. The new benchmark uses a complex model of a race car assembly to exercise all areas of system performance relevant to Pro/E users. Eight tests are run to measure performance in five categories: CPU, I/O, wireframe graphics, shaded graphics, and file time. Scores are compiled for individual tests, then calculated as weighted composites for each of the five categories and as an overall composite.

Model for Maya benchmark

SPECapc also demonstrated early development versions of Maya and 64-bit Pro/E benchmarks at a SIGGRAPH 2002 press conference. The Maya benchmark is being developed in cooperation with Alias|Wavefront. It will be the first to measure total system performance based on real-world use of the application. The 64-bit benchmark, under development by Cognitive Advantage, will be the first to measure performance for high-end systems running large-scale Pro/E applications.

"SPECapc for Pro/ENGINEER 2001 has been built from the ground up to reflect system performance when running the application in real-world conditions," says George Chaltas of Intel, SPECapc's chair. "We think this will be the most representative benchmark ever developed for Pro/E. We are also excited about adding Maya and 64-bit Pro/E benchmarks to our suite within the next six to nine months."

In addition to Pro/E, SPECapc's current suite includes application benchmarks for 3ds max, SolidWorks, Solid Edge and Unigraphics. The group continues to seek additional benchmarks for leading software programs in three key application areas: CAD/CAM/CAE, visualization and digital content creation (DCC).

SPECapc is a project group of the Graphics Performance Characterization (GPC) Group, which 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.

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