December 1998 -- SPEC/GPC's OpenGL Performance Characterization (OPC) project group has completed a new version of its Viewperf 3D graphics benchmark and introduces a new viewset designed with Pro/DESIGNERTM software from Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC). ProCDRS-01 replaces the CDRS-04 (Conceptual Design Rendering Software) viewset.
Viewperf 6.1 allows the OPC group to work with independent software vendors (ISVs) to update and add to its current viewsets. It includes support for features such as multiple primitive types, multiple textures, texture objects, and explicit texture coordinates. Initial performance results for ProCDRS-01 and updated viewsets running under Viewperf 6.1, as well as free downloads, are available at this site. Viewset performance results under Viewperf 6.1 should be comparable with those reported under Viewperf 5.0 and later versions.
Viewperf benchmark software measures the 3D rendering performance of systems running under the OpenGL application programming interface (API). Viewsets are the test files that run under Viewperf. Developed for the OPC group by ISVs, viewsets represent the same mix of graphics rendering and manipulation found in the actual applications.
Pro/DESIGNER is part of Parametric Technology Corporation's Industrial Design Solutions. It is a comprehensive software package that contains powerful tools to easily create, modify and evaluate complex, free-form models. The accuracy of the surfaces created in Pro/DESIGNER enables the geometry to be used directly by engineering -- thoroughly integrating the design-through-manufacturing cycle.
PTC implementation engineers worked with the OPC group to develop the new ProCDRS-01 viewset, ensuring that it represents real-world user interaction with graphics models and operations.
"Benchmarks and test files have to change with graphics technology," says John Spitzer of Raycer Graphics, chair of the OPC project group. "We updated Viewperf and its viewsets to better reflect the newest generation of applications and to ensure that there's enough headroom to meet the benchmarking demands of current and future graphics systems."