The OpenGL Performance Characterization (OPC) project group is fine-tuning its implementation of GLperf, a new benchmark that measures primitive-level graphics performance for systems using the OpenGL application programming interface (API). The group plans to begin reporting GLperf numbers in the first half of 1996.

GLperf allows testing based on the exact same objects and attributes, making it a reliable tool for measuring performance across different OpenGL-based systems. This makes it a superior alternative to primitive-level benchmarks such as triangles per second, which are often based on different attributes. The triangles in triangles per second, for example, could contain different numbers of pixels and might have different types of lighting and shading applied to them.

A simple input file format within GLperf allows users to specify the OpenGL primitives they want to time. The benchmark is flexible to allow testing for a variety of objects (line strips, polygons, triangles) with different attributes (line width, number of lights, texture functions, etc.). The ability to finely specify GLperf testing parameters enables vendors, application developers, and users to closely inspect performance under different scenarios. The performance testing flexibility of GLperf is matched by the reporting options made available to the user. A user can specify, for example, whether timing is to be reported as objects per second, pixels per second, or microseconds per object.

GLperf will be the second benchmark developed by the OPC group. It will complement Viewperf, the OPC project group's first benchmark. Viewperf measures performance for 3D graphics paths and models typically used by specific commercial applications.