The SPEC Workstation Performance Characterization (SPECwpc) group has released an updated version of its SPECworkstation benchmark, SPECworkstation 3.1, which measures all key aspects of workstation performance based on diverse professional applications.
The first version of the SPEC workstation benchmark provided a comprehensive measure of total workstation performance based on professional applications. SPECwpc 2.0 was released in November 2015. It improved scalability measurement for workstations with large numbers of processing cores.
SPECworkstation 3 was released on October 31, 2018. During the development of SPECworkstation 3, attention was focused on the new workloads dedicated to measuring storage and GPU compute performance.
The new SPECworkstation 3.1 benchmark includes more than 30 workloads containing nearly 140 tests that exercise CPU, graphics, I/O, and memory bandwidth. The workloads are divided by application categories that include media and entertainment (3D animation, rendering), product development (CAD/CAM/CAE), life sciences (medical, molecular), financial services, energy (oil and gas), general operations, and GPU compute.
Key updates in the SPECworkstation 3.1 benchmark include:
- Improved thread partitioning and distribution for high thread count machines
- Improved support for latest generation GPUs
- Improved vector instruction support for CPUs
- Reduced free disk space requirement for storage test to 100GB
“This update continues our effort to improve the precision of SPECworkstation for measuring and comparing workstation performance within real-world usage models, algorithms and datasets,” says Anshu Arya, SPECwpc chair. “The incremental improvements show the direction we are taking with future versions of the SPECworkstation benchmark as we strive to accommodate higher core count processors and newer GPU technologies while continuing to support entry-level professional workstation configurations.”
SPECworkstation 3.1 runs under Microsoft Windows 10 64-bit RS3 or later. Results from version 3.1 are not comparable to those from previous versions of the SPECworkstation benchmark, including SPECworkstation v3.0.x versions.
Availability
Free download of the SPECworkstation 3.1 benchmark is available immediately to the users. The vendors of computers and related products and services that are not members of the SPEC Graphics and Workstation Performance Group (SPEC/GWPG) can purchase the benchmark for $5,000. SPEC/GWPG members include AMD, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Hypertec, Intel, Lenovo and Nvidia.
