For the first time, SPEC is charging for two separate versions, professional and personal.

A new version of the popular SPECapc performance benchmark software has been released for Autodesk 3ds Max 2011. For the first time, the non-profit organization is charging users for the product.

The professional version of SPECapc for 3ds Max 2011, available for $495 on the SPEC website, contains 58 tests for comprehensive measurement of modeling, interactive graphics, CPU and GPU performance. It includes a 32-million-polygon city scene that is modeled, rendered and displayed in real time, testing the limits of high-end workstations with powerful CPU/GPU combinations.

Licensees of the professional version of SPECapc for 3ds Max 2011 can publish benchmark results publicly and submit them for review and possible publication on the SPEC website.

The personal version of SPECapc for 3ds Max 2011 is available for $20. Easier to use, it generates a single number from a subset of tests in the professional version. The personal version is designed for those seeking more information about 3ds Max 2011 performance, but don’t need a comprehensive test suite using large models and do not wish to publish test results.

New features in SPECapc for 3ds Max 2011 include:

• Updated tests based on new functionality in 3ds Max 2011;
• An improved user interface that makes it easier to configure and run tests;
• Increased level of testing for shading and rendering in the pro version, including use of the Autodesk Quicksilver engine for accelerated CPU and GPU rendering;
• Automated benchmark results compilation in the pro version.

“Industry vendors who are SPECapc members pay the bills for benchmarks that benefit the entire community,” says Allen Jensen, SPECapc chair, “and will likely continue to subsidize most of the development costs. But, we would like to see users and vendors who are not members of SPECapc but find our benchmarks valuable to their businesses make a contribution to our future efforts.”

SPECapc was formed in 1997 to address performance evaluation based on popular workstation applications. Current members include AMD, Dell, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Lenovo, NEC, and NVIDIA. SPECapc is part of the Standard Performance Evaluation Corp. (SPEC), 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 computers.