SPEC's Application Performance Characterization (SPECapc) project group has released new performance evaluation software for systems running Dassault Systemes' SolidWorks 2015 CAD/CAM application. The benchmark is designed to run on Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit platforms.
SPECapc for SolidWorks 2015 consists of nine graphics and two CPU tests. The graphics tests use three SolidWorks view settings -- RealView, ambient occlusion and shadows -- in combination with shaded and shaded-with-edges display styles. The CPU tests perform tessellation and PhotoView360 rendering. Twelve models are included in the benchmark, three of which are new in this version of the benchmark, with the largest comprising 4.75-million triangles.
New features in this version include order-independent transparency (OIT), a modern methodology for quickly displaying transparency, and full-scene anti-aliasing (FSAA) for higher-quality visuals. The benchmark can be run with either default anti-aliasing (edges/sketches only) or with FSAA. It generates individual scores for each test and computes composite scores for graphics and CPU performance.
"We believe this benchmark offers valuable insights into the performance of systems running SolidWorks 2015," says Ashley Cowart, chair of SPEC's graphics and workstation performance group (SPEC/GWPG). "Vendors can use the software to optimize performance for systems running SolidWorks 2015 and users can employ it to make better-informed buying decisions for components and OEM systems."
