MANASSAS, Va., July 21, 2003 - SPEC's Graphics Performance Characterization (SPEC/GPC) group has launched a new program that gives those who are not currently members of the organization access to its benchmarking review and publication processes.

"SPEC/GPC believes the user community benefits from a wide range of objective performance results," says Steve Donley, SPEC/GPC chair. "To that end we are making it easier for organizations to utilize our review process to ensure credible, repeatable results that can be trusted by those evaluating performance."

SPEC/GPC's SPECviewperf and SPECapc application-based benchmarks are considered worldwide standards for objective performance measurement. SPECviewperf allows direct performance comparisons of graphics hardware running datasets from popular CAD/CAM, digital content creation, and visualization applications. SPECapc benchmarks measure total performance - graphics, I/O and CPU - for popular graphics-intensive applications.

SPECviewperf and SPECapc results that are approved under the SPEC/GPC review process can be used for marketing purposes and will be posted on the GPC News web site, which receives approximately 15 million visitors annually. The new program offers the following plans for organizations that are not currently SPEC/GPC members:

• Season Ticket - Publication of unlimited approved submissions for either SPECviewperf or SPECapc for one year for $6,000.
  
• Ultimate Season Ticket - Expands the season plan to provide an unlimited number of approved annual submissions for both SPECviewperf and SPECapc benchmarks for $10,000.
  
• Select Season Ticket - Publication of 16 approved submissions (submission defined as one configuration running either the SPECviewperf suite or one SPECapc benchmark) over the course of the year for $2,500. Submissions will stay posted on the web site for six months.
  
• Limited Season Ticket - Publication of eight (8) approved submissions over the course of the year for $1,500. Submissions will stay posted on the web site for six months.
  
• Single Ticket - Publication of a single approved submission for $250. The submission will stay posted on the GPC News web site for three months.

For more information, contact the SPEC office: gpcinfo@spec.org; tel: 540-349-7878; fax: 540-349-5992.

SPEC/GPC 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 high-performance computers. SPEC's membership includes computer hardware and software vendors, and leading universities and research facilities worldwide.

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