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 SPECapc Releases New Pro/E 2001 Benchmark;Maya, 64-Bit Pro/E Benchmarks In the Works
 SAN ANTONIO, July 24, 2002 -- SPEC/GPC's Application 
          Performance Characterization (SPECapc) project group today released 
          new software for evaluating performance of systems running Pro/ENGINEER 
          2001. SPECapc for Pro/ENGINEER 2001 is available for downloading on 
          this web site. SPECapc also announced that it is developing a new Maya 
          benchmark and a 64-bit version of the Pro/E benchmark.  SPECapc for Pro/ENGINEER 2001 is a completely new benchmark developed 
                in conjunction with Cognitive Advantage, a Nashua, N.H., contract 
                software engineering and performance evaluation firm. The new 
                benchmark uses a complex model of a race car assembly to exercise 
                all areas of system performance relevant to Pro/E users. Eight 
                tests are run to measure performance in five categories: CPU, 
                I/O, wireframe graphics, shaded graphics, and file time. Scores 
                are compiled for individual tests, then calculated as weighted 
                composites for each of the five categories and as an overall composite.
 SPECapc also demonstrated early development versions of Maya and 
                64-bit Pro/E benchmarks at a SIGGRAPH 2002 press conference. The 
                Maya benchmark is being developed in cooperation with Alias|Wavefront. 
                It will be the first to measure total system performance based 
                on real-world use of the application. The 64-bit benchmark, under 
                development by Cognitive Advantage, will be the first to measure 
                performance for high-end systems running large-scale Pro/E applications.
 "SPECapc for Pro/ENGINEER 2001 has been built from the ground 
          up to reflect system performance when running the application in real-world 
          conditions," says George Chaltas of Intel, SPECapc's chair. "We 
          think this will be the most representative benchmark ever developed 
          for Pro/E. We are also excited about adding Maya and 64-bit Pro/E benchmarks 
          to our suite within the next six to nine months." In addition to Pro/E, SPECapc's current suite includes application 
          benchmarks for 3ds max, SolidWorks, Solid Edge and Unigraphics. The 
          group continues to seek additional benchmarks for leading software programs 
          in three key application areas: CAD/CAM/CAE, visualization and digital 
          content creation (DCC). SPECapc is a project group of the Graphics Performance Characterization 
          (GPC) Group, which is part of the Standard Performance Evaluation Corp. 
          (SPEC). SPEC is 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. 
 ### Press contacts: Bob Cramblitt, Erin Hatfield
 Cramblitt & Company
 tel. 919-481-4599
 cramco@cramco.com
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