GPU Performance for Workstation Workloads - SPECviewperf 13

The SPECviewperf benchmark from SPEC provides an idea of the capabilities of the GPU in a workstation from the perspective of different CAD, content creation, and visual data analysis tools. It makes more sense to process these benchmarks on workstations with professional GPUs, but, consumer GPUs are often the choice for machines that need to handle both gaming and professional workloads.

SPECviewperf 13 includes nine different workloads representative of graphics content and behavior of actual applications. They make use of the OpenGL 4.0 and DirectX 12 APIs under Windows. SPECviewperf 13's workloads (termed viewsets) can officially be run only at two desktop resolutions (1920 x 1080, and 3840 x 2160), and need the dsplay scaling to be set to 100% (DPI of 96). The available viewsets are listed below.

  • 3ds Max (3dsmax-06)
  • CATIA (catia-05)
  • Creo (creo-02)
  • Energy (energy-02)
  • Maya (maya-05)
  • Medical (medical-02)
  • Showcase (showcase-02)
  • Siemens NX (snx-03)
  • Solidworks (sw-04)

The 3ds Max and Showcase viewsets are available only when processing at 1920 x 1080. The rest are available at both resolutions.

We processed SPECviewperf 13 at both resolutions on the ASRock DeskMini Z370 GTX1060. The benchmark measures the frame rate at which the GPU renders the scenes in a viewset. Each viewset is composed of different scenes and rendering modes, and the composite score for the viewset is a weighted geometric mean of the FPS measured for the different scenes. In this section, we take a look at how its composite scores stack up against other systems targeting this market segment.

3ds Max (3dsmax-06)

The 3dsmax-06 viewset comprises of 11 different scenes. They have been created from traces of the graphics workload generated by Autodesk 3ds Max 2016 using the default Nitrous DX11 driver. Additional details are available here.

CATIA (catia-05)

The catia-05 viewset comprises of 14 different tests created from traces of the graphics workload generated by the CATIA V6 R2012 application from Dassault Systemes. Additional details are available here.

SPECviewperf 13: CATIA Viewset Composite Scores

The CATIA workload appears to have good performance with the Radeon GPU, though we have to test across more systems to confirm this. Otherwise, the results are along expected lines with the systems with the GTX 1080 outperforming the DeskMini Z370 with the GTX 1060.

Creo (creo-02)

The creo-02 viewset comprises of 16 different tests created from traces of the graphics workload generated by the Creo 3 and Creo 4 applications from PTC. Additional details are available here.

SPECviewperf 13: Creo Viewset Composite Scores

The Hades Canyon NUC was unable to complete this benchmark successfully at 3840 x 2160, and seems to perform poorly even at 1920 x 1080, but, otherwise, the results are as expected.

Energy (energy-02)

The energy-02 viewset comprises of 6 different tests based on techniques used by the OpendTect seismic visualization application. Additional details are available here.

SPECviewperf 13: Energy Viewset Composite Scores

The Skull Canyon NUC was unable to complete processing this benchmark at either resolution, and the Hades Canyon NUC failed at 3840 x 2160, but, the results are as expected otherwise.

Maya (maya-05)

The maya-05 viewset comprises of 10 different tests based on traces of the graphics workload generated by Autodesk Maya 2017. Additional details are available here.

SPECviewperf 13: Maya Viewset Composite Scores

Medical (medical-02)

The medical-02 viewset comprises of 8 different tests derived from 4 distinct datasets. Each test uses the ImageVis3D volume visualization program's Tuvok rendering core for 2D projections of 3D volumetric grids. Additional details are available here.

SPECviewperf 13: Medical Viewset Composite Scores

Showcase (showcase-02)

The showcase-02 viewset comprises of 4 tests created from traces of the Autodesk Showcase 2013 application rendering a racecar model with 8 million vertices using different modes. Additional details are available here.

Siemens NX (snx-03)

The snx-03 viewset comprises of 10 tests created with traces from the graphics workload generated by the NX 8.0 application from Siemens PLM. Additional details are available here.

SPECviewperf 13: Siemens NX Viewset Composite Scores

The Siemens NX workload appears to have very good performance with the Radeon GPU, though we have to test across more systems to confirm this. Otherwise, the results are along expected lines with the systems with the GTX 1080 outperforming the DeskMini Z370 with the GTX 1060.

Solidworks (sw-04)

The sw-04 viewset comprises of 11 tests created from traces of Dassault Systemes’ SolidWorks 2013 SP1 application. Additional details are available here.

SPECviewperf 13: Solidworks Viewset Composite Scores

Overall, we find the DeskMini Z370 GTX1060 come in the middle of the pack with respect to the performance in the SPECviewperf 13 workloads. This is as expected, with the PCs equipped with the GTX 1080 providing more graphics horsepower for the tasks.

GPU Performance - Gaming Workloads Networking and Storage Performance
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  • DanNeely - Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - link

    sadly the fly in the ointment for something like this is that MXM cards are still really hard to find and sold at major markups vs standard desktop cards.

    Great idea in the abstract, but unless part availability ever improves still only barely upgradable in the real world.
  • Samus - Thursday, June 14, 2018 - link

    I couldn’t agree more. If ASRock could commit to end user upgradability with MXM’s for the next gen GPU’s, this would be attractive, but as it is, this is a mostly disposable gaming PC in 3 years when it will be 2 generations behind in the GPU world and no longer able to run the then-current games at decent quality. A tough sell for a $1300 PC, even tougher when you consider a laptop (which naturally includes a screen) sells for the same price at the same spec as this machine...
  • milkod2001 - Monday, June 18, 2018 - link

    Good point with laptop at the same price.
  • stuffwhy - Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - link

    New to this aspect of HTPC. The protected AV path for UltraHD playback - it's striking me as rare. Is there currently a particularly limited availability of capable PC hardware? or is it up to some manufacturer, such as GPU maker, to just implement and they don't?
  • ganeshts - Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - link

    You can find additional details about the 'Advanced Protected Audio/Video Path' here: https://www.anandtech.com/show/12171/a-budget-home...
  • milkywayer - Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - link

    Too expensive anyway. There are many cheaper ways to build an SFF machine without paying a premium. Get a Louqe Ghost or Dan Case A4 off of ebay and buy the cpu + MoBo bundle off of micro center for $30 off. Get a Sf600 sfx psu and you're all set for 70% the price with much better looking cases.
  • Samus - Thursday, June 14, 2018 - link

    It’s true, you could totally build a similar spec PC with an upgradable 10.5” PCIe GPU for a bit less, albeit adding some volume. It would still be less than a cu ft...so really negligible when you consider the PSU (SFX) would be integrated...
  • linkman10 - Friday, June 15, 2018 - link

    One can almost always save a substantial amount of money by building their own PC. These are targeted at those that don't want the hassle of planning, sourcing, and assembling on their own (or don't know how -- which is the majority of the population) and then troubleshooting any build problems.
  • cosmotic - Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - link

    Where are the Zotac EN970, EN1070K and EN1060K?
  • eva02langley - Tuesday, June 12, 2018 - link

    The problem with MXM cards is that every one of them is a custom design made for a specific PCB. I wanted to switch my ATI radeon HD 5850 mobile with a 1050 GTX mobile on MXM format. The TDP was the same and I was expecting this to be a fairly easy swap. Until I made some further research on the matter, I understood it was quite the opposite, if not impossible to do so. The only thing I had to change on my laptop was the GPU, however you cannot do it with laptops.

    So, for me, MXM cards, is something I don`t really back. Unless the industry is making it a standard and work toward a possible upgrade path for users, I don`t see this becoming relevant.

    Sure the form factor is great, but everything else is horrible.

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