SPEC releases improved CPU2006 benchmark

Large number of upgrades in V1.1 add up to significant new release

WARRENTON, Va., June 3, 2008 - The Standard Performance Evaluation Corp. has released a new version of SPEC CPU2006 with improvements that impact nearly everyone who uses the benchmark or will potentially use it. SPEC's CPU benchmarks have been the worldwide standard for measuring compute-intensive performance since 1989.

"V1.1 includes dozens of incremental upgrades that add up to a significant new release," says Jeff Reilly, SPEC CPU subcommittee chair. "There are changes and additions that address the needs of practically every segment of the CPU benchmarking community."

Improvements in SPEC CPU2006 V1.1 include:

Greater portability – New code makes it easier to move the benchmarking setup from one system to another without recompiling, and updates have been made to 12 benchmarks to improve portability to new and existing platforms.
Faster setup on large systems – Parallel setup and other new features make setup much faster on multi-core, multi-threaded systems; the bigger the system, the greater the improvement.
Better R&D tools – Documentation of monitor hooks and a utility that removes run-rule checks provide greater flexibility in development work.
Ease of use – Clarifications, additions, updated examples, and improved formatting and readability make it easier to run benchmarks and understand results; new features make it easier to run on Windows platforms.

Results generated by SPEC CPU2006 V1.1 are comparable to results from V1.0. Upgrades to V1.1 are free to current licensees and will be sent automatically to anyone who has licensed SPEC CPU2006 within the last four months. SPEC will notify anyone holding a license for more than four months and send the new version upon verifying a shipping address.

For those without a SPEC CPU2006 license, V1.1 is available for immediate delivery on DVD from SPEC. The cost is $800 for new customers, $400 for upgrades from SPEC CPU2000, and $200 for qualified non-profit organizations and accredited educational institutions. General requirements for running the benchmarks include a Windows or UNIX operating system, a DVD drive, 1 to 2 GB of memory, 8 GB of unused disk space, and a set of compilers.

Additional product and ordering information is available on the SPEC web site at www.spec.org/osg/cpu2006.

About SPEC

SPEC is a non-profit organization that establishes, maintains and endorses standardized benchmarks to evaluate performance for the newest generation of computing systems. Its membership comprises more than 80 leading computer hardware and software vendors, educational institutions, research organizations, and government agencies worldwide. For more information, visit www.spec.org or contact the SPEC office by phone: 540-349-7878, fax: 540-349-5992, or email: info@spec.org.

Media contact:

Bob Cramblitt
Cramblitt & Company
919-481-4599; info@cramco.com

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Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation

SPEC releases improved CPU2006 benchmark

Large number of upgrades in V1.1 add up to significant new release