Data is given for Personal IRIS, Indy, O2, Crimson, Indigo, Indigo2, Octane, Octane2, VW320, i-Station, Onyx and Onyx2.
Note that the CDRS-03 viewset is now officially out-of-date. The reason is that CDRS consists largely of wireframe modeling which has become increasingly less relevant compared to the typical workload of today; one now observes incredibly skewed results such as the Sun Ultra30 Elite3D which scores 130.18, yet it's individual test results vary between 5.1 and 240! SPEC has given out a press release detailing the situation.
Processor types vary amongst older systems, so be wary of direct comparisons. Older systems using high-end graphics options of the time (eg. Crimson RealityEngine) may appear on paper to be close to newer systems with mid-range graphics options (eg. Octane SI+texture), when in fact the newer systems may be considerably quicker due to a much higher preprocessing ability (ie. R10000/195 vs. R4000/100 or R4400/150), though note that Crimson RE does have features which later desktop systems may not have such as full-scene subsample antialiasing. Indigo figures assume the use of a 100MHz R4000 CPU.
Gaps in the tables below are evident where data could not be found (denoted by '?'); if you are able to supply missing information, please contact me.
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Key:
N/A = Not Applicable, ie. the system can only do the task in software ? = Could not find this value via any publicly available source K = x1000 M = x1000000 Z = Hardware Z Buffer GZ = Gouraud shaded with hardware Z buffer GF = Gouraud Fill, ie. Gouraud shaded pixel fill rate, always in pixels/sec GFZ = Same as GF, but using hardware Z buffer due to texturing Tri = Triangle(s) Tex = Textured, ie. texture mapped with mipmapping Conv(3x3) = Convolutions 3x3 general (comps/sec) Conv(5x5) = Convolutions 5x5 seperable (comps/sec) CR = IRIS Crimson I2 xxxIMP = Indigo2 xxxIMPACT OCT xx/yy = Octane, where xx = gfx option, yy = CPU type EXT = Extreme graphics RE = RealityEngine RE2 = RealityEngine2 R = Reality IR = InfiniteReality IR2 = InfiniteReality2 IP = InfinitePerformance Tb = Turbo (Personal IRIS) St = Standard (Personal IRIS) DX = Data Explorer DRV = Design Review ADVS = Advanced Visualiser Light = Lightscape
3D Flat Lit GZ Lit Lit
X Depth Tri Tri/sec Tex GZ
Lines Cued GZ Strips GZ Indep
Lines No Z Tri/sec Quads
Personal IRIS St: ? ? ? ? ? 5K
Personal IRIS Tb: ? ? ? ? ? 20K
Indigo Entry: ? 380K 100K 26K N/A 13K
Indigo XS: ? 140K 98K 50K N/A 24K
Indigo XZ: ? 280K 196K 100K N/A 45K
Indigo Elan: ? 555K 370K 180K N/A 88K
Indy XL R4K/100PC: 1.4M ? ? 33K N/A ?
Indy XL R4K/133PC: 1.4M ? ? 38K N/A ?
Indy XL R4K/133SC: 1.5M ? ? 53K N/A ?
Indy XL R4K/150SC: 1.6M ? ? 64K N/A ?
Indy XL R4K/200SC: 1.6M ? ? 88K N/A ?
Indy XL R5K/150PC: 1.4M ? ? 71K N/A ?
Indy XL R5K/150SC: 1.5M ? ? 81K N/A ?
Indy XL R5K/180SC: 1.5M ? ? 96K N/A ?
Indy XZ: ? 460K 402K 180K M/A 91K
I2 XL: 1.59M 205K 288K 52K N/A 25K
I2 XZ: 441K 452K 408K 181K N/A 67K
I2 Extreme: ? 1.0M 645K 405K N/A 155K
O2 R5K/180SC: 2.2M 716K 854K 434K 250K ?
O2 R5K/200SC: 2.5M 799K 958K 485K 279K ?
O2 R10K/195SC: 2.8M 894K 1.04M 531K 326K ?
O2 R10K/250SC: ? 1.08M 1.24M 665K 394K ?
CR Entry: ? 375K 56K 13K 1.7K (*) 9.5K
CR XS/XS24: ? 260K 99K 50K 1.3K (*) 17K
CR Elan: ? 1M 370K 180K 1.3K (*) 65K
CR Extreme: ? 1M 635K 415K 1.3K (*) 156K
CR VGXT ? 1.2M 1.1M 780K 35K 200K
CR RE ? 1.2M 1.1M 820K 210K 300K
I2 SolidIMP: 3.26M 1.88M 1.5M 1.02M N/A ?
I2 HighIMP: 3.26M 1.88M 1.5M 1.02M 652K 300K
I2 MaxIMP: 3.26M 2.23M ? 1.8M 1.6M 600K
Octane SI: 3.78M 1.37M 1.5M 1.02M N/A 384K
Octane SE: 3.80M ? ? 1.16M N/A 480K
Octane SI+T: 3.78M 1.37M 1.5M 1.02M 655K 384K
Octane SE+T: 3.80M ? ? 1.16M 810K 480K
Octane SSI: 3.88M 2.11M 2.67M 1.82M N/A 687K
Octane SSE: 3.88M 2.29 ? 2.19M N/A 880K
Octane MXI: 3.88M 2.11M 2.67M 1.82M 1.18M 687K
Octane MXE: 3.88M 2.29M ? 2.19M 1.42M 880K
Octane2 V10/V12 (16): ? ? ? 18.1 ? ?
VW320 PIII/550 (13): ? 7.94M ? 3.5M 1.5M ?
Onyx Extreme: ? 210K 600K 370K 2K 180K
Onyx VTX: ? 1.0M 1.0M 813K 450K 350K
Onyx RE2 (2): ? 2.0M 2.0M 1.2M 930K 570K
Onyx2 R: ? ? ? ? 5.5M ?
Onyx2 IR (9): ? ? ? ? 10.9M ?
Onyx2 IR2 (9): ? ? ? ? 13.1M ?
Onyx2 16 x IR2 (9): ? ? ? ? 210M ?
Onyx2 IR2E: ? ? ? ? ? ?
Onyx2 IR3: ? ? ? ? ? ?
Onyx2 IR4: ? ? ? ? ? ?
Onyx3000 IP (14): ? ? ? ? 17.7M ?
GF Tex GFZ Conv(3x3) Conv(5x5) Color
Pix/sec pix/sec Lookups/sec
O2: 66M 33M ? ? ?
I2 XL: 89M N/A N/A N/A N/A
I2 XZ: 37M N/A N/A N/A N/A
CR XS/XS24: ? ? ? ? ?
CR Elan: ? ? ? ? ?
CR Extreme: 78M N/A ? ? ?
CR VGXT 200M 44M ? ? ?
CR RE 180M (1) 320M ? ? ?
I2 SolidIMP: 120M N/A ? ? ?
I2 HighIMP: 120M 68.5M 20M 20M 50M
I2 MaxIMP: 240M 119M 40M 40M 100M
Octane SI: 120M N/A 13.7M 11.5M 38M
Octane SI+T: 120M 60M 13.7M 11.52M 38M
Octane SE: 120M N/A 16.88M 14.20M 49.2M
Octane SE+T: 120M 68.4M 16.88M 14.20M 49.2M
Octane SSI: 240M N/A 24.4M 20M 64M
Octane SSE: 240M N/A 33.76M 27.12M 96.4M
Octane MXI: 240M 118M 24.4M 20M 64M
Octane MXE: 240M 138M 33.7M 27.12M 96.4M
Octane2 V10/V12 (16): ? 448M ? ? ?
VW320 PIII/500 (13): 180M 120M ? ? ?
Onyx EXT (4): 100M N/A ? ? ?
Onyx VTX (5): ? 80M ? ? ?
Onyx RE2 (2): 180M (1) 320M ? ? ?
Onyx2 Reality (17): 448M 188M ? 6.4M ?
Onyx2 IR, 1RM (9,17): 224M 156M ? 12.7M ?
Onyx2 IR, 2RM (9,17): 448M 312M ? 12.7M ?
Onyx2 IR, 4RM (9,17): 896M 624M ? 12.7M ?
Onyx2 IR2, 1RM (9,17): 224M 192M ? 15.3M ?
Onyx2 IR2, 2RM (9,17): 448M 384M ? 15.3M ?
Onyx2 IR2, 4RM (9,17): 896M 768M ? 15.3M ?
Onyx2 16 x IR2, 4RM (9,17): 7200M 6100M ? 244M ?
Onyx2 IR3, 1RM (9,17): ? 185M ? 15.3M ?
Onyx2 IR3, 2RM (9,17): ? 370M ? 15.3M ?
Onyx2 IR3, 4RM (9,17): ? 740M ? 15.3M ?
Onyx2 IR4, 4RM (9,17): ? 1290M ? 15.3M ?
Onyx2 16 x IR4, 4RM (9,17): ? 20600M ? 244M ?
Onyx3000 IP (14): ? 484M ? ? ?
Onyx3000 16 x IP (14): ? 7700M ? ? ?
DX CDRS ProCDRS DRV ADVS Light
Indy XZ (8): 1.64 ? ? ? ?
O2 R5000SC 180MHz: 3.15 16.26 2.45 5.49 0.49
O2 R5000SC 200MHz: 3.47 18.51 2.67 6.20 0.53
O2 R10000SC 195MHz: 3.48 22.50 2.70 7.78 0.55
O2 R5200SC 300MHz: 4.60 ? 3.28 3.67 9.13 0.78
O2 R10000SC 250MHz: 4.74 27.13 3.46 9.58 0.72
O2 R12000SC 300MHz: ? ? 4.08 3.99 ? ?
I2 XZ (7): 1.64 ? ? ? ?
I2 SolidIMPACT R4K/200: 7.33 ? ? ? ?
I2 SolidIMPACT R4K/250: ? ? ? ? 0.87
I2 SolidIMPACT R10K/175: 7.38 25.57 3.25 N/A 0.96
I2 SolidIMPACT R10K/195: 7.42 25.98 3.30 N/A 0.97
I2 HighIMPACT R4K/200: 7.32 32.09 ? ? ?
I2 HighIMPACT R10K/195: 7.4 32.36 4.62 10.90 0.97
I2 MaxIMPACT R4K/250: 8.97 47.67 ? ? ?
I2 MaxIMPACT R10K/195: 9.54 48.39 6.13 17.60 1.02
OCT SI R10K/175: 7.71 26.46 3.46 N/A 1.21
OCT SI+Tex R10K/175: 7.71 32.00 4.87 10.78 1.31
OCT SE R10K/225: 9.45 31.72 4.21 N/A 1.37
OCT SE+Tex R10K/225: 9.56 38.86 5.87 12.75 1.37
OCT SSI R10K/195: 13.66 35.85 5.43 N/A 1.47
OCT SSE R10K/250: 18.30 55.57 7.05 N/A 1.55
OCT MXI R10K/195: 13.74 48.63 8.22 16.57 1.58
OCT MXE R10K/250: 18.37 55.46 10.62 20.09 1.55
OCT MXE R12K/300: 10.05 10.77 19.98
VW320 PIII/550: 36.21 ? 22.04 16.64 36.93 2.65
VW540 PIII/550 XEON: 36.42 ? 22.13 16.76 37.36 2.66
VW320 PIII/600: 37.27 ? 22.39 17.46 39.59 2.84
i-Station IR R10K/195: 19.89 138.05 ? ? 1.86
Onyx2 Reality R10K/180: 21.72 91.54 15.83 23.70 2.41
Onyx2 Reality R10K/195: 21.90 92.72 16.27 23.84 2.61
Onyx2 IR R10K/195: 35.65 161.29 20.82 45.43 2.65
Onyx2 IR R10K/250: 41.60 ? 23.96 ? 3.30
Characters Screen Max Framebuffer 3D Vectors Vol-Render
Per Second Clear Memory Size Per Second Voxels/sec
Personal IRIS St: ? ? ? 90K ?
Personal IRIS Tb: ? ? ? 200K ?
Indy XL/100PC: ? 3ms ? 333K ?
Indy XL/133PC: ? 3ms ? 563K ?
Indy XL/133SC: ? 3ms ? 573K ?
Indy XL/150SC: ? 3ms ? 800K ?
Indy XL/200SC: ? 3ms ? 912K ?
Indy XL/150PC: ? 3ms ? 1.2M ?
Indy XL/150SC: ? 3ms ? 1.2M ?
Indy XL/180SC: ? 3ms ? 1.2M ?
Indy XZ (10): ? 3ms ? 912K ?
Indigo Entry: ? 19ms ? ? ?
Indigo XS: ? 9ms ? ? ?
Indigo XZ: ? 9ms ? ? ?
Indigo Elan: ? 9ms 8MB ? ?
I2 XL (6): 471K 10ms ? ? ?
I2 XZ: 251K 9ms 8MB ? ?
I2 Extreme: 255K 4.5ms 8MB ? ?
I2 SolidIMP: ? ? ? ? ?
I2 HighIMP: ? ? 13.5MB ? ?
I2 MaxIMP: ? ? 27MB ? ?
O2: ? ? 1GB (3) ? ?
CR Entry: 115K 20ms ? ? ?
CR XS/XS24: 112K 9ms ? ? ?
CR Elan: 152K 9ms ? ? ?
CR Extreme: 253K 4.5ms 8MB ? ?
CR VGXT 96K 0.78ms ? ? ?
CR RE 300K 0.75ms 160MB ? ?
Octane SI: ? ? 13.5MB ? ?
Octane SI+T: ? ? 13.5MB ? ?
Octane SE: ? ? 13.5MB ? ?
Octane SE+T: ? ? 13.5MB ? ?
Octane SSI: ? ? 27MB ? ?
Octane SSE: ? ? 27MB ? ?
Octane MXI: ? ? 27MB ? ?
Octane MXE: ? ? 27MB ? ?
Octane V6/V10: ? ? 32MB (15) ? ?
Octane V8/V12: ? ? 128MB (15) ? ?
VW320 PIII/500: ? ? 1GB (12) 7M ?
Onyx EXT (4): ? ? 8MB ? ?
Onyx VTX (5): ? ? 40MB ? ?
Onyx RE2: ? ? 160MB ? ?
Onyx2 Reality: ? ? 80MB ? 200M
Onyx2 IR, 1RM: ? ? 320MB 7.1M (AA) 200M
Onyx2 IR, 2RM: ? ? 320MB 7.1M (AA) 400M
Onyx2 IR, 4RM: ? ? 320MB 7.1M (AA) 800M
Onyx2 IR2, 1RM: ? ? 320MB 8.6M (AA) 200M
Onyx2 IR2, 2RM: ? ? 320MB 8.6M (AA) 400M
Onyx2 IR2, 4RM: ? ? 320MB 8.6M (AA) 800M
Onyx2 16 x IR2, 2RM: ? ? 320MB per pipe ? 6400M
Onyx2 IR2E, 4RM: ? ? 320MB ? 800M
Onyx2 IR3, 4RM: ? ? 320MB ? 800M
Onyx2 IR4, 4RM: ? ? 10GB ? 800M
Onyx2 16 x IR4, 4RM: ? ? 10GB per pipe ? 12800M
Onyx3000 IP (14): ? ? 128MB ? ?
Notes:
All performance numbers for IRx graphics systems are for one pipe only unless otherwise stated. Performance can scale up to 16 pipes, eg. textured AA fill rate for IR4 is 10.2Gpixels/sec for a max-spec configuration, while the voxel rate scales to 6.4Gvoxels/sec and the memory scales to 160GB VRAM and 16GB TRAM.
(*) The various data sheets list low texturing numbers for Entry, XS/XS24, XL, XZ, Elan and Extreme graphics because these systems have no texturing hardware, ie. any figures listed are for software texturing. Drawing textures in software is highly pixel-fill bound: the time taken to draw an object increases enormously as the area the object takes up on the screen increases. Today, it is preferable to simply state 'Not Applicable', or 'N/A', for such figures, implying that texturing is a computational area at which certain system configurations are not targeted, eg. Octane/SI. The software texturing figures for various systems are included for reference (not all older data sheets included such figures). Note: this means O2's texturing hardware can make it 100 times better than Extreme for anything involving texturing, while Octane or Indigo2 configurations that have hardware texturing can be 1000 times better than Extreme for texture work (depending on the depth complexity and size of the scene being drawn).
(1) The GF pix/sec figure is for a 2RM system only. The data sheets do not specify what a 4RM system could do.
(2) This is for a 1-pipe 4RM Onyx unless otherwise stated. Remember that Onyx can have up to three pipes.
(3) O2's frame buffer memory is taken from the main RAM pool, so the theoretical limit is 1GB, though in practice one will rarely see much more than 8MB used for the ordinary screen display. More important is that this architectural feature means texture memory and other rendering memory is only limited by main RAM size. Obviously, due to this design, it is critical that O2 users ensure their systems are adequately equipped with sufficient memory for the particular task at hand, otherwise disk swapping will occur. Personally, I would recommend at least 512MB for anyone doing serious work.
(4) Extreme graphics with Onyx was only ever available with the deskside model.
(5) VTX graphics was never available for the Power Onyx line, ie. those Onyx models employing the R8000 chip set.
(6) Indigo2 XL performance measured with 200MHz R4400SC. Bare in mind that XL performance with 250MHz R4400 or R10000 (175MHz or 195MHz) will be faster, perhaps much faster with 195MHz R10000.
(7) The Data Explorer figure comes from the original Indigo2 IMPACT technical specs page - I kept a copy when it was first published. :)
(8) I found this DX result accidentally, buried in the depths of SGI's web site. The Indy was using an R4600PC 133MHz CPU - not exactly the best possible choice. Personally, I'd like to know what a 180MHz R5000SC Indy could do (read the HolliDance Benchmark page to see why an XL model might outperform an XZ model).
(9) Remember that Onyx2 is extremely scalable like Origin, eg. one could have a 64-CPU 8-pipe 32RM Onyx2 RealityMonster if one so desired, with a maximum of 128 CPUs and 16 pipes.
(10) The data sheet doesn't say which CPU this is with, which is really annoying as that is important. See also note (11).
(11) There are no data sheets for XZ being used with R5000 which makes comparing different Indys rather difficult. To understand why such figures were never released, see the HolliDance Benchmark page.
(12) The VW320 has a similar architecture to O2, except it's much faster. Thus, the frame buffer and texture memory limit is again limited only by main RAM size.
(13) These are sustained figures. Peak figures are higher, eg. 174M textured pixels/sec vs. 120M/sec sustained.
(14) This is for a single-pipe InfinitePerformance system. IP is scalable to 16 pipes, giving up to 283 million triangles per second and 7.7 billion pixels per second of sustained performance. IP is the same V12 graphics system as used in Octane2/Fuel/Tezro. The VRAM in IP is combined; 128MB total, up to 116MB of which can be used for texture. A V-Brick contains two V12 pipes.
(15) VPro graphics options use a combined onboard graphics memory pool for all graphics data. Thus, for example, V6 and V10 have 32MB total, up to 20MB of which can be used for textures. V8 and V12 have 128MB total, up to 116MB of which can be used for textures. Note that SGI docs say 8MB/108MB respectively, but the real amount available is higher if one uses 1280x1024 with only 8 bytes per pixel.
(16) This is from the SGI press release, 16th Jan 2001.
(17) The quoted performance figure is for 8X subsample anti-aliased (so much higher quality than the data given for other systems), Z-buffered, textured, lit pixels with 10bits per component colour (or tris/sec). SGI did not publish textured fill rates without AA.
Finally:
There are slight differences between the October 1998 Octane brochure's performance figures and the published Viewperf numbers for Octane. The differences are not significant, but where possible I've used the published Viewperf result first, then the brochure figures where SPEC-reported data is not available.