An education in speed
Working with the latest and greatest 3-D NT workstations isn't exactly what I'd call work, even if I do get paid for it. What I'd call it is an education--in speed. Using dual 333MHz Pentium II processors, no less than 128MB of RAM, 10,000rpm hard disks, highly integrated motherboards, and toolless accessibility, Intergraph, HP, and Compaq Computer are constructing workstations that other NT workstation vendors--and perhaps even UNIX workstation vendors--should take seriously.
The Compaq Professional Workstation 6000 introduces an integrated parallel processing architecture that neither the HP Kayak XW nor Intergraph TDZ 2000 can match. However, HP and Intergraph have created OpenGL graphics accelerators (video cards with onboard processors) that move 3-D NT animation systems to the forefront of 3-D CAD and CAM technology on any platform.
To better understand these workstations' performance in two areas--graphics capability and overall system performance--I employed two benchmark testing systems for this review. To measure graphics capability, I used the Viewperf benchmark from the OpenGL Performance Characterization (OPC) group. OpenGL is the preferred API for professional 3-D rendering and design calculations (for more information about the OpenGL API, see the sidebar, "The OpenGL API: What Is It, and Why Should You Care?" on page 96).
Out of five viewsets OPC designed to evaluate a system's 3-D performance, I chose three viewsets: the CDRS, Data Explorer (DX), and Light. The CDRS Viewset measures a video card's modeling and rendering capabilities for CAD and accounts for 50 percent of the total Viewperf score. The DX Viewset measures scientific data visualization capabilities. The Light Viewset tests light and shade capabilities. For more information about Viewperf, and to compare the test scores I achieved with these dual Pentium II systems with the results of the scores for other systems, visit the OPC Web site at http://www.specbench.org/gpc/opc.static.
To measure overall system performance, I employed two metrics from the AIM Technology Workstation Benchmark. The AIM WNT Peak Performance test increases CPU, RAM, and disk caching to determine the maximum number of application jobs a system can process in 1 minute. The AIM WNT Sustained Performance test incrementally increases the number of tasks a system must perform and measures the number of application jobs per minute the system can perform before the induced load unacceptably hinders system performance. Monitor resolution, bit depth, and a system's graphics card can significantly affect the AIM benchmark results, so I installed a 4MB 2-D Matrox Millennium II PCI video card in each Pentium II workstation and set monitor resolution to 800 * 600 * 16-bit resolution before I ran the AIM tests. For more information about AIM and to see the complete AIM benchmark test results for the dual Pentium II workstations I tested and other systems, go to the AIM Web site at http://www.aim.com. (You can read about the Viewperf and AIM testing I recently conducted on NT Alpha workstations in my April 1998 through June 1998 series of Lab Reports.)
TDZ 2000
The Intergraph TDZ 2000 with the VX113-GT graphics card is a champion among 3-D NT workstations. For rendering images with texture, shading, simulated fog, and other effects, this system is among the best for NT users. With two 333MHz Pentium II processors, each with 512KB of Level 2 cache, the Intergraph TDZ 2000 doesn't lack processing power. However, processing power alone doesn't make the TDZ 2000 a wonderful graphics machine. An additional 32MB of silicon placed on two sizable PCI cards (known as the RealiZm II VX113-GT 3-D graphics option) drives the TDZ 2000's impressive graphics capability. A ribbon cable connects the PCI cards, which work together to produce some of the highest Viewperf 3-D rendering benchmark scores on record.