INDUSTRY

WARRENTON, VA -- The Standard Performance Evaluation Corp. (SPEC) is offering rewards of up to $5,000 and a free benchmark license for application code and datasets accepted under its SPEC CPU2004 Benchmark Search Program. SPEC CPU benchmarks are among the most widely used measures of computing power. They are quoted in new computer announcements and used to evaluate design alternatives for new hardware and software technologies. The benchmarks provide performance metrics for comparing systems on a known compute-intensive workload, with emphasis on the system's processor, memory hierarchy and compiler. SPEC seeks benchmarks that are derived from real applications, but it is not necessary for an application developer to contribute an entire commercial code base. A more reasonable submission might be the compute-intensive portion of such an application, without its user interface. SPEC's current CPU2000 suite includes the following applications: AI game theory, compilers, interpreters, data compression, databases, weather prediction, fluid dynamics, physics, chemistry and image processing. Proposed applications are not limited to these areas, however. The primary selection factor in all application categories is how closely the entry reflects the state of the art in its field. It is also important that the application can be made compute-bound and portable across different hardware architectures and operating systems. Proposals for new SPEC CPU2004 benchmarks will be accepted from now until December 31, 2002 at midnight U.S. Pacific Standard Time. For more information on the program and an entry form, visit www.spec.org/cpu2004/. SPEC is a non-profit organization that establishes, maintains and endorses standardized benchmarks for the newest generation of high-performance computers. Its membership comprises leading computer hardware and software vendors, universities, and research organizations worldwide.