Futuremark releases OpenGL ES 2.0 benchmark: SimulationMark ES2.0

Futuremark Releases Revolutionary OpenGL ES 2.0 Benchmark
SimulationMark ES2.0 enables pre-silicon performance testing of 3D hardware designs

Saratoga, California USA – October 17, 2006 – Futuremark Corporation today announced SimulationMark ES2.0, an innovative new approach to benchmarking. The benchmark allows mobile device chipmakers and manufacturers to test and compare simulated 3D graphics performance in OpenGL(r) ES 2.0 chip designs prior to the fabrication of silicon based hardware implementations. SimulationMark ES2.0 will enable users to calculate reliable estimated performance data during the chip design phase comparing various graphics hardware architectures and application processor designs, while minimizing misuse and misinterpretation of those results.

SimulationMark ES2.0 is the only benchmark product currently available that will allow for the evaluation of OpenGL ES 2.0 performance of pre-silicon chip designs. The product is a combination of theoretical and practical shader test workloads based on high level shader and parameter descriptions published by Futuremark. Practical game test performance measurement is based on a Direct3D trace derived from Futuremark’s successful 3DMark desktop benchmark product.

Futuremark brings eight years experience to the project, developing independent, industry standard 2D, 3D and system benchmarking applications, in addition to performance measurement of mobile graphics hardware. With the release of SimulationMark ES2.0, the mobile device industry will have access to the first benchmark intended to simulate accurate, consistent 3D performance prior to the investment in silicon hardware. Early access to simulated benchmark data will assist in setting performance requirements of future 3D hardware, and the selection of optimally performing designs.

“SimulationMark ES2.0 is a revolutionary new approach in benchmarking for the whole industry,” said Petri Talala, Futuremark’s Vice President of Mobile Business. “SimulationMark provides real-world workloads that generate 3D graphics performance data without having to run code on actual silicon. Before the release of SimulationMark, the mobile industry has had to rely solely on theoretical polygon and pixel processing data that didn’t correlate well to real world performance, when making design
choices for their upcoming 3D accelerated hardware.”

*** OpenGL ES 2.0, 3D API for mobile hardware ***

Created by the Khronos(tm) Group and it’s consortium of industry members, the OpenGL(r) ES API enables the authoring and playback of dynamic media on a wide variety of platforms and devices. OpenGL ES is a royalty-free, cross-platform API for embedded 3D graphics hardware on handheld devices. Derived from subsets of desktop OpenGL, it provides a powerful and flexible low-level interface between software and graphics acceleration with profiles for floating-point and fixed-point systems. OpenGL
ES 2.0 enables full programmable 3D graphics. Futuremark, a contributing partner in the Khronos Group, has previously developed benchmarks targeted to measure the performance of devices with software implementation of OpenGL ES.

“SimulationMark ES 2.0 is an innovative new tool in the expanding ecosystem around Khronos APIs which will significantly accelerate the real-world performance of OpenGL ES 2.0-based handsets and embedded systems,” said Neil Trevett, President of the Khronos Group. “Futuremark is one of the world’s most respected benchmarking companies and a strong innovator of embedded graphics tools. Khronos strongly welcomes their increasing involvement and investment in this fast growing segment of the graphics market.”