                Windows Graphics Benchmarks
                       March 2, 1993

     This document describes two Windows graphics benchmark 
tests, WinTach and Speedy.  Hercules is promoting consumer 
awareness of these tests in order to lessen the reliance on 
WinBench(tm) as an exclusive measure of Windows graphics 
performance.  Every benchmark test has a particular scope 
and point of view reflected in the decisions of its 
designers.  In order to form a representative picture, you 
should use as many thoughtfully designed tools as you can.  
The two tests discussed below, WinTach and Speedy, can be 
distributed freely, allowing users to evaluate performance 
for themselves.

     WinTach and Speedy differ from WinBench in that they do 
not concentrate on tight-loop iterative testing.  WinTach 
and Speedy execute a variety of different commands in a long 
sequence. This makes it more difficult for driver developers 
to "special-case" the tests and artificially inflate their 
results.

Using Benchmark Tests

     To get an accurate measure of performance, it is 
important to test different devices in the same or parallel 
configurations.  For example, the results of a test 
delivered when running in 1204 x 768 by 256 color resolution 
should not be compared with the results of a test run at 640 
x 480 by 256 colors.  Neither should tests taken using 
different CPU platforms (e.g. a 386/25 and a 486/33) be 
compared unless relative performance of similarly configured 
computers is the object of the test.  Color depth must not 
be overlooked, comparing 1024 x 768 by 16.7 million color 
operation to 1024 x 768 by 256 color operation is only 
meaningful if the relative difference between the 
performance of the two color depths is the object of the 
test.  Be careful to compare apples to apples or know that 
the apple to orange comparison is your objective.

     Refresh rates are also a consideration in graphics 
performance.  Although qualitative factors like the 
intensity and stability of the display are not reflected in 
benchmark scores, they do have a significant impact on a 
user's experience.  In many cases, increasing the refresh 
rate brings down graphics benchmark numbers, especially on 
DRAM-based boards.  When comparing two devices, one 
operating at 80Hz refresh and the other operating at 60Hz 
refresh, be sure to cite this difference.

     In describing a test result, be diligent about 
including all the information that makes it possible to 
compare your results with others.:  "Graphics accelerator X 
delivered a benchmark result of Y when run in 1024 x 768, 
256 color mode (large fonts) at 72Hz refresh rate on a '486-
33 ISA-bus computer with 8MB of system memory."  There are 
often other variables that affect performance such as disk 
or memory cache, the presence of ATM, whether the system is 
running on a network, the degree of disk fragmentation, and 
numerous other factors.  Whenever possible, use the same 
system to compare multiple devices in order to reduce the 
number of variables that may not be consistent between 
different systems.


Description of the Tests

WinTach

     WinTach was produced in 1992 by Texas Instruments. The 
developers of WinTach profiled four typical Windows 
application types to characterize the API (Application 
Programming Interface) calls that typify these programs.  
WinTach combines these API calls with real-world program 
logic in order to simulate the performance of the Windows 
system under test running these applications:

Word Processing
     Applications centered around the creation of text 
documents that use a variety of fonts, styles, and 
formatting options. Although the largest percentage of time 
in a word processor is spent on text entry, graphics 
performance is needed when large amounts of text are 
repeatedly redrawn, such as when a page is scrolled.

CAD/Drawing
     Applications centered around the creation of technical 
drawings or illustrations where the computer's power is used 
to store and manipulate a large number of drawing objects. 
While the largest percentage of time in a drawing 
application is spent entering drawing elements, graphics 
performance is needed when the drawing must be re-generated, 
re-sized, or scrolled.

Spreadsheet
     Applications centered around the management of tabular 
data.  While a large amount of time is spent entering data, 
the primary graphics performance requirement is in scrolling 
to the various parts of the spreadsheet.  Graphing the 
numerical data contained in the spreadsheet is another 
operation that increases graphics performance demands.

Paint
     Applications centered around the creation and 
manipulation of bitmapped images.  Color depth is the most 
important determinant of image quality, but a variety of 
graphics primitives are employed to modify images.  Common 
operations include lines, rectangles, floodfills, and 
freehand drawing with different brush styles.

     When executed, WinTach evaluates the graphics system  
and displays the results as the "RPM," or Relative 
Performance Measurement.  This RPM index is calculated for 
each individual application, indicating the system's 
performance executing that class of application, as well as 
for overall performance (a simple average of the four 
individual application indices).  The RPM index is scaled to 
regard both the resolution and color depth of the test 
environment.  The program itself contains a complete 
explanation of the RPM calculation.  This explanation is 
found in the WinTach Overview available from the program's 
Help menu under the topic entitled Calculation of the 
WinTach RPM Index.  The RPM index enables the user to easily 
compare the graphics performance of different Windows 
workstations or graphics adapters.

     WinTach contains a very thorough on-line explanation 
that includes a breakdown of the specific Windows GDI calls 
made by the four application benchmarks, ranked by call 
frequency.

     Because Texas Instruments, the developer of the TMS340 
family of graphics chips, created WinTach it has been 
criticized as being inherently biased towards T.I.'s own 
graphics processors.  At Hercules, we have not found this to 
be the case.  Hercules' product line includes both TMS34020-
based boards and IIT AGX-based boards.  We have found the 
relative strengths of both designs to be accurately 
reflected in their WinTach results.  The test measures the 
efficiency of a graphics board and its driver executing 
standard API calls regardless of the board's underlying 
architecture.  If, however, you are concerned that WinTach 
unfairly favors T.I.-based products, simply do not use it to 
compare a T.I.-based board with a non-T.I.-based board.

     Another criticism of WinTach is that the weighting of 
API calls does not accurately reflect real-world 
applications.  As a component test, (a test which focuses on 
graphics operations as opposed to system operations as a 
whole) WinTach is an excellent relative measure.  By running 
WinTach on two different boards or drivers at the same 
resolution and color depth in the same machine, you'll 
collect reliable data descriptive of the relative 
performance of the two devices and/or drivers.  How closely 
WinTach mirrors the behavior of actual applications is a 
separate question from the comparative analysis of graphics 
sub-system performance.  In practice, we have found the 
relative performance ranking of boards tested with WinTach 
to remain unchanged when the same boards are tested using 
much more involved application scripts.


Speedy

     Speedy can be used in a variety of ways to compare the 
relative performance of different graphics hardware and 
display driver combinations.  Speedy tests a wide range of 
Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI) calls and delivers a 
single SPEEDMARK number for comparison with other 
systems/devices running Speedy.  Speedy exercises all of the 
raster operations defined in the GDI and so is also a good 
test of the completeness and compatibility of a display 
driver. 

     Speedy was developed by Hercules to illustrate the 
strengths of more advanced graphics boards.  There are two 
main areas in which Speedy differs from other graphics 
performance benchmarks.  First, in contrast to WinBench and 
WinTach whose individual tests run sequentially, Speedy 
tests multiple applications executing in parallel.  This 
parallelism, together with the use of random coordinates 
inside each individual test, makes it very difficult to 
enhance a display driver specifically to improve the Speedy 
test result.  

     Additionally, significant stress is added to the test 
when a display driver is required to juggle multiple device 
contexts.  The availability of multiple applications running 
simultaneously is one of the defining characteristics of the 
Windows operating system.  The degree to which the CPU can 
off-load graphics tasks and go about other chores, such as 
calculating pixels-per-second, is part of the performance 
advantage of a Windows graphics accelerator.

     The second difference is that Speedy ramps through 
colors using Windows' RGB model regardless of the actual 
pixel depth of the display adapter.  This means that a 256 
color driver will need to dither in order to simulate colors 
that are not available in its palette.  Other benchmark 
tests do not concern themselves with color depth so that 
executing on a 16.7 million color device is not visually 
different or more demanding of a display driver than 
executing on a 16 color device.

     The most straightforward use of the Speedy program is 
to choose Auto Run from the Control menu (or press the F2 
key).  Speedy will fill the screen with eight graphics 
applications running in parallel and deliver a number in the 
center of the screen.  After 70 seconds of operation, a 
SPEEDMARK number will also appear in the center window.  To 
terminate Speedy press the F10 key or choose Kill...Kill All 
Instances from the Control menu of any of the running 
applications.

     When Speedy is launched and Auto Run selected, the 
number in the center of the screen represents the total 
number of pixels-per-second written by the eight separate 
applications, divided by 100,000.  This number is computed 
once every second.  After Speedy has been running for 70 
seconds a mean is calculated and presented as the SPEEDMARK 
rating.  The mean calculation does not include the first ten 
seconds of operation which typically will involve 
initialization and font caching.  This initialization period 
will be noticed as the test appearing to stutter before 
proceeding steadily.  Although the test may continue to run 
indefinitely, the SPEEDMARK rating will not change after it 
is presented.

The following applications make up Speedy's Auto Run test:

MemToScr is a memory to screen Bit Block Transfer (BitBlt) 
test which measures the efficiency with which the display 
hardware/driver combination transfers bitmapped data from 
host memory to screen memory.

PolyHatch measures the efficiency of the display 
hardware/driver combination when drawing polygons that are 
filled with a pattern.

ScrToScr is a screen to screen BitBlt test measuring the 
efficiency with which the display hardware/driver 
combination can relocate bitmapped data from one part of the 
screen to another.

VecSolid tests the efficiency of the display hardware/driver 
combination when drawing solid lines of varying colors.

Rops is a test that exercises all 256 raster operations as 
defined in the Windows GDI.  A raster operation is a 
definition of how the bits in a source bitmap are logically 
combined with the bits in a destination bitmap.

Fonts tests the efficiency of the display hardware/driver 
combination when "realizing" or writing several True Type 
character sizes and colors.

VecStyle tests the efficiency of the display hardware/driver 
combination when drawing lines of varying colors and 
patterns.

PolySolid measures the efficiency of the display 
hardware/driver combination when drawing polygons that are 
filled with solid colors.  Since the specified color may not 
be available in the current color palette, this call may 
require the driver to present a dithered color to most 
closely simulate the specified color.

In addition to the tests included in Speedy's Auto Run the 
following test is also available.

DIBToScreen tests the efficiency of the display 
hardware/driver combination when managing BitBlts where the 
source bitmap is not stored in the same format as the screen 
bitmap.  This call tests the decoding ability of the driver.


Obtaining the Tests

     If you do not already have the tests, Both WinTach and 
Speedy are available on the Hercules Computer Technology 
BBS:
                 (510) 623-7449 (V.32bis)
                   (510) 623-7034 (V.32)
                (510) 623-7142 (1200/2400)

     From the main menu of the Hercules BBS, simply press 
"D" to initiate a download and specify the file name, either 
WINTACH.ZIP or SPEEDY.ZIP.

     At Hercules, we are interested in your graphics 
performance.  Run WinTach and Speedy on your computer, print 
out this section of the document, fill out the information 
below and fax it to us at (510) 623-1112.

Hercules Graphite Card (model HG210) Benchmark Test Results

Testing 1024 x 768 x 256 color resolution at 72Hz refresh 
rate on a Compaq Deskpro/i with 8MB of memory.  Using 
AGX.DRV with the large fonts option selected.

    Processor            WinTach           Speedy
     386DX/25             16.78             16.57
     386DX/33             20.06             19.48
     486DX/33             28.46             25.67
     486DX2/66            34.16             28.62

==========================================================

My Name -_______________________

My System -
Manufacturer:___________________        Model:____________

Processor:__________  Speed:__________  Memory:___________

My Graphics -
Manufacturer:________________   Model:____________________

Resolution:_________  # of Colors:_______  Refresh:_______

Driver (Named in WinTach):_______________________

WinTach RPM: ___________           SpeedMark: __________

Please provide me with more information about Hercules 
graphics accelerators by (circle your preference) calling, 
faxing, writing, e-mailing me at:

