Category: HDXPRT release cycle

Thinking ahead to the next HDXPRT

on November 12, 2020

We’re currently formulating our 2021 development roadmap for the XPRTs. In addition to planning CloudXPRT and WebXPRT updates, we’re discussing the possibility of releasing HDXPRT 5 in 2021. It’s hard for me to believe, but it’s been about two and a half years since we started work on HDXPRT 4, and February 2021 will mark two years since the first HDXPRT 4 release. Windows PCs are more powerful than ever, so it’s a good time to talk about how we can enhance the benchmark’s ability to measure how well the latest systems handle real-world media technologies and applications.

When we plan a new version of an XPRT benchmark, one of our first steps is updating the benchmark’s workloads so that they will remain relevant in years to come. We almost always update application content, such as photos and videos, to contemporary file resolutions and sizes. For example, we added both higher-resolution photos and a 4K video conversion task in HDXPRT 4. Are there specific types of media files that you think would be especially relevant to high-performance media tasks over the next few years?

Next, we will assess the suitability of the real-world trial applications that the editing photos, editing music, and converting videos test scenarios use. Currently, these are Adobe Photoshop Elements, Audacity, CyberLink MediaEspresso, and HandBrake. Can you think of other applications that belong in a high-performance media processing benchmark?

In HDXPRT 4, we gave testers the option to target a system’s discrete graphics card during the video conversion workload. Has this proven useful in your testing? Do you have suggestions for new graphics-oriented workloads?

We’ll also strive to make the UI more intuitive, to simplify installation, and to reduce the size of the installation package. What elements of the current UI do you find especially useful or think we could improve?

We welcome your answers to these questions and any additional suggestions or comments on HDXPRT 5. Send them our way!

Justin

Posted in Adobe, Application-based benchmarks, benchmark, BenchmarkXPRT, CloudXPRT, Collaborative benchmark development, Future of performance evaluation, HDXPRT, HDXPRT 4, HDXPRT development process, HDXPRT metrics, HDXPRT release cycle, Performance benchmarking, WebXPRT, What makes a good benchmark? | Tagged Adobe, Audacity, benchmark, BenchmarkXPRT, CloudXPRT, CyberLink, Handbrake, HDXPRT, WebXPRT |

HDXPRT 4 v1.2 and the HDXPRT 4 source code package are available

By Justin Greene

on November 21, 2019

This week, we have good news for HDXPRT 4 testers. A few weeks ago, we discussed the fact that Adobe removed the trial version of Adobe Photoshop Elements (PSE) 2018 from the PSE download page. HDXPRT 4 used PSE 2018 for the Edit Photos scenario, so this change meant that new HDXPRT testers would not be able to successfully install and run the benchmark.

Fortunately, we were able to adapt the Edit Photos scripts to use the new trial version of PSE 2020, and have incorporated those changes in an updated HDXPRT 4 build (v1.2). It’s available for download on HDXPRT.com, along with an updated user manual. Apart from slightly different instructions for installing the trial version of PSE 2020, all aspects of the installation and test process remain the same. We tested the new build and found that individual workload and overall scores did not vary significantly, so scores from the new build will be comparable to existing HDXPRT 4 scores.

We also posted the HDXPRT 4 source code and build instructions on the HDXPRT tab in the Members’ Area (login required). If you’d like to review XPRT source code, but haven’t yet joined the community, we encourage you to join! Registration is quick and easy, and if you work for a company or organization with an interest in benchmarking, you can join for free. Simply fill out the form with your company e-mail address and select the option to be considered for a free membership. We’ll contact you to verify the address and then activate your membership.

We apologize to HDXPRT testers for the inconvenience over the last several weeks, and we thank you for your patience while we worked on a solution. If you have any questions about HDXPRT or the community, please feel free to ask!

Justin

Posted in BenchmarkXPRT, BenchmarkXPRT development community, HDXPRT, HDXPRT 4, HDXPRT capabilities, HDXPRT release cycle, HDXPRT source code, HDXPRT workloads, Windows, Windows 10 | Tagged Adobe, BenchmarkXPRT, HDXPRT, Photoshop, source code, Windows 10 |

An updated HDXPRT 4 build is on the way

By Justin Greene

on July 3, 2019

HandBrake recently released a new version, v1.2.2, of their video conversion software. Among other improvements, the new version includes support for certain AMD (VCE) and NVIDIA (NVENC) hardware-accelerated video encoders. Because we include HandBrake as one of the commercial applications in the HDXPRT installer package, and because we want to keep HDXPRT 4 up-to-date for testers, we’ve put together a new HDXPRT 4 build: v1.1. It includes HandBrake 1.2.2’s new capabilities, and we’re currently testing it in the lab.

With the new build, testers will be able to choose whether HDXPRT’s HandBrake tasks target a system’s integrated or discrete graphics cards by changing a flag called “UseIntegrated” in the config file. In HDXPRT 4 v1.1, the flag is set to “true” by default, directing HandBrake to use the codec provided by the system’s integrated graphics hardware. On the other hand, if a system has both integrated and discrete graphics available, and a user sets the flag to “false,” HandBrake will use the codec provided by the discrete graphics.

This update allows users to compare the video conversion performance of different video codecs on the same system. In all other respects, the benchmark has not changed. So apart from a scenario where a tester changes the targeted graphics hardware, scores from previous HDXPRT 4 builds will be comparable to those from the new build.

We’ll let the community know as soon as the new build is available, and we’ll update the HDXPRT 4 User Manual to reflect the changes.

If you have any questions about the upcoming HDXPRT 4 build, please let us know!

Justin

Posted in AMD, Future of performance evaluation, HandBrake, HDXPRT, HDXPRT 4, HDXPRT capabilities, HDXPRT release cycle, NVIDIA, Performance benchmarking | Tagged AMD, codec, discrete, Handbrake, HDXPRT, HDXPRT 4, integrated, NVIDIA, video |

HDXPRT 4 is here!

By Justin Greene

on February 22, 2019

We’re excited to announce that HDXPRT 4 is now available to the public! Just like previous versions of HDXPRT, HDXPRT 4 uses trial versions of commercial applications to complete real-world media tasks. The HDXPRT 4 installation package includes installers for some of those programs, such as Audacity and HandBrake. For other programs, such as Adobe Photoshop Elements and CyberLink Media Espresso, users will need to download the necessary installers prior to testing by using the links and instructions in the HDXPRT 4 User Manual.

In addition to the editing photos, editing music, and converting videos workloads from prior versions of the benchmark, HDXPRT 4 includes two new Photoshop Elements scenarios. The first utilizes an AI tool that corrects closed eyes in photos, and the second creates a single panoramic photo from seven separate photos.

HDXPRT 4 is compatible with systems running Windows 10, and is available for download at HDXPRT.com. The installation package is about 4.8 GB, so the download may take several minutes. The setup process takes about 30 minutes on most computers, and a standard test run takes approximately an hour.

After trying out HDXPRT 4, please submit your scores here and send any comments to BenchmarkXPRTsupport@principledtechnologies.com. To see test results from a variety of systems, go to HDXPRT.com and click View Results, where you’ll find scores from a variety of devices. We look forward to seeing your results!

Posted in Benchmarking, BenchmarkXPRT, BenchmarkXPRT development community, Collaborative benchmark development, HDXPRT, HDXPRT 4, HDXPRT development process, HDXPRT metrics, HDXPRT release cycle, HDXPRT workloads, Performance benchmarking, Windows 10 | Tagged Audacity, benchmark, desktops, Handbrake, HDXPRT, HDXPRT 4, laptops, MediaEspresso, PC, Photoshop, Windows |

The HDXPRT 4 Community Preview is now available!

By Justin Greene

on January 17, 2019

Today we’re releasing the HDXPRT 4 Community Preview (CP). Just like previous versions of HDXPRT, HDXPRT 4 uses trial versions of commercial applications to complete workload tasks. For some of those programs, such as Audacity and HandBrake, HDXPRT 4 includes installers in the HDXPRT installation package. For other programs, such as Adobe Photoshop Elements 2018 and CyberLink Media Espresso 7.5, users need to download the necessary installers prior to testing by using the links and instructions in the HDXPRT 4 User Manual.

HDXPRT 4 is compatible with systems running Windows 10, and the installation package is slightly smaller than previous versions at just over 4.7 GB.

Because this is a community preview, it is available only to community members, who may download the preview from the HDXPRT tab in the Members’ Area. Because we expect results from CP testing to be comparable to results from the general release, members may publish their CP test results.

After you try the CP, please send us your comments. If you send information that’s relevant to the entire community, we may post an anonymous version of your comments to the forum. Thanks for your participation!

Justin

Posted in AI, Application-based benchmarks, Benchmark metrics, BenchmarkXPRT, BenchmarkXPRT development community, Collaborative benchmark development, Community Preview, Future of performance evaluation, HDXPRT, HDXPRT 4, HDXPRT release cycle, Performance benchmarking, Windows 10 |

Notes from the lab: Updates on HDXPRT 4, MobileXPRT 3, and AIXPRT

By Justin Greene

on November 29, 2018

The next couple of months will be very busy with XPRT activity, so we want to update readers on what to expect. Depending on a number of factors, we expect to release HDXPRT 4 and MobileXPRT 3 community previews (CPs) within the next four to six weeks. We’re also hoping to publish an early AIXPRT request-for-comment (RFC) build on GitHub within the same time frame. Here’s a little more detail about each of these developments.

HDXPRT 4: We originally planned to release the HDXPRT 4 CP several weeks ago. As we recently discussed in the blog, a lot has changed in the Windows 10 development world within a short period of time, and Microsoft has released a number of new Redstone 5/October 2018 Update builds in quick succession. While our HDXPRT 4 CP candidate testing went well overall, we observed some inconsistent workload scores when testing on some of the new Windows builds. Since then, we believe we’ve narrowed down the list of possible causes to a few specific graphics driver versions, but we’re still testing to make sure there are no other immediate issues. As soon as we’re confident in that assessment, we’ll release the CP along with any relevant information about the affected graphics drivers.

MobileXPRT 3: MobileXPRT 3 development is progressing nicely, and we’re close to completing a CP candidate build. We’ll test that build extensively on our library of Android phones and tablets, and barring any unforeseen issues, we plan to release the CP in the next few weeks.

AIXPRT: AIXPRT is the umbrella name for a set of tools we’re developing to help evaluate machine learning performance. After a great deal of research, we’re getting closer to releasing a build – tentatively called the AIXPRT RFC – for community members and other interested parties to download and review. For a number of reasons, the AIXPRT RFC process will be a little different than our normal XPRT RFC and CP process. We’ll be offering more information on the AIXPRT RFC build over the next several weeks.

We’re grateful to everyone who’s contributed in any way to each of these projects, and we look forward to sharing the benchmarks with the world. If you have any questions about the XPRTs, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Justin

Posted in AI, AIXPRT, Android, BenchmarkXPRT development community, HDXPRT, HDXPRT 4, HDXPRT development process, HDXPRT release cycle, MobileXPRT, MobileXPRT 3, Windows 10 |

Category: HDXPRT release cycle

Thinking ahead to the next HDXPRT

HDXPRT 4 v1.2 and the HDXPRT 4 source code package are available

An updated HDXPRT 4 build is on the way

HDXPRT 4 is here!

The HDXPRT 4 Community Preview is now available!

Notes from the lab: Updates on HDXPRT 4, MobileXPRT 3, and AIXPRT

Check out the other XPRTs: