Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation

Regarding Availability Dates And Configuration Changes in Published SPEC CPU2000 Results

Last updated: 08/06/2001

SPEC CPU2000 results include 2 dates:

• Hardware Avail: the date by which all hardware used in the result is available
• Software Avail: the date by which all software used in the result is available

However, it should be noted that SPEC does not track when a product or configuration, for which SPEC benchmark results are found on the SPEC website, is changed and continues to ship.

It has come to SPEC's attention that some CPU2000 results published on its website may be confusing. The confusing results identified are for systems whose names have remained the same but whose underlying configurations are reported to have changed in a non-performace neutral way since their publication on the SPEC website.

• As of 06/2001, these Sun Blade 1000 and Sun Fire 280R results have been identified as being confusing. Results on the new configurations have not been made available for publication on SPEC's website.

  Update posted 08/06/2001: As of 07/2001, results on the new configurations have been published on SPEC's website. They are identifiable by their "Jul-2001" publication date (compared to the "Sep-2000" and "Jan-2001" publication dates of the earlier results).

SPEC regrets any confusion that may arise from this.

As noted in the other note about availability, which discussed other availability issues like discontinuation, the current SPEC rules and reporting mechanisms do not provide clear and easy ways to track and distinguish these cases. Recognizing the possible confusion, SPEC is examining changes to its rules and processes, but notes that this may not be as simple as it seems. The reader is encouraged, in case of any question regarding product availability or changes to directly contact the vendor for clarification.

SPEC invites your comments and suggestions on this topic; email comments@spec.org