Intel's Bean Canyon (NUC8i7BEH) Coffee Lake NUC Review - Ticking the Right Boxes
by Ganesh T S on April 3, 2019 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
- Intel
- NUC
- UCFF
- Thunderbolt 3
- Cannon Point
- Coffee Lake-U
GPU Performance for Workstation Workloads - SPECviewperf 13
The SPECviewperf benchmark from SPEC provides an idea of the capabilities of the GPU in a workstation from the perspective of different CAD, content creation, and visual data analysis tools. It makes more sense to process these benchmarks on workstations with professional GPUs, but, consumer GPUs are often the choice for machines that need to handle both gaming and professional workloads.
SPECviewperf 13 includes nine different workloads representative of graphics content and behavior of actual applications. They make use of the OpenGL 4.0 and DirectX 12 APIs under Windows. SPECviewperf 13's workloads (termed viewsets) can officially be run only at two desktop resolutions (1920 x 1080, and 3840 x 2160), and need the dsplay scaling to be set to 100% (DPI of 96). The available viewsets are listed below.
- 3ds Max (3dsmax-06)
- CATIA (catia-05)
- Creo (creo-02)
- Energy (energy-02)
- Maya (maya-05)
- Medical (medical-02)
- Showcase (showcase-02)
- Siemens NX (snx-03)
- Solidworks (sw-04)
The 3ds Max and Showcase viewsets are available only when processing at 1920 x 1080. The rest are available at both resolutions.
We processed SPECviewperf 13 at both resolutions on the Intel NUC8i7BEH (Bean Canyon). The benchmark measures the frame rate at which the GPU renders the scenes in a viewset. Each viewset is composed of different scenes and rendering modes, and the composite score for the viewset is a weighted geometric mean of the FPS measured for the different scenes. In this section, we take a look at how its composite scores stack up against other systems targeting this market segment.
3ds Max (3dsmax-06)
The 3dsmax-06 viewset comprises of 11 different scenes. They have been created from traces of the graphics workload generated by Autodesk 3ds Max 2016 using the default Nitrous DX11 driver. Additional details are available here.
The ordering of the numbers is very similar to what was seen in the previous section.
CATIA (catia-05)
The catia-05 viewset comprises of 14 different tests created from traces of the graphics workload generated by the CATIA V6 R2012 application from Dassault Systemes. Additional details are available here.
| SPECviewperf 13: CATIA Viewset Composite Scores | |||
The Bean Canyon NUC is slightly ahead of the Skull Canyon, but the discrete GPU-equipped systems are much further ahead.
Creo (creo-02)
The creo-02 viewset comprises of 16 different tests created from traces of the graphics workload generated by the Creo 3 and Creo 4 applications from PTC. Additional details are available here.
| SPECviewperf 13: Creo Viewset Composite Scores | |||
Energy (energy-02)
The energy-02 viewset comprises of 6 different tests based on techniques used by the OpendTect seismic visualization application. Additional details are available here.
| SPECviewperf 13: Energy Viewset Composite Scores | |||
Given that the energy-02 workload didn't complete at all on the Skull Canyon NUC, it is heartening to see that the Bean Canyon NUC can at least finish processing the benchmark.
Maya (maya-05)
The maya-05 viewset comprises of 10 different tests based on traces of the graphics workload generated by Autodesk Maya 2017. Additional details are available here.
| SPECviewperf 13: Maya Viewset Composite Scores | |||
Maya takes us back to the regularly scheduled programming - Bean Canyon is ahead of Skull Canyon, but, trails everyone else.
Medical (medical-02)
The medical-02 viewset comprises of 8 different tests derived from 4 distinct datasets. Each test uses the ImageVis3D volume visualization program's Tuvok rendering core for 2D projections of 3D volumetric grids. Additional details are available here.
| SPECviewperf 13: Medical Viewset Composite Scores | |||
Showcase (showcase-02)
The showcase-02 viewset comprises of 4 tests created from traces of the Autodesk Showcase 2013 application rendering a racecar model with 8 million vertices using different modes. Additional details are available here.
Siemens NX (snx-03)
The snx-03 viewset comprises of 10 tests created with traces from the graphics workload generated by the NX 8.0 application from Siemens PLM. Additional details are available here.
| SPECviewperf 13: Siemens NX Viewset Composite Scores | |||
Solidworks (sw-04)
The sw-04 viewset comprises of 11 tests created from traces of Dassault Systemes’ SolidWorks 2013 SP1 application. Additional details are available here.
| SPECviewperf 13: Solidworks Viewset Composite Scores | |||
Overall, we see that Bean Canyon has limited use for processing SPECviewperf-type workloads. However, the presence of a Thunderbolt 3 port means that users can always attach a professional GPU in a eGFX enclosure to process these types of tasks.
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HStewart - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link
I think a good NUC will be when Intel has Gen 11 graphics which is suppose to be around NVidia 1030 level but integrated on GPU.Irata - Thursday, April 4, 2019 - link
So the RX Vega 11 iGPU level then ?ab3cv - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link
Any idea whether the graphics can support the Dell 49 Ultrasharp with resolution of 5120 x 1440 at 60Hz?Thanks
cacnoff - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link
I have tried this monitor on both the Type-C port as well as the HDMI port and both seem to be able to drive the panel at the 5120x1440@60hz resolution just fine. I will have a second panel on thursday to see if it can drive both at the same time fine.jpap - Friday, April 5, 2019 - link
Glad it can drive at least one 512x1440@60 panel. I'm keen to hear if it can drive two simultaneously! That would be one awesome minimal desktop system. :-)ToTTenTranz - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link
I for one think it's incredible that the 8559U with a 28W TDP and a GT3 Gen9 is getting practically the same or higher performance than the 6770HQ with a 45W TDP and a GT4 Gen9, considering they're both made on different variations of what's essentially the same node.PeachNCream - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link
Yeah, its nice to see the TDP for performance do that sort of thing so clearly. It's also nice that you can now purchase Skull Canyon equivalent power without being forced to have the Skull Canyon name. I was always put off by the whole death and bones branding. It's too visceral and ugly in a world that has enough real life death in it. Bean Canyon sounds a lot better.Ashinjuka - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link
I agree. I'm worn away by the mainstreaming of the Death Cult America but I guess that's what tends to happen when a society is imploding.Sailor23M - Wednesday, April 3, 2019 - link
I have a Skull Canyon that I picked up on 25% sale from newegg 2 years ago and its been a solid SFF machine, Intel packages an extra normal (non-skull) lid if you rather use that one. There is a dedicated intel support page for the machine with all drivers and firmware. I have mine mounted behind my monitor for a very clean AIO look with a wireless mouse n keyboard.TheinsanegamerN - Friday, April 5, 2019 - link
The 90's called they want their moral panic back.