GfxBench2D Version 2.8

A benchmark tool for graphics cards. Written by Hans de Ruiter.

Copyright (C) 2011-2012, by Hans de Ruiter, all rights reserved
Icons copyright (C) 2011, Thomas Blatt, all rights reserved

ABOUT

GfxBench2D is a 2D graphics benchmark tool that measures the performance of 
a set of the most common 2D rendering functions. It can additionally upload the
results to hdrlab.org.nz where it will be added to a public database that people
can use in order to compare graphics cards. While submitting results to the 
server is purely optional, it is hoped that you will. The greater the number of
people who submit their graphics benchmarks, the more useful the database 
becomes to us all. Additionally, uploaded results are displayed complete with 
graphs, whereas this tool only presents the data in table form.

Please visit http://hdrlab.org.nz/Benchmark/GfxBench2D/ for more information.

NOTE:
This is NOT intended to be an exhaustive test of the graphics card. As with any
benchmark tool, it tests a specific set of operations under a specific set of
conditions. Under different conditions (e.g., those within a particular game),
cards that performed well in this benchmark may still perform worse than lower
scoring cards and vice-versa. Thus, while you can compare scores between 
graphics cards and reach general conclusions about the performance of one card
relative to another, it cannot provide a 100% definitive ranking of graphics 
card. Graphics cards are too complex for a single "this one is the best" metric
to exist. 


REQUIREMENTS

- AmigaOS 4.x or higher
- A graphics card capable of displaying truecolour screens (i.e., must be able
  to display 16-bit screens or higher)
  
NOTE: Versions for other operating systems may be available at:
http://hdrlab.org.nz/Benchmark/GfxBench2D/Downloads

USAGE

Simply double-click on the GfxBench2D icon or execute it from a CLI window to
run the test. It will ask you for a screen-mode to run the test at (NOTE: the
preferred screen-mode is 1920x1080 32-bit), and perform the tests once you have
selected it. Once the tests are complete, it will show requesters asking if you
wish to upload the results to the server, and/or wish to save the results to
disk.

GfxBench2D also has some optional command-line parameters:
 ?, -h, --help - Print this help information 
 -v - Verbose output to screen (useful for debugging)             
 -d [n] - Set the debug level to the value given by the integer [n]            
 -nm, --nocopytests - Do not perform the copy to/from VRAM tests
	NOTE: Won't be able to sumit result to GfxBench server with this option
 -nf, --nofilltests - Do not perform the fill rect tests. 
	NOTE: Won't be able to sumit result to GfxBench server with this option
 -nb, --noblittests - Do not perform the blit rect tests. 
	NOTE: Won't be able to sumit result to GfxBench server with this option
 -nc, --nocompositingtests - Do not perform the compositing tests. 
	NOTE: Won't be able to sumit result to GfxBench server with this option
 -nr, --norandomtests - Do not perform the random tests.
	NOTE: Won't be able to sumit result to GfxBench server with this option
 -u, --upload - Automatically upload the results to the server.
	NOTE: Will be ignored if any of the tests are disabled
 -nu, --noupload - Disable uploading results to the server.       
	If neither --upload, not --noupload is set, then it will ask the user 
	whether or not to upload)             
 -s <filename>, --save <filename> - Saves the results to the given filename     
   
 -sd, --savedefault - Automatically saves to the default filename which is in
 	 the following format: <card-name>__<date>.g2dresult 
 -ns, --nosave - Do not save the results to disk.
     If -save, --savedefault, and --nosave are all not used, then the user will 
     be asked wether or not the result should be saved to the default filename 
 -so, --saveoverwrite - If the save file already exists, overwrite it (if unset,

 	then the user will be asked what to do if this happens)
 -tc, --testconnection - This will test the connection to the HDRLab server
    If this option is set, then no tests are performed, and all other options
    are ignored
 -y, --yestoall - No prompts are shown, with the program behaving as if yes were

    clicked for all prompts. WARNING: Be careful with this option as you could 
    accidentally overwrite files (the "file exists" message box will NOT show)

NOTE: You can only submit results to the HDRLab server if ALL tests are 
performed. Missing tests affect the test scores, and so would skew the result
statistics for the card. Hence, if you disable any tests, then the results 
cannot be uploaded.


PLEASE HELP IMPROVE THE ONLINE DATABASE

If you upload a result to the HDRLab website and notice that some system details

are incorrect, please click on the links provided on the page to submit a 
correction. It is impossible for this benchmark tool to extract all details 
accurately. For example, the graphics card's full name (e.g., HIS Radeon HD 4350

PCI) and manufacturer (e.g., Hightech Information System Limited) cannot be 
determined automatically. 

Ideally users of the online results database will be able to compare the results

of individual graphics cards and systems. By correcting/filling-in missing 
information you will be helping to provide everyone with the most accurate 
information. Thank you in advance to all who decide to contribute.


WHAT IS UPLOADED TO HDRLAB?

In addition to submitting the test results, the benchmark tool will upload basic

details about your computer hardware (motherboard, graphics card, RAM, etc.) and

operating system. These are the same details that the benchmark tool displays
on-screen, and is saved to disk. The server will also log the IP address from 
which the result was submitted even though this is currently not displayed on
the website.

IMPORTANT: GfxBench2D does NOT send any personally identifiable information to
the server. 


LICENSE

Please see the file called LICENSE for the license.


REVISION HISTORY

2.8 - 2012/06/19
- Now disables altivec for copying to/from VRAM on AmigaOne-XE/SE and uAmigaOne
  computers. These machines use the 60x bus protocol, which cannot handle 
  altivec accesses to cache-inhibited memory (such as VRAM). This caused slow 
  performance as was seen in version 2.6

2.7 - N/A
- Skipped, because it was a broken release

2.6 - 2012/06/11
- Optimised the CopyToVRAM() and CopyFromVRAM() functions, including 
  accelerating copying using altivec
- Added code to remove illegal characters from the auto-generated save 
  filename (e.g., the '/' in "Voodoo 4/5")

2.5 - 2012/01/26
- The previous release couldn't upload (wrong login details). FIXED.

2.4 - 2012/01/25
- Fixed the icon type (wouldn't start earlier because the icon was set to be a
  drawer)

2.3 - 2012/01/04
- Changed the icons to something nicer (thanks to Thomas Blatt for supplying 
  them)

2.2 - 2011/09/19
- A minor change to the upload requester
- Added a "user-agent" to the upload client

2.1 - 2011/08/22
- Added a --yestoall option so that the program proceeds without any prompts
- Added a requester before the testing begins to recommend to the user that 
  he/she should shut down other programs for maximum accuracy
- Fixed a few bugs
- Refactored code to enable reusing more between versions for multiple 
  operating systems
- Now records the Front-Side-Bus (FSB) clock speed too 
- Limits the maximum rectangle size to 1024x1024 pixels

1.9 - 2011/06/28 - One user reported that GfxBench2D only used 1024x768 of a
1280x1024   screen-mode. Added a workaround to prevent this

1.8 - 2011/06/17
- The screen title-bar now indicates how far through the testing it is (e.g., 
  "test 3 of 54")

1.7 - 2011/06/10
- Fixed a bug that caused a result upload to fail if the graphics card already 
  exists on the server
- Added the ability to test the connection to the HDRLab server without having
  to wait for all tests to complete
- If uploading a result fails due to server SSL certificate authentication 
  failure, then you will have the option to proceed regardless
- Added code to detect when the server rejects the login details, and asks the 
  user if he/she wishes to visit the download page to get the latest version
  (obsolete versions may be banned from uploading results)

1.6 - 2011/06/07
- Added a fallback for getting the memory size if the total internal memory size
  isn't available
- Fixed bugs that prevented some cards (e.g., the Voodoo series and non-PCI 
  cards such as Cybervision 3D) from working

1.5 - 2011/06/06
- The first beta release