apitrace vs Arm Performance Studio

apitrace records OpenGL, Direct3D and DirectDraw API calls in trace files for replay and examination. Recorded calls can be replayed on another machine; OpenGL traces can also be replayed across operating systems. Its tools let users inspect graphics state and call data, view framebuffers and textures, edit trace files and profile performance. Coverage varies across APIs and operations: the feature matrix spans OpenGL 1.0–4.5, OpenGL ES 1.0–3.0, Direct3D 7–11.x and DirectDraw. Command-line profiling can capture frame, GPU, CPU and pixels-drawn data, with shader-profile formatting available through a script. The operating-system matrix lists Linux, OS X and Windows for tracing, replay, command-line and GUI use. Windows and Linux binaries are available for x86_64 and Arm64, with Windows x86 binaries also provided. The open-source project is licensed under MIT. One stated limitation is that programmatic Direct3D capture interfaces are unsupported. The maintainer says patches, issues and requests are handled as time permits, and the project links to a manual, bug-reporting guide, source-hacking guide, wiki and mailing list.

Arm Performance Studio is a free profiling suite for applications running on devices with Arm CPUs and GPUs. Streamline records CPU, GPU, and application activity from a device, and Performance Advisor turns those captures into reports highlighting potential problems and optimization advice. Frame Advisor examines API calls and rendering data for a problem frame and provides geometry metrics. Mali Offline Compiler estimates shader and compute-kernel performance across Arm GPUs, including register usage, cycle cost, and stage-specific recommendations. The suite also includes RenderDoc for Arm GPUs, an Arm fork of the graphics API debugger with support for Arm GPU extensions and Android features. Tools can run without a graphical interface in continuous-integration workflows and export machine-readable data for custom reporting; Unity and Godot integrations can add application markers or counters. The product describes profiling Android and Linux applications and lists Android 11 or later for Streamline, Performance Advisor, Frame Advisor, and RenderDoc for Arm GPUs. Graphics profiling supports Mali GPUs from the Mali-T700 series onward, but not Mali-400 or Mali-T600 products. Community support is provided through Arm’s Gaming, Graphics, and VR forum.