Evaluating Geekbench 6
8 hours ago
- #CPU Performance
- #Instruction Set Architecture
- #Benchmark Evaluation
- Geekbench 6 is a consumer-focused benchmark suite distributed in binary form, unlike the source-code-based SPEC CPU2017, and is evaluated alongside SPEC to understand workload challenges for modern CPUs.
- Geekbench 6 heavily utilizes vector instructions, with AVX(2) prevalent in most workloads and AVX-512 prominent in specific tests like Background Blur; AMX is also used minimally but effectively in Object Detection and Photo Library.
- Instruction per cycle (IPC) analysis shows Geekbench 6 workloads skew towards medium to high IPC, indicating good core throughput, while SPEC CPU2017 has a wider IPC distribution with more low-IPC challenges, especially in integer tests.
- Branch prediction is critical, with Navigation being a particularly challenging workload due to high mispredicts, limiting IPC gains even on modern cores, while other tests like File Compression and Clang present moderate challenges.
- Cache and memory access patterns show Geekbench 6 workloads often have good data locality, with low L3 misses and effective prefetching, though tests like Photo Filter generate high DRAM bandwidth despite low miss rates.
- Score calculation differs: Geekbench 6 uses a modern reference system (Core i7-12700) with a baseline of 2500, while SPEC CPU2017 uses an older reference (Sun Fire V490) with a score of 1 as a speedup ratio.
- Overall, Geekbench 6 emphasizes vector-heavy, throughput-focused workloads with small instruction footprints, whereas SPEC CPU2017 offers broader IPC challenges but less vector stress, serving complementary purposes in benchmarking.