16 Years of SPEC Power: An Analysis of x86 Energy Efficiency Trends

TL;DR

This paper analyzes 16 years of SPEC Power benchmark data to reveal trends and factors affecting the energy efficiency of x86 server systems over time.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of long-term energy efficiency trends in x86 servers using publicly available benchmark data, highlighting key improvements and challenges.

Findings

Energy efficiency has improved over time but with diminishing returns.

Idle power consumption remains a significant factor.

Energy proportionality varies across systems and configurations.

Abstract

The SPEC Power benchmark offers valuable insights into the energy efficiency of server systems, allowing comparisons across various hardware and software configurations. Benchmark results are publicly available for hundreds of systems from different vendors, published since 2007. We leverage this data to perform an analysis of trends in x86 server systems, focusing on power consumption, energy efficiency, energy proportionality and idle power consumption. Through this analysis, we aim to provide a clearer understanding of how server energy efficiency has evolved and the factors influencing these changes.