SPEC CPU: The Next Generation

TL;DR

The paper introduces SPEC CPU 2026, a modern, community-developed benchmark suite with innovative methodologies like Rolling-Round-Robin Rate for heterogeneous workloads, aiming to set new standards in CPU performance evaluation.

Contribution

It presents a new benchmark suite built on open-source applications, with a novel workload execution method and diverse, microarchitecturally representative benchmarks.

Findings

Introduces Rolling-Round-Robin Rate for heterogeneous workloads.

Features expanded multithreaded benchmarks.

Reflects contemporary software demands in benchmark design.

Abstract

The march toward developing relevant and robust CPU benchmarks continues with the introduction of SPEC CPU 2026, the next generation suite for measuring processor performance. This paper details the methodology behind its creation, showcasing a process centered on community collaboration and principled development. The suite is built upon a foundation of modern, open-source applications, selected and hardened through a process that emphasizes workload diversity, portability, and software longevity. A key contribution is Rolling-Round-Robin Rate, a novel and standardized approach to running heterogeneous, multiprogrammed workloads that addresses a long-standing gap in benchmarking practice. Additionally, the suite features an expanded set of multithreaded benchmarks and introduces workloads with distinct microarchitectural profiles, reflecting the demands of contemporary software. By detailing our principled approach to benchmark selection, adaptation, and validation, we demonstrate how the SPEC CPU 2026 suite sets the standard for performance evaluation in the next era of computer architecture research and development.