Doug Eadline writes in the SICORP blog about how to easily test multi-core performance using open source HPC benchmarks:
“When I test processors, I tend to use HPC tests. I do not use HPL (High Performance Linpack) because it can require a lot of tuning to get a good number. I prefer to use standard GNU compilers and the NAS Parallel Benchmark Suite. I also like to use Gromacs. This approach may not test the best performance for a given platform, but it allows me to compare “apples to apples” as close as possible. I can also run these tests on a single core, a multi-core CPU, or a cluster.”
