SPEC CPU2006 Platform Settings for Intel-based systems

Firmware / BIOS / Microcode Settings

Hardware Prefetch:
This BIOS option allows the enabling/disabling of a processor mechanism to prefetch data into the cache according to a pattern-recognition algorithm In some cases, setting this option to Disabled may improve performance. Users should only disable this option after performing application benchmarking to verify improved performance in their environment.
Adjacent Sector Prefetch:
This BIOS option allows the enabling/disabling of a processor mechanism to fetch the adjacent cache line within a 128-byte sector that contains the data needed due to a cache line miss. In some cases, setting this option to Disabled may improve performance. Users should only disable this option after performing application benchmarking to verify improved performance in their environment.
Hyper-Threading:
This BIOS option allows the enabling/disabling of Intel's Hyper-Threading (HT) Technology. HT Technology allows multithreaded software applications execute two threads in parallel within each processor core.
Turbo Mode:
Intel Turbo Boost Technology allows processor cores to run faster than the rated operating frequency if they’re operating below power, current, and temperature specification limits. Disabling this feature will reduce power usage but will reduce the system's maximum achievable performance under some workloads.
ICE Performance Modes:
This BIOS switch allows 3 options: "Better Acoustic Performance", "Better Thermal Performance", and "Full Speed". The default is "Better Acoustic Performance". Changed to "Full Speed" for this test.