[Beowulf] Re: [Rocks-Discuss]Intel compiler specifically tuned for SPEC2k (and other benchmarks?)

[Lombard, David N]

From: Robert G. Brown; Wednesday, February 11, 2004 2:14 PM
> On Wed, 11 Feb 2004, Lombard, David N wrote:
> 
> > > They also have some evil of
> > > their own when the application in question is commercial and not
open
> > > source -- you have effectively no control over how it was built
and
> > > tuned for your architecture, for example, and may not even have
> > > meaningful version information.
> >
> > Let's be fair here. An ISV application is not the definition of
evil.
> 
> I did not mean to imply that they were wholly evil or even evil in
> intent.
> 
> > Clearly, "you have effectively no control over how an application
was
> > built and tuned for your architecture" has no direct correspondence
to
> > performance.
> 
> I would have to respectfully and vehemently disagree.  It has all
sorts
> of direct correspondances.  Let us make a short tally of ways that a
> closed source, binary only application used as a benchmark can mislead
> me with regard to the performance of a system.
>
[deletia]
> 
> Note, BTW, that all of the observations above are irrelevant if the
> application being used as a benchmark is the application you intend to
> use in the form you intend to use it, purchased or not.

OK. So there's our difference.  I only consider an application benchmark
useful in this scenario.  I can't imagine using an application benchmark
of any sort if it isn't; you enumerated all the reasons for this in the
bits I just snipped.

We agree completely on this.

-- 
David N. Lombard
 
My comments represent my opinions, not those of Intel Corporation.
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