SPEC CPU2006 Platform Settings for Intel-based systems

Operating System Tuning Parameters

Free the file system page cache
The command "echo 0> /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches" is default, no free up the filesystem page cache, dentries and inodes.
The command "echo 1> /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches" is used to free up the filesystem page cache.
The command "echo 2> /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches" is used to free up the filesystem dentries and inodes.
The command "echo 3> /proc/sys/vm/drop_caches" is used to free up the filesystem page cache, dentries and inodes.

Firmware / BIOS / Microcode Settings

Boot performance mode: (Default="Max Non-Turbo Performance")
Select the performance state that the BIOS will set before OS handoff. There're three options: Max Battery, Max Non-Turbo Performance and Turbo Performance.
Operating Modes: (Default="Efficiency -Favor Performance")
The average customer doesn't know the best way to set each individual power/performance feature for their specific environment. Because of this, a menu option is provided that can help a customer optimize the system for things such as minimum power usage/acoustic levels, maximum efficiency, Energy Star optimization, or maximum performance.
DCU Streamer Prefetcher:
DCU (Level 1 Data Cache) streamer prefetcher is an L1 data cache prefetcher. Lightly threaded applications and some benchmarks can benefit from having the DCU streamer prefetcher enabled. Default setting is Enable.
Intel Hyper-Threading Technology: (Default="")
Enabling Hyper-Threading let operating system addresses two virtual or logical cores for a physical presented core. Workloads can be shared between virtual or logical cores when possible. The main function of hyper-threading is to increase the number of independent instructions in the pipeline for using the processor resources more efficiently.
CPU C3 State Support: (Default="Auto")
Enable C3 sleep state for lower power consumption.
Intel Virtualization Technology: (Default="Enable")
Intel Virtualization Technology allows a platform to run multiple operating systems and applications in independent partitions, so that one computer system can function as multiple virtual system.
VT-d:
This BIOS option enables or disables I/O virtualization functions of the CPU. If the server is not used for virtualization, this option should be set to "Disabled". Default setting is "Enabled".
ICE Performance Mode: (Default="Better Acoustic Performance")
Intelligent Cooling Engine (ICE) actively monitors component temperatures in real-time and optimally adjusts the speeds of the fans to keep the system cooler and quieter. There are three options: "Better Acoustic Performance", "Better Thermal Performance", "Full Speed"