Benchmark figures for embedded PowerPC processor

New benchmark scores for IBM's PowerPC 750CL embedded processor provide extensive data on the "cost" of processor performance for the chip across several distinct application areas.

New certified benchmark scores published today for IBM's PowerPC 750CL are the broadest application to date for EEMBC's EnergyBench power/energy benchmark tool, providing extensive data on the "cost" of processor performance for the 750CL across several distinct application areas.

The 800MHz PowerPC 750CL, part of IBM's Power Architecture technology line of embedded processors, was simultaneously tested against EnergyBench and five EEMBC processor benchmark suites that approximate device performance in automotive, digital imaging, digital entertainment, networking, office automation, and telecom applications.

The combination of tests yields data on performance as well as indicating how much energy is required to run the performance benchmarks.

The EnergyBench results for each test are expressed in joules per iteration and average watts of power dissipation.

The Green Hills Software MULTI 4.2.3 compiler was used for all of the tests, which were performed in an out-of-the-box environment on production silicon.

"With the public release of these certified performance and energy scores, IBM is the first EEMBC member to fully exploit the benefits of the industry-standard procedure established by EEMBC".

"It is impossible to exaggerate the wealth of information that these fine-grained benchmarks provide to guide engineers in understanding device capabilities", says Markus Levy, EEMBC President.

"The results for the PowerPC 750CL will likely serve not only to make users of this particular device more informed with respect to power/performance tradeoffs; they should also inspire demand for more EnergyBench scores for a wide range of embedded processors".

The IBM PowerPC 750CL RISC microprocessor is a 32bit implementation of the IBM PowerPC family and operates at speeds from 400MHz to 1GHz.

The 750CL includes a 256KB L2 cache and is targeted at networking, storage, imaging, consumer electronic, and other high-performance embedded applications.

"IBM realises that its customers are placing an ever-increasing importance on low power consumption, and the PowerPC 750CL processor is designed to address those concerns", says Ron Martino, Director of Power Architecture solutions, IBM Global Engineering Solutions.

"The Energymarks from EEMBC are an important addition to performance marks and will enable our customers to see that the 750CL combines high performance with low power consumption".

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