Benchmarks, in particular the SPEC CPU benchmarks, are frequently used in academic computer research. With ASPLOS-7 as an example, observations about such usage are reported, and suggestions are made for a meaningful use of benchmarks in computer architecture research. Forward-looking computer architecture research may need more than one benchmark collection.
/lp/association-for-computing-machinery/on-the-use-of-spec-benchmarks-in-computer-architecture-research-E9aCl76Uvj