Performance Evaluation of the Fourth-Generation Xeon with Different Memory Characteristics

Abstract

At the Supercomputer System of Academic Center for Computing and Media Studies Kyoto University, the fourth-generation Xeon (code-named Sapphire Rapids) is employed. The system consists of two subsystems—one equipped solely with high-bandwidth memory, HBM2e, and the other with a large DDR5 memory capacity. Using benchmark applications, a performance evaluation of systems with each type of memory was conducted. Additionally, the study employed a real application, the electromagnetic fluid code, to investigate how application performance varies based on differences in memory characteristics. The results confirm the performance improvement due to the high bandwidth of HBM2e. However, it was also observed that the efficiency is lower when using HBM2e, and the effects of cache memory optimization are relatively minimal.