Touchstone { a Lightweight Processor Benchmark Touchstone { a Lightweight Processor Benchmark

Benchmarks are valuable for comparing processor performance. However, porting and running processor benchmarks on new platforms can be di cult. Touchstone, a simple addition benchmark, is designed to overcome portability problems, while retaining performance measurement accuracy. In this paper, we present experimental results that show Touchstone correlates strongly with processor performance under other benchmarks. Equally important, we present a measure of portability that demonstrates Touchstone is easier to port and run than other benchmarks. We conclude that while Touchstone is not a replacement for more extensive processor benchmarks, it can be used for quick, reasonably accurate estimations of processor performance.