Intel recently released the Binary Optimization Tool, which modifies instruction sequences in executables in order to improve performance. The techniques used are not publicly documented, and it is unclear how widely applicable these techniques are across different applications. The tool only supports a short list of applications, and Geekbench 6 is one of the few supported applications.

When run under the tool, some Geekbench 6 workload scores increase by up to 40%, and overall scores increase by up to 8%. Since the tool modifies the benchmark, and it is unclear to both Primate Labs and the general public how these changes occur, results generated with the tool are not comparable to results generated without it. In addition, we currently have no way to detect if a Geekbench 6 result was run with or without the Binary Optimization Tool.

As a (hopefully temporary) workaround, the Geekbench Browser will display the following warning on all Geekbench 6 CPU benchmark results from CPUs that support the Binary Optimization Tool: “This benchmark result may be invalid due to binary modification tools that can run on this system.”

While the Binary Optimization Tool only supports a small number of Intel CPUs, this is an important step to ensure scores reported on the Geekbench Browser remain trustworthy. Intel lists the supported CPUs on the Binary Optimization Tool webpage. We expect this list to be dynamic and that it will change over time. Primate Labs’ warnings will be updated accordingly.