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The Workload Mattered More Than the Garbage Collector

A controlled Java study found no statistically reliable universal energy winner among Serial, Parallel and G1.

Published Updated Story ID: mp-2026-08-22-005
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Summary

A controlled Java study found no statistically reliable universal energy winner among Serial, Parallel and G1.

Across three applications, three workload intensities and two JDK distributions, Parallel posted the lowest raw mean energy use, but the collector effect did not reach statistical reliability in the study's blocked analysis. Workload intensity was the consistent driver, and execution time had only a moderate association with energy. The result argues for measurement on the target system rather than a universal collector ranking.

Why it matters

A controlled Java study found no statistically reliable universal energy winner among Serial, Parallel and G1.

Limits and context

  • Across three applications, three workload intensities and two JDK distributions, Parallel posted the lowest raw mean energy use, but the collector effect did not reach statistical reliability in the study's blocked analysis.
  • Workload intensity was the consistent driver, and execution time had only a moderate association with energy.

Key claims

  1. A controlled Java study found no statistically reliable universal energy winner among Serial, Parallel and G1.

    Qualification: Across three applications, three workload intensities and two JDK distributions, Parallel posted the lowest raw mean energy use, but the collector effect did not reach statistical reliability in the study's blocked analysis.

    Evidence: source-2026-08-22-005

Sources

  1. arXiv preprint 2608.19520arXiv · primary research

Corrections

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