Prety straight forward, are the Intel compilers worth getting? I do mostly systems level and desktop work so I figure I might benefti. Can anyone with some more experience shed some light?
A:
From the benchmarks I've seen, it does look like using the Intel specific compilers provide some performance/multithreading benefit over their Open Source alternatives.
Justin Niessner
2010-05-24 19:21:30
+1
A:
If you are on Windows, they do provide a nice speed boost over other compilers on Intel processors. There is a known behavior where they pick a very slow code path with non-Intel processors (AMD, VIA), and antitrust probes surrounding the issue.
If you use the thread building blocks or other features, you also risk tying your code to the Intel compiler long term as the functionality doesn't exist elsewhere.
GCC 4.5 on Linux is nearly on-par with the Intel compiler. There is no clear winner on that platform.
Yann Ramin
2010-05-24 19:23:16
+1
A:
In the small experience I've had with intel compilers (C only), I would say their are vastly superior. Specifically the OpenMP library was much much faster than the open source version. "Worth it" depends on your situation though, they are expensive, but they are better IMO.
Tom
2010-05-24 19:25:06
Well, I qualify for student pricing, so it wouldn't be too bad if I got them before I graduate.
samoz
2010-05-24 19:38:32
If you can afford it I'd say go for it. I was able to use it through a class which the professor had an instructional license but after the class was over I couldn't use it anymore and I was pretty sad. I gained a lot of respect for Intel software from using their tools, they make good stuff.
Tom
2010-05-24 22:40:46