Is ICC faster than GCC on Intel CPUs?

[dan_aka_jack]

Hi,

Is the Intel C++ compiler faster than the GNU C++ compiler on Intel CPUs? If so, if it possible and sensible to re-compile the entire of the Gentoo enviroment using ICC instead of GCC?

Many thanks,
Jack

[petu]

Hi,

Is the Intel C++ compiler faster than the GNU C++ compiler on Intel CPUs? If so, if it possible and sensible to re-compile the entire of the Gentoo enviroment using ICC instead of GCC?

Many thanks,
Jack

According to this http://gentoo-wiki.com/HOWTO_Setup_ICC howto "The main reason to use icc over gcc is if you own an Intel(R) processor, because they can often benefit from the optimizations offered by icc."

Used google to search old forum posts and it seems it's not possible to compile the entire system with icc. See this http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=28435

[dan_aka_jack]

Sorry - I shouldv'e looked on the Gentoo Wiki before posting. Interesting. It's a shame it's not possible to optimise the entire system using ICC - I'll look into it.

Thanks,
Jack

[dan_aka_jack]

Hmm... that thread is quite old... and the ICC site makes a lot of noise about ICC being compatible with GCC.

Has anyone recently tried using ICC to compile their entire system?

Oh, and why is the ICC in portage a little old? There's a new version out.

Thanks,
Jack

[Arainach]

The icc in portage is probably old because basically everyone, ESPECIALLY the developers who maintain portage, use gcc because it's so well established, standardized, and flexible.

[dan_aka_jack]

Yeah - that's what I though.

Does anyone have some up-to-date performance data comparing the newest GCC with the newest ICC?

Thanks,
Jack

[pilla]

Hmm... that thread is quite old...

Moved to dups.