Compiler/Computer Benchmarks

Hi,

I have long believed that the new Intel compiler is much faster than the old Compaq compiler. However, when benchmarking FAST, I was surprised. Here are comparitive speeds of FAST between the Compaq and Intel compilers:

Pentium D 3.00 GHz 1.31
Pentium M 1.70 GHz 1.46
Xeon 1.50 GHz 1.41
Xeon 3.05 GHz 1.45
Xeon 3.40 GHz 1.30
Average 1.39

This shows us that the Compaq averages 39% faster than the Intel compiler. I was really surprised by this. One thing to note is that there is a problem with the Intel compiler when compiling FAST. It takes several times longer and requires about twice as much RAM to compile it. I reproduced this problem with a very simple program and have been waiting for nearly two years for Intel to fix their compiler. They have acknowledged the problem.

I decided to test WT_Perf to see if the results would be the same. Here are the results:

Pentium D 3.00 GHz 0.57
Pentium M 1.70 GHz 0.63
Xeon 1.50 GHz 0.52
Xeon 3.05 GHz 0.59
Xeon 3.40 GHz 0.57
Average 0.57

This shows that the Intel compiler averages 75% (1.75=1/0.57) faster than the Compaq compiler, which is more in line with my preconceived notions.

I suspect that for most codes, the Intel compiler will be much faster than the Compaq compiler it has replaced. I may repeat this process with TurbSim and will report it here if I do.

Marshall

Hi,

It appears that ADAMS built with the Intel compiler is about 40% faster than ADAMS built with the Compaq compiler.

Marshall

Interesting…