[fpc-devel] x86_64 question

[Nikolay Nikolov]

On 10/4/20 2:01 PM, J. Gareth Moreton via fpc-devel wrote:
> Hi Nikolay,
>
> I've got some good code to test, but I need to double-check with 
> someone to see if the licensing agreements allow (the code is rather 
> complex, but showcases the effect of the TEST instructions quite nicely).
>
> Is your platform a Windows or a Unix machine?  I ask because I don't 
> want to send you functions that use the wrong calling convention!

I dual boot Linux and Windows, but prefer testing on Linux.

Best regards,


Nikolay

>
> Gareth aka. Kit
>
> On 02/10/2020 14:13, Nikolay Nikolov via fpc-devel wrote:
>>
>> On 10/2/20 2:13 PM, J. Gareth Moreton via fpc-devel wrote:
>>> Confirmed my suspicions.  if I zero the upper bits of the register 
>>> (I used something akin to "AND RCX, $F"), there is no speed loss.
>>>
>>> Therefore, I can make the hypothesis, on my Intel(R) Core(TM) 
>>> i7-10750H, that using TEST on a sub-register causes a false 
>>> dependency if the bits outside of the subset are not zero, even 
>>> though the register isn't being modified.
>>
>> If you send me a test program, I can run it on my Ryzen 5 2500U to 
>> see how AMD behaves. We don't specifically optimize for AMD (yet), 
>> but it's interesting to know.
>>
>> Nikolay
>>
>>>
>>> Gareth aka. Kit
>>>
>>> On 02/10/2020 11:57, J. Gareth Moreton via fpc-devel wrote:
>>>> So... I've done some tests, replacing TEST RCX, $4 with TEST CL, $4 
>>>> and the like in a number-crunching function, and it seems to cause 
>>>> a notable penalty, even though none of the instructions are in my 
>>>> critical loop.  So I think it's something that needs to be avoided 
>>>> in most cases.  I think the reason why it worked in my Int and Frac 
>>>> functions is because the processor knows the upper 48 bits of the 
>>>> register are zero.
>>>>
>>>> Long story short... best not to do it unless you have some 
>>>> additional insight into what the registers contain.
>>>>
>>>> Gareth aka. Kit
>>>>
>>>>
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>