I don’t think the tools really change; architecture reference manuals, your favorite text editor, and an assembler. Processor simulators are sometimes useful for resolving the most perplexing quandaries.
With the new AVX 512 announcement from Intel, I was trying to use the sde to see what I could get away with in terms of reducing cycles for certain operations by loading larger values..
Have you used the Intel SDE? Do you know how helpful the -mix histogram is or isn't? Or just general docs on usage?
SDE has never been particularly interesting to me, but I can certainly see that it could be useful for some cases. In general, the simulator I want is one that completely models the CPU and generates detailed traces (like the late great SimG4).
the simulator I want is one that completely models the CPU and generates detailed traces
I'd like one also. Lacking that, have you found any tools close enough to this to be useful? Intel's IACA is better than pen and paper, but rarely replaces it. Is there an AMD equivalent? Are PTLsim or MARSSx86 useful? (sorry for presuming x86 if not what you work on)
