Understanding the capabilities of the specific processors and the underlying architecture on which your application will run is key to optimization. Intel distributes many hardware and software development resources that can help better understand how to optimize application source code for specific architectures.
You can find detailed information about processor numbers, capabilities, and technical specifications, along with documentation, from the following web sites:
Intel® Processor Spec Finder (http://processorfinder.intel.com/)
Intel® Processor Numbers (http://www.intel.com/products/processor_number/)
Intel® Processor Identification Utility (http://www.intel.com/support/processors/tools/piu/)
The architecture manuals provide specific details about the basic architecture, supported instruction sets, programming guidelines for specific operating systems, and performance monitoring.
The optimization manuals provide insight for developing high-performance applications for Intel® architectures.
IA-32 and Intel® 64 architectures: http://www.intel.com/products/processor/manuals/index.htm
IA-64 Architecture: http://www.intel.com/design/itanium/documentation.htm
For more information on advanced or specialized optimization strategies, refer to the Resource Centers for Software Developers, which can be accessed from www.intel.com. Refer to the articles, community forums, and links to additional resources in the listed areas of the following Developer Centers:
Tools and Technologies:
Threading/Multi-core
Intel® Software Products
Intel® Processors:
Intel® 64 and IA-32 Architectures Software Developer's Manuals
Itanium® Processor Family
Pentium® 4 Processor
Intel® Xeon® Processor
Environments:
High Performance Computing