Float versus Integer arithmetic performance on modern chips
Consider a Viterbi decoder on an additive model. It spends its time doing additions and comparisons. Now, consider two: one with C/C++ `float` as the data type, and another with `int`. On modern chips, would you expect `int` to run significantly faster than `float`? Or will the wonders of pipelining (and the absence of multiplication and division) make it all come out about even?
Float versus Integer arithmetic performance on modern chips
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Consider a Viterbi decoder on an additive model. It spends its time doing additions and comparisons. Now, consider two: one with C/C++ `float` as the data type, and another with `int`. On modern chips, would you expect `int` to run significantly faster than `float`? Or will the wonders of pipelining (and the absence of multiplication and division) make it all come out about even?