Advanced Assembly Language
Q98 / 100

What is x87 FPU vs SSE floating-point and why does SSE dominate?

Correct! Well done.

Incorrect.

The correct answer is B) x87 uses 80-bit extended precision and a stack model; SSE uses 32/64-bit IEEE 754 in XMM registers — more predictable, SIMD-capable, and ABI-preferred

B

Correct Answer

x87 uses 80-bit extended precision and a stack model; SSE uses 32/64-bit IEEE 754 in XMM registers — more predictable, SIMD-capable, and ABI-preferred

Explanation

x87's stack model is awkward to compile for and its 80-bit precision causes subtle differences vs C double. Modern compilers use SSE2 (mandated by x86-64 ABI) for float/double.

Progress
98/100