Advanced Vector Extensions

Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX) is an extension to the x86 instruction set architecture for microprocessors from Intel and AMD proposed by Intel in March 2008 and first supported by Intel with the Sandy Bridge processor shipping in Q1 2011 and later on by AMD with the Bulldozer processor shipping in Q3 2011.

AVX provides new features, new instructions and a new coding scheme.

1 New features
2 New coding scheme
3 Applications
4 Compiler and assembler support
5 Operating system support
6 CPUs with AVX
7 New 256-bit instructions
8 Advanced Vector Extensions 2
- 8.1 CPUs with AVX2
9 Future instruction sets
10 References

New features

AVX Register scheme as extension from the SSE registers.

The width of the SIMD register file is increased from 128 bits to 256 bits, and renamed from XMM0–XMM15 to YMM0–YMM15. In processors with AVX support, the legacy SSE instructions (which previously operated on 128-bit XMM registers) now operate on the lower 128 bits of the YMM registers.

AVX introduces a three-operand SIMD instruction format, where the destination register is distinct from the two source operands. For example, an SSE instruction using the conventional two-operand form a = a + b can now use a non-destructive three-operand form c = a + b, preserving both source operands. AVX's three-operand format is limited to the instructions with SIMD operands (YMM), and does not include instructions with general purpose registers (e.g. EAX). Such support will first appear in AVX2.^[1]

The alignment requirement of SIMD memory operands is relaxed.^{[citation needed]}

New coding scheme

Main article: VEX prefix

The new VEX coding scheme introduces a new set of code prefixes that extends the opcode space, allows instructions to have more than two operands, and allows SIMD vector registers to be longer than 128 bits.

Applications

Suitable for floating point-intensive calculations in multimedia, scientific and financial applications (integer operations are expected in later extensions).
Increases parallelism and throughput in floating point SIMD calculations.
Reduces register load due to the non-destructive instructions.
Improves Linux RAID software performance ^[2]

Prime95/MPrime, the software used for GIMPS, started using the AVX instructions since version 27.x.

Compiler and assembler support

Recent releases of GCC starting with version 4.6 (although there was a 4.3 branch with certain support) and the Intel Compiler Suite starting with version 11.1 support AVX. The Visual Studio 2010/2012 compiler supports AVX via intrinsic and /arch:AVX switch. The Open64 compiler version 4.5.1 supports AVX with -mavx flag. PathScale supports via the -mavx flag. The Vector Pascal compiler supports AVX via the -cpuAVX32 flag. The GNU Assembler (GAS) inline assembly functions support these instructions (accessible via GCC), as do Intel primitives and the Intel inline assembler (closely compatible to GAS, although more general in its handling of local references within inline code). Other assemblers such as MASM VS2010 version, YASM 1.1.0, FASM, NASM and JWASM also apparently support AVX instructions.^{[citation needed]}

Operating system support

AVX adds new register-state through the 256-bit wide YMM register file, so explicit operating system support is required to properly save & restore AVX's new registers between context switches. The following operating system versions will support AVX:

Apple OS X: Support for AVX added in 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard) update^[3] released on June 23, 2011.
Linux: supported since kernel version 2.6.30,^[4] released on June 9, 2009.^[5]
Windows: supported in Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.;^[6] hotfix 2517374 available for non-SP1 version of Windows Server 2008 R2.;^[7] Windows 8

Windows Server 2008 R2 Sp1 with Hyper-V requires a hotfix to support AMD AVX (Opteron 6200 and 4200 series) processors, kb 2568088

FreeBSD in a patch submitted on 21 January 2012,^[8] which was included in the 9.1 stable release^[9]

DragonFlyBSD added support in early 2013.

Solaris 10 Update 10 and Solaris 11

CPUs with AVX

Intel
- Sandy Bridge processor, Q1 2011^[10]
- Sandy Bridge E processor, Q4 2011^[11]
- Ivy Bridge processor, Q1 2012
- Haswell processor, Q2 2013.
- Broadwell processor, 2014.
AMD:
- Bulldozer-based processor, Q3 2011^[12]
- Piledriver-based processor, Q4 2012^[13]
- Jaguar-based processor

Issues regarding compatibility between future Intel and AMD processors are discussed under XOP instruction set.

New 256-bit instructions

These AVX instructions are in addition to the ones that are 256-bit extensions of the legacy 128-bit SSE instructions:

Instruction	Description
VBROADCASTSS, VBROADCASTSD, VBROADCASTF128	Copy a 32-bit, 64-bit or 128-bit memory operand to all elements of a XMM or YMM vector register.
VINSERTF128	Replaces either the lower half or the upper half of a 256-bit YMM register with the value of a 128-bit source operand. The other half of the destination is unchanged.
VEXTRACTF128	Extracts either the lower half or the upper half of a 256-bit YMM register and copies the value to a 128-bit destination operand.
VMASKMOVPS, VMASKMOVPD	Conditionally reads any number of elements from a SIMD vector memory operand into a destination register, leaving the remaining vector elements unread and setting the corresponding elements in the destination register to zero. Alternatively, conditionally writes any number of elements from a SIMD vector register operand to a vector memory operand, leaving the remaining elements of the memory operand unchanged.
VPERMILPS, VPERMILPD	Shuffle 32-bit or 64-bit vector elements, with a register or memory operand as selector.
VPERM2F128	Shuffle the four 128-bit vector elements of two 256-bit source operands into a 256-bit destination operand, with an immediate constant as selector.
VZEROALL	Set all YMM registers to zero and tag them as unused. Used when switching between 128-bit use and 256-bit use.
VZEROUPPER	Set the upper half of all YMM registers to zero. Used when switching between 128-bit use and 256-bit use.