I''m currently using VC++ 6 Pro, and I''m considering getting a new compiler. Mainly I''m thinking about the .NET compiler and the Intel compiler. I have no intention of using VB, C#, or any of the .NET languages, only C/C++. I''ve heard nice things about both. Any opinions?

GCC is on Windows as well.

You can actually hook up the Intel compiler to be used by Visual Studio. It works quite well actually. And honestly, I find the Intel compiler to be much faster, makes the code much smaller, the programs run on smaller memory, and its much more compliant to C & C++ standards than Visual C++.NET. Of course, I could be wrong on this, but from everything I''ve experienced, this is the case. On the downside, its more expensive, and if you want to use both, it comes to over $1000 for just a C++ work environment. Even though it is Intel, even on AMD the programs run better.

quote:On the downside, its more expensive, and if you want to use both, it comes to over $1000 for just a C++ work environment.

But if you''re a student you can get the Intel compiler for $30, and I already have Visual Studio 6 Pro (which was $25, for students), so I have the IDE.

In reading the respective websites for MS .NET and the Intel compiler, the Intel website seems a lot more informative. They tell you what kinds of optimizations it can do and things like that. I couldn''t find that kind of info about the .NET compiler on the MS website (but maybe I just missed it). The info I found was generally vague about the .NET compiler.