CPUID Sample: Determines CPU Capabilities

The CPUID sample provides a routine that uses the CPUID instruction to determine the capabilities of the CPU being run.

The sample provides the function int _cpuid(_p_info *pinfo), which returns data about the CPU. The int return value is a bitmask of flags for major processor features. The bits that might be set are:

  • #define _CPU_FEATURE_MMX 0x0001

  • #define _CPU_FEATURE_SSE 0x0002

  • #define _CPU_FEATURE_SSE2 0x0004

  • #define _CPU_FEATURE_3DNOW 0x0008

Security noteSecurity Note

This sample code is intended to illustrate a concept, and it shows only the code that is relevant to that concept. It may not meet the security requirements for a specific environment, and it should not be used exactly as shown. We recommend that you add security and error-handling code to make your projects more secure and robust. Microsoft provides this sample code "AS IS" with no warranties.

To get samples and instructions for installing them:

To access samples from Visual Studio

  • On the Help menu, click Samples.

    By default, these samples are installed in drive:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\Samples\.

  • For the most recent version of this sample and a list of other samples, see Visual Studio Samples on the MSDN Web site.

Building and Running the Sample

To build and run this sample

  1. Open the solution cpuid.sln.

  2. From the Build menu, click Build.

  3. From the Debug menu, select Start Without Debugging.

Example Program Output

The sample includes a test.cpp file that trivially calls _cpuid and outputs the values in the resulting _p_info struct. For example, on a Pentium III computer that supports MMX and SSE, the program output would look something like this:

C:\work\cpuid>test
v_name:         GenuineIntel
model:          INTEL Pentium-III
family:         6
model:          8
stepping:       3
feature:        00000003
        yes     _CPU_FEATURE_MMX
        yes     _CPU_FEATURE_SSE
        no      _CPU_FEATURE_SSE2
        no      _CPU_FEATURE_3DNOW
os_support:     00000003
        yes     _CPU_FEATURE_MMX
        yes     _CPU_FEATURE_SSE
        no      _CPU_FEATURE_SSE2
        no      _CPU_FEATURE_3DNOW
checks:         0000000f

See Also

Other Resources

General Samples