Sample Profile Guided Optimization in MSVC
Sample Profile Guided Optimization (SPGO) is a new method introduced in Visual Studio 2022 and 2026 that simplifies profile-guided optimization for C and C++ applications. Unlike traditional Profile Guided Optimization, which requires instrumented binaries and complex workflows, SPGO utilizes hardware performance counter sampling from actual release binaries. This approach allows for significant performance improvements with minimal overhead and greater flexibility in data collection.
- ▪SPGO is available in Visual Studio 2022 and 2026.
- ▪Traditional PGO involves a three-phase process that can be complex and burdensome.
- ▪SPGO uses hardware performance counters to gather runtime profiles directly from production binaries.
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Profile Guided Optimization (PGO) has long been one of the most powerful tools in the MSVC compiler’s arsenal for improving the runtime performance of C and C++ applications. By using execution profile data collected from representative workloads, PGO enables the compiler to make smarter decisions about inlining, code layout, and hot/cold code separation – decisions that are impossible to make from static analysis alone. In practice, PGO can deliver large performance improvements for C/C++ code. Today, we’re introducing Sample Profile Guided Optimization (SPGO), a new approach to profile-guided optimization that makes it dramatically easier to bring PGO quality optimizations to your codebase without the overhead and complexity of traditional instrumented PGO.
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