Question on building custom dlls and compiler performance

[Deleted_U_Intel]

Is there a difference in performance when building a custom dll using MS NMake with the Microsoft vc/vc++ compilerand one built using the Intel Compiler being called from MS NMake (if that is at all possible) ?

[TimP]

If I understand your question, the primary performance differences at link time would occur only if you chose whole program optimization (Microsoft /GL or Intel /Qipo). Otherwise, differences would show up only in the compiler optimizations (which are very different) and in those cases where different run-time libraries are linked.
By possibility of nmake usage, do you mean requiring an old version of Visual Studio? MSVC, as well as Intel compiler, optimizations have improved significantly over the years. Some of the Windows OS versions, and some of the Intel compilers, require VS2005 or newer.
I don't see the MKL relationship in your question. If the performance of your application is determined by MKL, it won't make much difference which tool version you use to build it, as long as you can use MKL appropriate to the target CPU.

[Todd_R_Intel]

I believe that all the tool is doing is using the lib tool to take appropriate objects out of static libraries and then using the link tool to create a DLL. The tool was created because there are a number things that need to be right during the initialization stage, and I think that is where the functionality in the tools/builder/lib comes in, but there is nothing more complicated about it. So in fact, nothing is compiled; just taken apart and put back together in the form you're looking for.

-Todd