Fastest timing resolution system

Question

What is the fastest timing system a C/C++ programmer can use?

For example:
time() will give the seconds since Jan 01 1970 00:00.
GetTickCount() on Windows wi

Answer 1

For timing, the current Microsoft recommendation is to use QueryPerformanceCounter & QueryPerformanceFrequency.

This will give you better-than-millisecond timing. If the system doesn't support a high-resolution timer, then it will default to milliseconds (the same as GetTickCount).

Here is a short Microsoft article with examples of why you should use it :)