difference between hashing on x86 or x64

Question

I want to implement a hashmap into my code, so I decided to stick to murmurhash3

I currently only deliver my programs compiled for x86 and have tried to keep the code general so I've never had trouble running the programs on x64.

Now I've looked at the header files of murmurhash and the library offers following functions:

MurmurHash3_x86_32
MurmurHash3_x86_64
MurmurHash3_x86_128

MurmurHash3_x64_32
MurmurHash3_x64_64 
MurmurHash3_x64_128 

Does this mean I have to use the x64 functions and provide a x64 executable to be able to use this hash library on x64 systems? Or can I simply use the x86 version, and just encounter poorer performance?

Am I correct in thinking that the _32 _64 _128 bit versions only mean that more bit versions offer better distribution?

Answer 1

Edit: Changed everything after looking at the murmurhash3 documentation.

First, the _x86 variants are portable hash algorithms. The _32/_64/_128 indicates the width of the hash in bits. Generally _32 should be fine as long as your hash algorithm is smaller than 2³² buckets.

The _x64 variants are an entirely different family of hash algorithms. All the _x64 variants are based on the _x64_128 implementation - a 128-bit hash. They then throw away part of the hash to get the _32 and _64 bit sizes. This may or may not be faster than the _x86 variant - the documentation claims some impressive speedups, though. Note, however, that it's very likely to get different hash values than the x86 variant.

Answer 2

x86 indicates that the algorithm is optimized for 32-bit platforms. This means it operates on 32-bit unsigned integers.

x64 is then optimized for 64-bit platforms, operating on 64-bit unsigned integers.

Also, the results between the two are not compatible. The hash values for the same input will be different depending if it is MurmurHash3_x86_128 or MurmurHash3_x64_128 for example.

Does this mean I have to use the x64 functions and provide a x64 executable to be able to use this hash library on x64 systems? Or can I simply use the x86 version, and just encounter poorer performance?

64-bit hash functions can be compiled for 32-bit systems but will end up being quite slow because the compiler splits computations into two parts. If 32-bit support is important, you should use a x86-optimized function, not a x64-optimized one. On x64 systems 32-bit code runs fine, although I would consider that to be an under-utilization. x64-optimized algorithms are much more efficient when on 64-bit CPUs.

Am I correct in thinking that the _32 _64 _128 bit versions only mean that more bit versions offer better distribution?

I suppose the answer is yes. If by distribution you mean "less likely to cause collisions". Each additional bit of memory used in a hash dramatically increases the number of possible outcomes. A 4-bit hash has 16 possible hashes, while 64 provides 18 quintillion (128 then providing 340.2 undecillion!). 256 bits provide so much that it is often enough for cryptographic security purposes.

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Something else to be aware of: Lately, modern hash functions utilize new instruction sets of CPUs such as CRC32, AES, SSE2, SIMD - where the function takes advantage of specific CPU features/instructions to achieve better performance under supported hardware. This can greatly speed up hashing on CPUs that support these modern features.