C# Allocate array to stack? [duplicate]

Question

I am writing a program in C#. Everything centers around a static 2D int array which is 400x6 elements. Just a few values will be updated just once every minute. But after each minute's updates, dozens of functions will read the values millions of times to compute "pattern scores". The faster the calculations, the more distinct functions I can cram in there. Realistically I can allow 30 seconds for this scoring process. Is there a way to allocate the static array to the stack, and if so, would this help the speed? Thanks.

Answer 1

Yes, you can alloc arrays on the stack in C# using "stackalloc" in "unsafe mode", but benchmarks shows a limited performance gain and the risk is that you hit the 1Mb stack size limit... which will give you a... StackOverflow(tm)!

Here is a good article on the subject: http://blogs.microsoft.co.il/sasha/2013/10/17/on-stackalloc-performance-and-the-large-object-heap/