Abstract: A processor includes one or more execution units to execute instructions, each having one or more elements in different element sizes using one or more registers in different register sizes. The processor further includes a counter configured to count a number of instructions performing predetermined types of operations executed by the one or more execution units. The processor further includes one or more registers to allow an external component to configure the counter to count a number of instructions associated with a combination of a register size and a element size (register/element size) and to retrieve a counter value produced by the counter.