[lmilcin]

I did some algorithmic/ high frequency trading and we were only spinning waiting for task and never, ever releasing to OS. But then the entire server was dedicated to one job and the job consisted of reacting to single stream of messages.

Most of the time I would say if lock performance impacts your application you are likely doing something wrong. There are many ways of solving typical synchronization problems without locks and if you need locks there are many ways to amortize costs.

Mutexes are not faster than spin locks the same way slower cars are not faster than fast cars. You might still crash in a fast car and be slower to the end of the race (to the supermarket) but that is just your failure to use the power you were given responsibly.