If it's scientific/cluster computing/number crunching then - I'm speculating - but I doesn't sound like you want to be running Windows anyway and Microsoft does

If it's scientific/cluster computing/number crunching then - I'm speculating - but I doesn't sound like you want to be running Windows anyway and Microsoft doesn't ship their C++ tools for other platforms so that doesn't sound reasonable. It is reasonable when you consider that Microsoft has been trying to break Windows into the HPC segment over the past two years or so. The perceived lack of a suitable toolchain and focus on the development of enterprise languages and technologies helped keep Microsoft out of that arena. This re-emphasis on C++ is a necessary, though not sufficient, step if they want to continue pushing for that market.