The present invention includes an adaptable high-performance node (RXN) with several features that enable it to provide high performance along with adaptability. A preferred embodiment of the RXN includes a run-time configurable data path and control path. The RXN supports multi-precision arithmetic including 8, 16, 24, and 32 bit codes. Data flow can be reconfigured to minimize register accesses for different operations. For example, multiply-accumulate operations can be performed with minimal, or no, register stores by reconfiguration of the data path. Predetermined kernels can be configured during a setup phase so that the RXN can efficiently execute, e.g., Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT) and other operations. Other features are provided.