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Reading Assignment and Discussion Topics
Computer Science 471

for class on Tuesday Nov. 21, 2000

Please read Section 7.3 of the Patterson & Hennessy text, and be prepared to discuss the following issue:

We'll look at the hardware implications of cache associativity and larger block sizes. The text's pictures show one giant memory holding tags and data--does this make sense for big blocks? What logic paths might limit performance in a set-associative cache with big blocks? Remember to think about stores as well as loads as you consider these cache structures. You will probably find it helpful to draw some pictures of cache organizations as you prepare for this class.