On 19 Sep 2006 10:14:14 -0700,
maxirox@gmail.com wrote:
>Hi!
>
>Sorry to post such a long question. I need to understand every aspect
>of processors and would like experts give answers to the following.
HAH!
Those who engineer CPUs would probably like to know "every
aspect" of them, too. It takes teams of people, years of
learning, for a single architecture. A summary in a usenet
post would be pitifully incomplete.
>There would be many more people like me who would be curious to know
>these answers and this post will help them as well. It would be better
>if somebody an make a webpage out of it and post it somewhere where
>everybody would understand in and out of processors.
Ok, do that and post a link.
>
>Question1:
>Which architecture is the best in terms of processing?
Define best
>1. 0.13 micron technology
>2. 0.18 micron technology
>3. 65 nanometer technology
>4. 90 nanometer technology
Smaller feature size allows more CPUs per wafer, but
requires the technological know-how to do it. Smaller uses
less power and can run faster in general, but overgeneralize
and you have an idea not necessarily applicable to any one
CPU.
>
>Question2:
>What is the difference between the following and which one is the best
>in terms of processing?
>1. 2 MB L2 Cache memory
>2. 2X1 MB L2 Cache memory
>3. 2X2 MB L2 Cache memory
The difference is as read.
Best depends on the job. I agree with Paul that these read
like homework questions and they are dumbed-down questions
at that, because they expect only a rudimentary knowledge of
popular concepts. The generic dumbed-down answer would be
that 2 x 2MB is best, but in reality, a given architecture
might be able to run a 1 x 2MB cache faster, or depend on
the technology available when it was made to determine it's
speed, and the size of the working code will determine how
much cache is of significant benefit before you get to a
point of diminishing return.
Keep in mind that these are not complete answers, you need
to have a context to decide which parameters matter most (if
at all).
>
>Question3:
>What is L3 Cache?
L = Level. It's another level besides L2 or L1, usually
larger and slower than the former two. It might be on the
CPU die or carrier - it might not.
>
>Question4:
Sorry, only 3 questions allowed. You can look up benchmarks
for these anyway, benchmarks are common as dirt.