Performance-Enhancing Techniques
The fundamental aspects of processor and memory architectures discussed in previous chapters support the design of a complete and functional computer system. However, the performance of such a system would be poor compared to most modern processors without the addition of features to increase the speed of instruction execution.
Several performance-enhancing techniques are employed routinely in processor and system designs to achieve peak execution speed in real-world computer systems. These techniques do not alter what the processor does in terms of program execution and data processing; they just get it done faster.
After completing this chapter, you will understand the benefits of multilevel cache memory in computer architectures and the advantages and challenges associated with instruction pipelining. You’ll also understand the performance improvement resulting from simultaneous multithreading and the purpose and applications of single...
