RE: memcpy prefetch

["Michael Uhler" <uhler@mips.com>]

> What's the performance hit for doing a pref on a cache line that is 
> already pref'd? Does it turn into a nop, or do we get some horrible 
> degenerate case? Are 64 bit processors always at least 32 byte cache 
> line size? I don't really expect anyone to know the answers 
> right now. I 
> expect I'll need to time code to tell. This makes generating 
> them at run 
> time look better and better.

As very general rules of thumb:

- A pref to a line which is already in the cache take a cycle in the
load/store unit and does not go back out to the memory subsystem.  There are
some possible ships-passing-in-the-night scenarios, but most processors do
what you'd expect.

- Most 64-bit processors are built for high-end applications, and most
high-end processors most likely have at least 32-bit lines.  One usually has
smaller line sizes when the processor is intended for lower-end
applications, or where the memory subsystem isn't all that good.

/gmu

---
Michael Uhler, Chief Technology Officer
MIPS Technologies, Inc.   Email: uhler at mips.com
1225 Charleston Road
Mountain View, CA 94043