Intel ARCHITECTURE IA-32 User Manual

Optimizing Cache Usage 6
6-23
execution units sit idle and wait until data is returned. On the other hand,
the memory bus sits idle while the execution units are processing
vertices. This scenario severely decreases the advantage of having a
decoupled architecture.
Figure 6-2 Memory Access Latency and Execution Without Prefetch
Figure 6-3 Memory Access Latency and Execution With Prefetch
OM15170
Execution units idle
Mem latency
Issue loads
Time
Vertex n+1
Execution units idle
Execution
pipeline
Mem latency
Issue loads
(vertex data)
Vertex n
Front-Side
Bus
FSB idle
OM15171
Time
Vertex n-2
Execution
pipeline
Mem latency for V
n
issue prefetch
for vertex n
Front-Side
Bus
Vertex n-1 Vertex n Vertex n+1
Mem latency for V
n+1
Mem latency for V
n+2
prefetch
V
n+1
prefetch
V
n+2

Intel ARCHITECTURE IA-32 Specifications

General

Brand	Intel
Model	ARCHITECTURE IA-32
Category	Processor
Language	English