This can be confusing since the terms memory caching (hard disk buffering) and cache memory are often used interchangeably. That's why the primary means for increasing cache size has begun to shift from the acquisition of a specific motherboard with different chipsets and bus architectures to buying a CPU with the right amount of integrated L1, L2 and 元 cache.Ĭontrary to popular belief, implementing flash or more dynamic RAM ( DRAM) on a system won't increase cache memory. Recently, the trend has been toward consolidating all three levels of memory caching on the CPU itself. In the past, L1, L2 and 元 caches have been created using combined processor and motherboard components. If an 元 cache references an instruction, it is usually elevated to a higher level of cache.
With multicore processors, each core can have dedicated L1 and L2 cache, but they can share an 元 cache. L1 or L2 can be significantly faster than 元, though 元 is usually double the speed of DRAM. Level 3 (元) cache is specialized memory developed to improve the performance of L1 and L2. That way it doesn't get slowed by traffic on the main system bus. L2 cache may be embedded on the CPU, or it can be on a separate chip or coprocessor and have a high-speed alternative system bus connecting the cache and CPU. L2 cache, or secondary cache, is often more capacious than L1. L1 cache, or primary cache, is extremely fast but relatively small, and is usually embedded in the processor chip as CPU cache. Traditionally, it is categorized as "levels" that describe its closeness and accessibility to the microprocessor. Types of cache memoryĬache memory is fast and expensive. Cache memory refers to the specific hardware component that allows computers to create caches at various levels of the network. Caches are temporary stores of data that can exist in both hardware and software. The name of the hardware that is used in a computer's main memory is dynamic random access memory (DRAM).Ĭache memory is not to be confused with the broader term cache. The name of the actual hardware that is used for cache memory is high-speed static random access memory ( SRAM). Cache memory operates between 10 to 100 times faster than RAM, requiring only a few nanoseconds to respond to a CPU request. What it sacrifices in size and price, it makes up for in speed. It is also more expensive than main memory, as it is a more complex chip that yields higher performance. In order to be close to the processor, cache memory needs to be much smaller than main memory. Therefore, it is more accessible to the processor, and able to increase efficiency, because it's physically close to the processor.
This temporary storage area, known as a cache, is more readily available to the processor than the computer's main memory source, typically some form of DRAM.Ĭache memory is sometimes called CPU (central processing unit) memory because it is typically integrated directly into the CPU chip or placed on a separate chip that has a separate bus interconnect with the CPU. It acts as a temporary storage area that the computer's processor can retrieve data from easily. Cache memory is a chip-based computer component that makes retrieving data from the computer's memory more efficient.
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