Researchers found a way to boost the speed of computer applications read more at here www.spinonews.com/index.php/item/1033-researchers-found-a-way-to-boost-the-speed-of-computer-applications

Researchers from North Carolina State University and Samsung Electronics have found a way to boost the speed of computer applications. The results from techniques that allow computer processors to retrieve data more efficiently.

The data in the cache are organized into large blocks, or macroblock, so that the processor knows where to find whatever data it needs.

To make the process more efficient, researchers have developed a technique in which the cache learns over time which data the processor needs from each macroblock.

This allows the cache to do two things. First, the cache can compress the macroblock, retrieving only the relevant data. This enables the cache to send data to the processor more efficiently.

Second, the macroblock is compressed, this frees up space in the cache that can be used to store other data, which the processor is more likely to need.

The researchers tested this approach called Dense Footprint Cache. After running 3 billion instructions for each application tested through the simulator, they found Dense Footprint Cache sped up applications by 9.5 percent compared to state-of-the-art competing methods for managing die-stacked DRAM.

Researchers also found that Dense Footprint Cache led to a significant improvement in the last-level cache miss ratios. Last-level cache misses occur when the processor tries to retrieve data from the cache, but the data aren’t there, forcing the processor to retrieve the data from off-chip main memory.

These cache misses make operations much less efficient, and Dense Footprint Cache reduced last-level cache miss ratios by 43 percent.