Subject: Re: cache
To: Joe Smith <jms@tardis.Tymnet.COM>
From: Jukka Marin <jmarin@teeri.jmp.fi>
List: amiga
Date: 03/26/1996 08:17:16
> > However, as I was
> > told before that the memory access in stock Amiga ( A4000 in my case )
> > is quite slow.
>
> You have been misinformed. Memory access in the Amiga between the CPU and
> fast RAM is quite fast. So fast, that adding an L2 cache will not make it
> any faster.
The A4000 FAST RAM is pretty slow, indeed. It is slower than the FAST RAM
of A3000. However, the A4000/40 has a faster CPU which really suffers
from the slow memory. The performance is probably around 50% of what it
_could_ be (I've heard that the Motorola VME boards are very fast (but then,
the also cost a lot)).
> Memory access between the Amiga CPU and the "chip" RAM (also known as the
> "graphics" RAM) is slow because the CPU has to go through the Amiga's custom
> graphics chips to get to the graphics RAM. Adding an L2 cache there is not
> possible.
Actually, the CPU doesn't go through the custom chips (at least on A3000 it
doesn't). But you're right, you can't use a cache with CHIP RAM.
> You seem fixated on the idea that adding a Level-2 cache to the Amiga will
> fix all of your problems. It doesn't work that way. Please accept that
> fact and move on.
Well, it would be nice to see what a fast cache could do. The wait states
we have now certainly slow down the CPU (try turning off the internal cache
to see! ;-)
-jm
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