3 ms·
What is the difference between L1 and L2 cache? I know that L2 caches are generally larger. Is it more expensive so far as silicon real estate, to make 1k of L
by paddy_m 17y ago
What is the difference between L1 and L2 cache? I know that L2 caches are generally larger. Is it more expensive so far as silicon real estate, to make 1k of L1 cache vs 1k of L2 cache?
The last I heard, both L1 and L2 cache were sram based which used 6 transitors per bit. I also remember that ram takes either 2 or 4 transitors per bit + a capacitor. If L1 and L2 cache take the same number of number of transistors per bit, what is the difference?
- wmf 17y agoYes, L1 and L2 are made from the same 6T SRAM. The access time of a cache is proportional to something like the square root of the capacity since signals may have to travel to the opposite side of the cache and back. Because of locality, it's better to have something like a 3-cycle L1 and a 15-cycle L2 than a single 12-cycle cache.