Re:Why do CPUs have multiple cache levels?
by smallnamespace on Monday August 08, 2016 @02:21PM
(#12249797)
> And desks are as large as people are comfortable to produce and use.
Think about what this implies though -- a desk that is too large becomes difficult for a person to use (for one, the person would have to start walking to access certain parts of it).
Likewise, L1 cache sizes are bounded, because the larger the cache becomes, the more difficult it is to address a particular location, and the cache also becomes physically larger such that speed-of-light propagation delays will slow the entire cache down.
Think about what this implies though -- a desk that is too large becomes difficult for a person to use (for one, the person would have to start walking to access certain parts of it).
Likewise, L1 cache sizes are bounded, because the larger the cache becomes, the more difficult it is to address a particular location, and the cache also becomes physically larger such that speed-of-light propagation delays will slow the entire cache down.