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In designing a computer's cache system, the cache block (or cache line) size es an important parameter. Which one of the following statements is correct in this context?

  1. Smaller block size incurs lower cache miss penalty.
  2. Smaller block size implies better spatial locality.
  3. Smaller block size implies smaller cache tag.
  4. Smaller block size implies lower cache hit time.
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Option A is correct. To service a miss, we'd have to introduce the block in the cache. Smaller the block size, smaller is the service time.

Option B is incorrect. Spatial locality would be the neighbouring pages of a page. The larger the block size, the more neighbours it could take in.

Option C is incorrect. If the block offset field is reduced, Tag field would expand.

Option D is incorrect. The hit time solely depends on the comparators.

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