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A CPU cache is a hardware cache used by the central processing unit (CPU) of a computer to reduce the average cost (time or energy) to access data from the main memory.

A cache is a smaller, faster memory, located closer to a processor core, which stores copies of the data from frequently used main memory locations. Most CPUs have different independent caches, including instruction and data caches, where the data cache is usually organized as a hierarchy of more cache levels.


Source :- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPU_cache

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Cache memory acts as an intermediate memory between Main Memory and CPU to compensate the speed gap between them and to hold image of Main Memory Data.

rationale - To reduce the speed gap between CPU and Main Memory and to access Main Memory data in less time.
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Cache memories are small, high-speed buffer memories used in modern computer systems to hold temporarily those portions of the contents of main memory which are (believed to be) currently in use.

Information located in cache memory may be accessed in much less time than that located in main memory.

Thus, a central processing unit (CPU) with a cache memory needs to spend far less time waiting for instructions and operands to be fetched and/or stored.

Source : http://home.eng.iastate.edu/~zzhang/courses/cpre585-f03/reading/smith-csur82-cache.pdf

2 votes
2 votes
Cache memory is the high speed DRAM which is placed closely to the CPU Register, to compensate for the speed bridge.

Not only 1 level, 2 or 3 levels of Cache operate

CPU generates an address

Look in L1, if not there, look in L2, if not there, look in L3, if not there, go to RAM, if it is not there also, we have. a page fault, go to the Hard disk, not there. dirty page!, write it to the Disk, copy it to the RAM, then copy it to the L3, L2 as well as L1 cache.

 

A lot of things go parallely, so that we get faster access to the desired word.

This is the beauty of memory hierarchy!

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