cpu cache

[chickenNcheese]

just wonderin what a cpu cache is and what L1 and L2 chaches are. i looked on wiki but i dont get it.

 

[Nitestick]

the simplest explaination is that it is high speed memory on the processor that is used to store important data like instructions that are about to be executed. L1=Level 1, L2=Level 2.

 

[SHAWN]

http://searchsmb.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid44_gci212451,00.html

 

[chickenNcheese]

so is this type of memory not used for other things (eg RAM) because its expensive or what?

sorry if i sound a bit ignorant

 

[Nitestick]

in part because its expensive and in part because it can't really be used effectively off of the processor die. the reason it is so fast is because it is part of the processor