A cache line is 64 bytes. The main memory has latency 32ns and bandwidth…

2006

A cache line is 64 bytes. The main memory has latency 32ns and bandwidth 1G.Bytes/s. The time required to fetch the entire cache line from the main memory is

Answer: C. 96 nsKey idea: total time to fetch a cache line = memory latency + transfer time to move the cache line. Step 1: Compute transfer time. Transfer time = 64 bytes /…

  1. A.

    32 ns

  2. B.

    64 ns

  3. C.

    96 ns

  4. D.

    128 ns

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Correct answer: C

Key idea: total time to fetch a cache line = memory latency + transfer time to move the cache line.

  • Step 1: Compute transfer time.

    Transfer time = 64 bytes / 1 GByte/s = 64 / 1,000,000,000 s = 64 ns.

  • Step 2: Add the memory latency.

    Total time = 32 ns (latency) + 64 ns (transfer) = 96 ns.

Answer: 96 ns to fetch the entire 64-byte cache line.

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