A pipeline P operating at 400 MHz has a speedup factor of 6 and operating at…
2013
A pipeline P operating at 400 MHz has a speedup factor of 6 and operating at 70% efficiency. How many stages are there in the pipeline?
- A.
5
- B.
6
- C.
8
- D.
9
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Correct answer: D
The efficiency of a pipeline is calculated using the formula Efficiency = Speedup / Number of Stages. Given a speedup of 6 and efficiency of 0.7, we rearrange the formula to solve for stages: Number of Stages = Speedup / Efficiency. Substituting the values gives 6 / 0.7 ≈ 8.57. Since the number of stages must be an integer, we round to the nearest whole number, which is 9.