| Processors
perform their calculations based on information they recieve
from the computers memory. Therefore the ability for the systems
memory to efficiently transfer its contents to the CPU is critical.
The fastest type of memory is very expensive and is usually
only used in small amounts as cache memory. These act as buffers
and are able to transfer the memory they recieved from slower
modules to the CPU almost as fast as it can process the information.
They are called L1 Cache. L2 cache is the second buffer that
is not quite as fast as L1 but is still faster than the
DIMM memory modules that reside in our computer systems.
They transfer memory from the DIMM's to the L1 cache. Newer
processors are now including the L1 and L2 cache directly on
the processors die. The fact that the cache memory is no longer
on the same chip has resulted in dramatic processing gains.
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