Статьи 6 семестр / Работы / IRAM - Future predicting for memory organisation
.docIRAM – Future predicting for memory organization
Today microprocessors and memories are made on distinct manufacturing lines. Plants to manufacture these chips cost billions of dollars. One of the biggest performance challenges in computer systems today is the speed mismatch between microprocessors and memory. To address this challenge processor designers now typically devote a large fraction of the transistors and area of the chips to large SRAM caches.
Intelligent RAM, or IRAM, merges processor and memory into a single chip in order to lower memory latency and increase bandwidth. Potential advantages of IRAM include lower memory latency, higher memory bandwidth, lower system power (energy efficiency), adjustable memory width and size, and less board space and, finally, lower cost. Not only will this narrow or altogether remove the processor-memory performance gap, it will have the following additional benefits: provide an ideal building-block for parallel processing, amortize the costs of fabrication lines, and better utilize the phenomenal number of transistors that can be placed on a single chip.
Bandwidth widening is supposed to be attained via using most of throughput hold on chip. Access time reduction might be obtained by optimal blocks distribution on chip or absence of address multiplexing. Processor and memory integration on a single chip reduces energy consumption. Another advantage of IRAM is an ability to correct both memory extent and memory width. That is why IRAM is particular profitable in hardware with circuit board area bounded.
Challenges for IRAM include high chip yield given processors have not been repairable via redundancy, high memory retention rates given processors usually need.
It is not the first time considering of such a merging, but only nowadays it is getting more attractive uppermost because of 50% each year increasing of gap between the top speed of processors and the top speed of memories. Despite of engineers’ efforts lots of applications are limited by memory performance – now more than ever.
Today IRAMs are still not very popular though it has o great potential indeed and due to this fact even 20 years ago specialists predicted them great future and application everywhere around. The best scenario for the introduction of IRAM is an adoption in graphics cards, as well as in video games. With further development of IRAM it will apply in mobile PC and network computers. Success in these applications will convince either microprocessor manufacturers to include memory chips into processor crystal or CPU manufacturers to integrated processors into the memory chip. First will settle for manufacturers seeking to produce more sophisticated and tech products, the second one can attract companies wishing to produce low-cost mass production. Both options are acceptable.