Page 46 - PowerPoint Presentation

How the cache works

• When a program starts on your computer,

data flows from the RAM to the L3 cache,

then the L2 and finally to the L1. While the

program is running, the CPU looks for the

information it needs to run, starting in the

L1 cache and working backwards from

there. If the CPU finds the needed

information, it’s called a cache hit. If it

cannot find the information it needs, it is a

cache miss, and the computer has to go

looking somewhere else to find the

information it needs.