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If you followed recent cache/memory-related discussions posted to this
list, you may want to scroll down to the bottom and read *CRUCIAL MEMORY
QUESTION OF THE WEEK. I found the second paragraph interesting.
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THE "CRUCIAL NEWS" NEWSLETTER
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Welcome to another issue of the "Crucial News" newsletter!
**Removal instructions at end of e-mail.
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Topics In This Issue:
*CRUCIAL CONTINUES TO CRUSH PRICES!
*COMPAQ AND CRUCIAL TEAM UP FOR FASTER COMPUTING
*CompUSA SHUTS DOWN WAREHOUSE
*CORPORATE AND FEDERAL EMPLOYEE PURCHASE PROGRAMS
*CRUCIAL MEMORY QUESTION OF THE WEEK
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"I've never had a better experience with a company in over
20 years of computing! Crucial went beyond what was
requested in the order...it's like a breath of fresh air
in this industry."
Bob Jacobson
Keystone Marketing
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CRUCIAL CONTINUES TO CRUSH PRICES!
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Since January, Crucial Technology has reduced some of its
most predominant modules over 50%! By being the only
upgrade supplier that is a division of a major DRAM
manufacturer, Crucial can offer factory direct, qualified
memory at even lower prices.
Check out the latest price cuts:
* PC100 168-pin DIMMs dropped up to 17%
* PC66 168-pin DIMMs dropped up to 26% (some even more)
* EDO 168-pin DIMM dropped up to 10%
* FPM 168-pin DIMM dropped up to 17%
* EDO 72-pin SIMM dropped up to 13%
* FPM 72-pin SIMM dropped up to 12%
* PC66 and PC100 144-pin SODIMM dropped up to 20%
* Select modules in our Sun, Digital, SGI, and Compaq server
product line dropped up to 13%.
Go to http://www.crucial.com to configure the type of memory
you need for your system by using our powerful Memory
Selector.
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COMPAQ AND CRUCIAL TEAM UP FOR FASTER COMPUTING!
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As one of the newest members of the Compaq Presario family,
the Presario 5304 is shipping with 64MB of Crucial memory
which jumps overall system performance up to 51% faster!
"Our customers tell us they want a faster computing and
Internet experience," said Mark Vena, Director of
Presario Desktops, Consumer Products Group, Compaq Computer
Corporation. "With the addition of more memory from Crucial,
we can offer our customers an even better computing
experience at an affordable value."
Read the press release that hit the wire last Thursday:
http://www.crucial.com/company/compaqpr.asp
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CompUSA SHUTS DOWN WAREHOUSE
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Due to disappointing financial results and low-margin
desktop sales, CompUSA is changing its course and
reorganizing the company. This spells out lay-offs and a
new distributor to take over their current inventory and
warehouse. Get the full scoop by visiting:
http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB19990624S0026
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CORPORATE AND FEDERAL EMPLOYEE PURCHASE PROGRAMS
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Corporations and federal agencies can now offer their
employees a special on-line discount at Crucial Technology!
Any corporation or agency who would like to participate in
this program to "power up" their employees should contact us
immediately. Participation is FREE and easy. For details on
getting this employee purchase program set up for your
corporation, inquire at: crucialcorporate@xxxxxxxxxxx
For federal agency participation, inquire at:
crucialfederal@xxxxxxxxxxx
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MEMORY QUESTION OF THE WEEK
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What is L2 Cache and how does memory cache?
Cache, (pronounced-KASH), is a fast storage buffer in the
central processing unit of a computer. L2 (Level 2)
only determines the location of the cache. L1 (Level 1)
Cache is located on the processor while L2 (Level 2) Cache
is found on an external component.
As a general rule, motherboards with 512K L2 cache also have
enough TAG (a glossary of data addresses that are in the
L2 cache) to support 128MB of DRAM. However, there are
chipsets that will only cache up to a specific amount of
memory. For example, Intel's 430TX chipset will support
256MB of memory for the system, but it is important to note
that only 64 MB of the total system memory is cacheable.
The problem with systems that won't cache above 64MB is
that they have an insufficient amount of TAG RAM. If your
TAG will only allow addresses up to 64MB and your system
tries to write an address into the TAG from a location
beyond 64MB, the address will be ignored and the data will
not be written to L2 Cache. Instead, the data is placed into
the DRAM memory which is where quick accessibility becomes
the problem. The fact is...when data is placed into DRAM
it is not placed sequentially from the beginning of the
memory to the end. Rather, the data is spread out across
the entire scope of memory making it a more timely process
to find and gather. Every time the processor needs to access
the data, if it doesn't find it in the L2 Cache then the
CPU is redirected to the DRAM. This time consuming process
is similar to retrieving files from a file cabinet across
the room rather than retrieving the files from a drawer at
your desk. Note the access time of L2 Cache is anywhere
from 5-16ns while the access time of DRAM is anywhere from
40ns-100ns. Plus, CPUs request data from the L2 Cache 85-97%
of the time and not having enough cache impacts your PCs
performance greatly.
As a recap, here's how it works....
When your CPU searches for data, it first checks the L2
Cache by looking for the requested address range in the TAG.
If it finds the data it needs, then you have a "cache hit"
and the data is retrieved from the L2 Cache. If you have a
"cache miss", then that means the address is not in the
TAG or in the L2 Cache. Therefore, the CPU checks the DRAM
for the data. When the data is found in the DRAM, it is
written to the L2 Cache and the data's address is written
to the TAG making it easily accessible for the next time
the data is requested.
**Remember, we encourage customer feedback at Crucial
Technology. If you have any questions regarding technical
support issues, please email our memory experts at:
crucial.support@xxxxxxxxxxx
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