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  • S_x96x_S

    addikt

    Nov 30, 2024
    "AMD Disables Zen 4's Loop Buffer"
    https://chipsandcheese.com/p/amd-disables-zen-4s-loop-buffer

    """
    I don't know why AMD disabled Zen 4's loop buffer. Sometimes CPU features get disabled because there's a hardware bug. Intel's Skylake saw its loop buffer (LSD) disabled due to a bug related to partial register access in short loops with both SMT threads active.
    Zen 4 is AMD's first attempt at putting a loop buffer into a high performance CPU. Validation is always difficult, especially when implementing a feature for the first time. It's not crazy to imagine that AMD internally discovered a bug that no one else hit, and decided to turn off the loop buffer out of an abundance of caution. I can't think of any other reason AMD would mess with Zen 4's frontend this far into the core's lifecycle.
    Turning off the loop buffer should have little to no impact on performance because the op cache has more than enough bandwidth to feed the subsequent rename/allocate stage. Impact on power consumption is an unknown factor, but I suspect it's also minor, and may be very difficult to evaluate even when using expensive hardware to measure CPU power draw at the 12V EPS connector.
    ...
    Combine that with what looks like minimal impact on performance, and I doubt anyone will ever know that AMD turned the loop buffer off. It was a limited feature in the first place, with low capacity and restrictions like no function calls that prevent it from being as useful as an op cache.
    Perhaps the best way of looking at Zen 4's loop buffer is that it signals the company has engineering bandwidth to go try things. Maybe it didn't go anywhere this time. But letting engineers experiment with a low risk, low impact feature is a great way to build confidence. I look forward to seeing more of that confidence in the future.
    """

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