Speed and bandwidth of the L2 Cache...

[Winn]

Hey folks, just new here

I need some experience/knowledge about the Intel Core 2 family. Actually i want to know the speed and bandwidth of the L2 Cache from my Core 2 Duo T7700 ? I found some resources that the bandwidth would be 256 Bit, could anyone confirm that (with sources) ? I would like to have the total speed, describes in MegaTransfers per second (MT/s) ... like its given for the FSB...

Regards

Winn

 

[myocardia]

Welcome to anandtech. Download SiSoft's Sandra, or Everest home edition. I have no idea whether either of them will tell you your L2 speed in MT/s, but they both will definitely tell you their speed. You may have to do the conversion to MT/s for yourself, though.

 

[dbcooper1]

Run Memtest86; it gives you the speed of RAM and caches in the upper left corner while running.

 

[Winn]

Originally posted by: dbcooper1
Run Memtest86; it gives you the speed of RAM and caches in the upper left corner while running.

I'm running on "Mac", there is no chance to get a floppy running

Originally posted by: myocardia
Download SiSoft's Sandra, or Everest home edition.

I used SiSoft, but i'm confused... cpu, fsb with speed, bandwidth, multiplier etc. , everything is listed - except the speed of the L2 Cache. Here's the important snapshot what i got. Could anyone explain me the "L2 Cache Multiplier" ?

Thx in advance

Processor
Model : Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T7700 @ 2.40GHz
Speed : 2.39GHz
Cores per Processor : 2 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Type : Mobile, Dual-Core
Bus : Intel AGTL+
Package : FC µPGA (Socket P)
Rated Speed/FSB : 2.40GHz / 4x 200MHz
Multiplier : 12/1x
Minimum/Maximum Multiplier : 6/2x - 12/1x
Generation : G8
Name : C2DM (Merom) Mobile Core 2 Duo 65nm 2.4-3.33GHz 1.0375-1.3V
Revision/Stepping : F / A (0)
Stepping Mask : E1
Microcode : MU060F0A92
Core Voltage Rating : 1.200V
Min/Max Core Voltage : 0.713V - 1.200V
Maximum Physical / Virtual Addressing : 36-bit / 48-bit
Native Page Size : 4kB
Asset Tag : Unknown

Co-Processor (FPU)
Speed : 2.39GHz
Type : Built-in
Revision/Stepping : F / A (0)

Cache Information
Internal Data Cache : 32kB, Synchronous, Write-Thru, 8-way, 64 byte line size
Internal Instruction Cache : 32kB, Synchronous, Write-Back, 8-way, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 4MB, ECC, Synchronous, ATC, 16-way, 64 byte line size, 2 threads sharing
L2 Cache Multiplier : 1/1x <<-- What does that mean ?

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: Winn

Originally posted by: dbcooper1
Run Memtest86; it gives you the speed of RAM and caches in the upper left corner while running.

I'm running on "Mac", there is no chance to get a floppy running

FWIW you can run memtest86 on bootable CD and bootable USB thumbdrive.

It might be hard to believe but that guy hiding in his pizza box on TV most likely doesn't have a floppy drive on his PC either.

Perhaps these links on some detailed analysis of Merom's cache performance are what you are after?

Analyzing Efficiency of Shared and Dedicated L2 Cache in Modern Dual-Core Processors

http://www.lostcircuits.com/cpu/intel_core2/

People use cachemem and Sciencemark to analyze their cache latencies and bandwidths. No idea if there are ways to get them to run on a Mac.

 

[Winn]

Originally posted by: Idontcare
FWIW you can run memtest86 on bootable CD and bootable USB thumbdrive.

I was thinking the same, but Apple uses a so called EFI instead of an BIOS, which means if you wanna use a simple bootable CD or USB for PCs, it will be ignored

Originally posted by: Idontcare
People use cachemem and Sciencemark to analyze their cache latencies and bandwidths. No idea if there are ways to get them to run on a Mac.

I let them run via Bootcamp, but i didn't find any valuable information. I mean, you could take five different benchmark tools and you get five results. It is strange for me, that the speed of the L2 Cache seemed to be hardly wired, but there is no information regarding that topic...

 

[Winn]

Originally posted by: Winn

<<L2 Cache Multiplier : 1/1x <<-- What does that mean ?

I sent my request to SiSoft Support. They replay with

Means the ratio of CPU speed / L2 cache speed.Thus 1/1x means same speed as CPU.

Regards

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: Winn

Originally posted by: Idontcare
FWIW you can run memtest86 on bootable CD and bootable USB thumbdrive.

I was thinking the same, but Apple uses a so called EFI instead of an BIOS, which means if you wanna use a simple bootable CD or USB for PCs, it will be ignored

Originally posted by: Idontcare
People use cachemem and Sciencemark to analyze their cache latencies and bandwidths. No idea if there are ways to get them to run on a Mac.

I let them run via Bootcamp, but i didn't find any valuable information. I mean, you could take five different benchmark tools and you get five results. It is strange for me, that the speed of the L2 Cache seemed to be hardly wired, but there is no information regarding that topic...

Well you know what most people will tell you - you are running a Mac, if you cared about the actual performance of your machine then you'd be on a PC with its less restrictive and more open architecture. And besides, aren't you just supposed to believe that Steve Jobs put the world's fastest alien stealth nanotechnology in there and just sleep well at night knowing that you have the fastest hardware on the planet? Just jerkin your chain

But really the situation with Macs is no different than what most people encounter when buying a packaged computer from any of the tier-1 suppliers (DELL, HP, Lenovo, etc). My DELL laptop is about as enthusiast friendly as the last mac I played with. Probably for the same reasons, keep the consumer out of the parts of the computer that can result in higher RMA rates from too much monkeying around.

Originally posted by: Winn

Originally posted by: Winn

<<<L2 Cache Multiplier : 1/1x <<-- What does that mean ?

I sent my request to SiSoft Support. They replay with

Means the ratio of CPU speed / L2 cache speed.Thus 1/1x means same speed as CPU.

Regards

Yeah that is a legacy from the 1990's time period when L2$ was off-die and typically clocked slower than the CPU itself. It was common in the Pentium II and Athlon K7 days (with the slot cartridges) to have the L2$ run at 1/2 the CPU speed.