Is a 3mb L3 cache better than a 2mb L2 cache ?

[brybrys]

is a 3mb L3 cache better than a 2mb L2 cache ?

 

[popatim]

In some situations yes, in others no (like if you have to constantly load new data/instructions into the cache then it takers longer to load 3Mb then it does 2Mb) Overall though 3 is better than 2 but its something you'd only really see in the benchmarks if everything else were the same.

 

[gamerk316]

Well, your talking about two totally differnent things. The L2 cache is significantly faster then the L3 cache, and is dedicated per core, where the slower L3 cache is basically a global cache that all cores can access. So without knowing what BOTH the L2 and L3 caches are, you can't really answer the question you are asking.

 

[calyn213]

you're wrong; L3 is just an extension of L2 cache. It supplies information to the processor if it does not exist in L1 or L2. If L3 cache does not have the information then the process slows right down to RAM memory speed.

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

Well, your talking about two totally differnent things. The L2 cache is significantly faster then the L3 cache, and is dedicated per core, where the slower L3 cache is basically a global cache that all cores can access. So without knowing what BOTH the L2 and L3 caches are, you can't really answer the question you are asking.

L3 is more shared according to what i have learned.

 

[compulsivebuilder]

you're wrong; L3 is just an extension of L2 cache. It supplies information to the processor if it does not exist in L1 or L2. If L3 cache does not have the information then the process slows right down to RAM memory speed.

You are wrong to say "you're wrong"

Depends on the processor architecture, but most often, each block of L2 cache is dedicated to a core, while the L3 is shared across all the cores in the CPU. It makes a difference if you have multiple cores working the same data.

 

[jsc]

And remember, some CPU's, the Core2's for example, do not have an L3 cache.