Evaluation methods of computer memory system

Abstract

Memory is a necessary part of any computing system as it is used to store data as well as programs. The amount of main memory (DRAM) has been increasing for all segments of computing devices to accommodate an ever-increasing number of applications installed and data needed for those applications. Memory used at the microarchitectural level to enhance computing system performance or to reduce system power has been increasing in capacity as well. For example, the total amount of cache capacity as well as the number of levels of cache on a microprocessor chip have been increasing in the last couple decades. As the amount of memory used in a computing system increases, it is important to evaluate design trade-offs in details. In this paper we compare a few evaluation approaches of memory system design and discuss the pros and cons of these approaches.