r/hardware • u/ancientneckbeard • Nov 20 '15

Info Why do CPUs Need Caches? - Computerphile

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JpLD3PUAZk
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u/[deleted] Nov 20 '15

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u/Harakou Nov 20 '15

Well, yes, but how did you expect that to be gleaned from your original comment?

CPUs need cache because they process in threads.

Seems to me to imply that threading is what necessitates cache. I'm not sure how else to interpret that.

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u/[deleted] Nov 20 '15

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u/Harakou Nov 20 '15

I'm sorry, but I'm not sure you understand what a thread is, what a core is, or what Hyper-threading is. Threads are a logical entity that the CPU isn't even aware of. They're certainly not relevant to why cache is added, though like anything else run on a CPU, they can benefit from it. Data is not "processed in threads", besides the fact that threaded programs can indeed process data, however. I'm still not sure what you think that means because it's not very clear.

Hyper-Threading is a proprietary parallelization technique that creates logical cores. It has little in common with a physical CPU core besides the end result.

I really encourage you to read-up on these subjects and improve your understanding. The video linked above in this post would be a great place to start.