By: Linus Torvalds (torvalds.delete@this.linux-foundation.org), April 21, 2012 11:26 am
Room: Moderated Discussions
JJB (jjb@example.com) on 4/21/12 wrote:
>
>Now it makes sense! The AGUs can't affect the flags. That's
>actually a moderately sane separation, since the hazards there are so complex, but
>given the x86's flags-heavy architecture, it severely limits the instructions that can be issued.
That makes no sense. Sure, the flags are special, but they
aren't that special.
Besides, if an architect really thinks that flags access
is a major issue, any sane architect will do the trivial
WAW detection, and simply kill the redundant flags. Because
while it is true that in theory almost every single
x86 operation writes the flags, in practice the
flags register is trivially dead for the vast majority of
those same instructions, and you can see that with very
small instruction windows.
In fact, the instruction window could be small enough that
you can just do it at decode time, and if you decode more
than one instruction per cycle, you notice when an earlier
instruction eflags writing is covered by the later ones.
With three or four decoders, I bet that you'd get rid of
half the eflags writes that way.
If you do it with a bigger instruction window (and basically
do it as a register renaming thing), you get rid of almost
all of them. In fact, that's one of the main reasons to
avoid the "inc/dec" instructions, because they don't write
the full set of eflags, so you need to rename things
one bit at a time.
Sure, dropping eflags writes does affect your instruction
completion model, and that can be very complicated
depending on how you handle that whole thing. But if eflags
is a major bottleneck for your uarch, somebody did something
wrong, I think.
Linus
>
>Now it makes sense! The AGUs can't affect the flags. That's
>actually a moderately sane separation, since the hazards there are so complex, but
>given the x86's flags-heavy architecture, it severely limits the instructions that can be issued.
That makes no sense. Sure, the flags are special, but they
aren't that special.
Besides, if an architect really thinks that flags access
is a major issue, any sane architect will do the trivial
WAW detection, and simply kill the redundant flags. Because
while it is true that in theory almost every single
x86 operation writes the flags, in practice the
flags register is trivially dead for the vast majority of
those same instructions, and you can see that with very
small instruction windows.
In fact, the instruction window could be small enough that
you can just do it at decode time, and if you decode more
than one instruction per cycle, you notice when an earlier
instruction eflags writing is covered by the later ones.
With three or four decoders, I bet that you'd get rid of
half the eflags writes that way.
If you do it with a bigger instruction window (and basically
do it as a register renaming thing), you get rid of almost
all of them. In fact, that's one of the main reasons to
avoid the "inc/dec" instructions, because they don't write
the full set of eflags, so you need to rename things
one bit at a time.
Sure, dropping eflags writes does affect your instruction
completion model, and that can be very complicated
depending on how you handle that whole thing. But if eflags
is a major bottleneck for your uarch, somebody did something
wrong, I think.
Linus
Topic | Posted By | Date |
---|---|---|
Phoronix tests GCC compiler flags and Bulldozer. | I.S.T. | 2012/04/19 02:05 AM |
Single page view? | David Kanter | 2012/04/19 07:59 AM |
Single page view? | wainwright | 2012/04/19 08:22 AM |
Single page view? | slothrop | 2012/04/19 08:23 AM |
Single page view? | David Kanter | 2012/04/19 08:31 AM |
Single page view? | EduardoS | 2012/04/19 02:12 PM |
Is there a single page view option for RWT articles? | anon | 2012/04/19 08:27 AM |
Single page view? | Del | 2012/04/19 08:36 AM |
Single page view? | slacker | 2012/04/19 02:56 PM |
Single page view? | Del | 2012/04/22 05:09 AM |
Single page view? | David Kanter | 2012/04/22 08:38 AM |
Single page view? | Del | 2012/04/23 12:22 AM |
Single page view? | Michael S | 2012/04/19 12:30 PM |
Single page view? | Ungo | 2012/04/19 01:25 PM |
Single page view? | Foo_ | 2012/04/19 11:17 PM |
Single page view? | James | 2012/04/20 03:01 AM |
There are ads on the web? | JJB | 2012/04/20 03:32 AM |
What a bunch of freeloaders (NT) | slacker | 2012/04/20 12:44 PM |
So are you, probably | iz | 2012/04/21 03:41 AM |
Impression ad revenue | Paul A. Clayton | 2012/04/21 05:44 AM |
So are you, probably | slacker | 2012/04/21 12:09 PM |
So are you, probably | David Kanter | 2012/04/22 08:41 AM |
So are you, probably | iz | 2012/04/22 02:57 PM |
So are you, probably | Doug Siebert | 2012/04/22 11:37 AM |
Aha! | David Kanter | 2012/04/22 02:45 PM |
Aha! | bakaneko | 2012/04/22 07:49 PM |
So are you, probably | iz | 2012/04/22 02:48 PM |
That's not how the business works... | David Kanter | 2012/04/22 04:31 PM |
That's not how the business works... | iz | 2012/04/23 12:49 AM |
So are you, probably | slacker | 2012/04/22 10:31 PM |
back to phoronix | Michael S | 2012/04/23 01:07 AM |
So are you, probably | iz | 2012/04/23 02:29 AM |
Membership at RWT | David Kanter | 2012/04/23 10:24 AM |
So are you, probably | Jukka Larja | 2012/04/27 07:59 AM |
So, what do people think of these numbers> | I.S.T. | 2012/04/19 06:34 PM |
So, what do people think of these numbers> | Linus Torvalds | 2012/04/20 07:34 AM |
So, what do people think of these numbers> | Kira | 2012/04/20 08:18 AM |
So, what do people think of these numbers> | Linus Torvalds | 2012/04/20 09:05 AM |
So, what do people think of these numbers> | Doug Siebert | 2012/04/20 08:00 PM |
So, what do people think of these numbers> | Megol | 2012/04/21 08:05 AM |
So, what do people think of these numbers> | Linus Torvalds | 2012/04/21 12:11 PM |
Most problems are fixed... | Megol | 2012/04/24 06:00 AM |
So, what do people think of these numbers> | bakaneko | 2012/04/20 10:16 AM |
So, what do people think of these numbers> | bakaneko | 2012/04/20 10:37 AM |
So, what do people think of these numbers> | Linus Torvalds | 2012/04/20 12:24 PM |
So, what do people think of these numbers> | Joel | 2012/04/20 01:59 PM |
So, what do people think of these numbers> | Kira | 2012/04/20 02:32 PM |
So, what do people think of these numbers> | EduardoS | 2012/04/20 03:00 PM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | Joel | 2012/04/20 03:54 PM |
In defense of Bulldozer's Oddities | David Kanter | 2012/04/20 04:32 PM |
In defense of Bulldozer's Oddities | Exophase | 2012/04/20 06:11 PM |
In defense of Bulldozer's Oddities | EduardoS | 2012/04/20 06:46 PM |
In defense of Bulldozer's Oddities | Exophase | 2012/04/20 07:18 PM |
In defense of Bulldozer's Oddities | anonymous | 2012/04/20 10:26 PM |
In defense of Bulldozer's Oddities | JJB | 2012/04/20 10:34 PM |
In defense of Bulldozer's Oddities | imaxx | 2012/04/21 06:21 AM |
In defense of Bulldozer's Oddities | Michael S | 2012/04/21 09:42 AM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | David Kanter | 2012/04/25 03:29 PM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | Exophase | 2012/04/26 11:17 AM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | anonymous | 2012/04/26 02:15 PM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | EduardoS | 2012/04/26 02:40 PM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | Foo_ | 2012/04/27 07:21 AM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | Megol | 2012/04/27 12:38 PM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | EduardoS | 2012/04/26 02:47 PM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | Exophase | 2012/04/26 04:02 PM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | EduardoS | 2012/04/26 05:03 PM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | Exophase | 2012/04/26 05:24 PM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | EduardoS | 2012/04/26 06:18 PM |
Bulldozer's cache memory performance | Heikki Kultala | 2012/04/28 12:18 AM |
Bulldozer's cache memory performance | EduardoS | 2012/04/28 09:06 AM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | David Kanter | 2012/04/26 03:03 PM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | Exophase | 2012/04/26 03:59 PM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | David Kanter | 2012/04/26 09:53 PM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | Exophase | 2012/04/27 07:42 AM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | David Kanter | 2012/04/27 10:06 AM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | EduardoS | 2012/04/27 12:27 PM |
K8 divided pipelines? | Paul A. Clayton | 2012/04/27 12:59 PM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | Michael S | 2012/04/27 03:37 AM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | Exophase | 2012/04/27 07:33 AM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | anonymous | 2012/04/27 08:03 AM |
Renaming Flags | Konrad Schwarz | 2012/04/27 02:04 AM |
Renaming Flags | none | 2012/04/27 03:03 AM |
Renaming Flags | Megol | 2012/04/27 11:42 AM |
Bulldozer's integer execution units | hcl64 | 2012/04/27 03:31 PM |
VEX supports 3+ operands. FPU have renaming already(NT) | Megol | 2012/04/28 07:20 AM |
In defense of Bulldozer's Oddities | Linus Torvalds | 2012/04/21 11:26 AM |
Thanks for the lesson | JJB | 2012/04/21 01:23 PM |
Side note.. | Linus Torvalds | 2012/04/21 01:57 PM |
In defense of Bulldozer's Oddities | Exophase | 2012/04/21 11:13 AM |
In defense of Bulldozer's Oddities | EduardoS | 2012/04/21 11:53 AM |
In defense of Bulldozer's Oddities | Gionatan Danti | 2012/04/21 11:42 AM |
In defense of Bulldozer's Oddities | hcl64 | 2012/04/27 04:07 PM |
In defense of Bulldozer's Oddities | David Kanter | 2012/04/28 05:29 AM |
In defense of Bulldozer's Oddities | hcl64 | 2012/04/28 01:44 PM |
In defense of Bulldozer's Oddities | David Kanter | 2012/04/28 08:42 PM |
In defense of Bulldozer's Oddities | hcl64 | 2012/04/28 09:39 PM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | EduardoS | 2012/04/20 05:05 PM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | anon | 2012/04/20 07:32 PM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | EduardoS | 2012/04/21 11:37 AM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | anon | 2012/04/21 09:16 PM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | EduardoS | 2012/04/21 09:43 PM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | anon | 2012/04/22 01:09 AM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | EduardoS | 2012/04/22 12:57 PM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | anon | 2012/04/22 03:17 PM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | EduardoS | 2012/04/22 04:05 PM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | anon | 2012/04/22 04:42 PM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | anon | 2012/04/22 05:01 PM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | EduardoS | 2012/04/22 09:28 PM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | anon | 2012/04/22 10:05 PM |
Bulldozer's isn't bad. | a reader | 2012/04/21 09:01 AM |
Bulldozer's isn't bad. | Kira | 2012/04/21 10:29 AM |
Bulldozer's isn't bad. | hcl64 | 2012/04/27 04:58 PM |
Bulldozer's isn't bad. | anon | 2012/04/27 05:16 PM |
Bulldozer's isn't bad. | hcl64 | 2012/04/27 06:33 PM |
Bulldozer's isn't bad. | rwessel | 2012/04/27 10:12 PM |
Bulldozer's isn't bad. | EduardoS | 2012/04/28 08:29 AM |
Bulldozer's isn't bad. | EduardoS | 2012/04/28 08:30 AM |
Bulldozer's isn't bad. | Michael S | 2012/04/28 11:36 AM |
Bulldozer is made for SPEC fp | Pelle-48 | 2012/04/21 10:41 AM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | mpx | 2012/04/22 02:47 AM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | EduardoS | 2012/04/22 12:57 PM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | mpx | 2012/04/23 06:04 AM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | Eric | 2012/04/23 11:33 AM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | EduardoS | 2012/04/23 01:22 PM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | Eric | 2012/04/23 06:30 PM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | hcl64 | 2012/04/27 05:16 PM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | Y | 2012/04/25 03:34 AM |
Bulldozer's IDIV | Heikki Kultala | 2012/04/27 09:56 PM |
Bulldozer's IDIV | Y | 2012/04/30 12:51 AM |
Bulldozer's IDIV | EduardoS | 2012/04/30 04:39 AM |
Bulldozer's IDIV | P3Dnow | 2012/05/08 12:23 AM |
Bulldozer's IDIV | Exophase | 2012/05/08 06:37 AM |
Bulldozer's Oddities. | EduardoS | 2012/04/23 01:15 PM |
Clustered MT as SMT for high frequency | Paul A. Clayton | 2012/04/20 03:10 PM |
Clustered MT as SMT for high frequency | hcl64 | 2012/04/27 11:56 PM |
Clustered MT as SMT for high frequency | anonymous | 2012/04/28 12:43 AM |
Clustered MT as SMT for high frequency | hcl64 | 2012/04/28 01:59 PM |
Clustered MT as SMT for high frequency | anonymous | 2012/04/28 07:45 PM |
Clustered MT as SMT for high frequency | anon | 2012/04/28 01:13 AM |
Clustered MT as SMT for high frequency | hcl64 | 2012/04/28 02:23 PM |
Clustered MT as SMT for high frequency | anon | 2012/04/28 05:19 PM |
Clustered MT as SMT for high frequency | hcl64 | 2012/04/28 06:58 PM |
Clustered MT as SMT for high frequency | David Kanter | 2012/04/28 05:38 AM |
Guessed meaning of "strong dependency model" | Paul A. Clayton | 2012/04/28 06:24 AM |
Guessed meaning of "strong dependency model" | EduardoS | 2012/04/28 08:46 AM |
*Right meaning* about "strong dependency model" | hcl64 | 2012/04/28 03:59 PM |
Clustered MT as SMT for high frequency | hcl64 | 2012/04/28 03:24 PM |
Clustered MT as SMT for high frequency | anonymous | 2012/04/28 07:50 PM |
Clustered MT as SMT for high frequency | hcl64 | 2012/04/28 08:47 PM |
SNB width | David Kanter | 2012/04/28 08:48 PM |
SNB width | hcl64 | 2012/04/29 01:24 AM |
Clustered MT as SMT for high frequency | David Kanter | 2012/04/28 08:56 PM |
Clustered MT as SMT for high frequency | hcl64 | 2012/04/28 10:44 PM |
SOI, FD vs. PD | David Kanter | 2012/04/29 06:19 AM |
SOI, FD vs. PD | hcl64 | 2012/04/29 04:31 PM |
SOI, FD vs. PD | David Kanter | 2012/04/29 10:26 PM |
SOI, FD vs. PD | hcl64 | 2012/04/30 07:08 AM |
SOI, FD vs. PD | David Kanter | 2012/04/30 08:59 AM |
SOI, FD vs. PD | hcl64 | 2012/04/30 05:10 PM |
SOI, FD vs. PD | David Kanter | 2012/04/30 05:32 PM |
SOI, FD vs. PD | hcl64 | 2012/04/30 09:47 PM |
SOI, FD vs. PD | David Kanter | 2012/05/01 01:24 AM |
SOI, FD vs. PD | hcl64 | 2012/05/01 04:46 AM |
SOI, FD vs. PD | hcl64 | 2012/05/01 05:37 AM |
SOI, FD vs. PD | David Kanter | 2012/05/01 07:19 AM |
SOI, FD vs. PD | hcl64 | 2012/05/01 06:39 AM |
PD-SOI | David Kanter | 2012/05/02 11:22 AM |
SOI, FD vs. PD | slacker | 2012/04/30 07:10 PM |
SOI, FD vs. PD | David Kanter | 2012/04/30 09:16 PM |
SOI, FD vs. PD | slacker | 2012/05/01 09:04 PM |
SOI, FD vs. PD | David Kanter | 2012/05/02 07:19 AM |
SOI, FD vs. PD | zou | 2012/05/02 11:23 AM |
Previous discussion of clustered MT | Paul A. Clayton | 2012/04/28 06:00 AM |
Previous discussion of clustered MT | hcl64 | 2012/04/28 08:38 PM |
Previous discussion of clustered MT | David Kanter | 2012/04/30 03:37 PM |
Previous discussion of clustered MT | hcl64 | 2012/04/30 06:24 PM |
Previous discussion of clustered MT | David Kanter | 2012/04/30 06:40 PM |
Previous discussion of clustered MT | hcl64 | 2012/05/01 08:15 AM |
Latency issues | David Kanter | 2012/05/02 11:01 AM |
So, what do people think of these numbers> | Megol | 2012/04/21 12:57 AM |