[ The PC Guide | Systems and Components Reference Guide | Motherboard and System Devices | System Chipset and Controllers | Chipset Functions and Features | Chipset Timing and Flow Control ]

Cache and Memory Data Transfer

When the processor requests information from the memory, the cache is first checked to see if it contains the data (since it is much faster than the memory). If it does, the data is read from there. Otherwise, it is read from the memory and given both to the processor for computation, and to the cache to store it in case the processor needs it again soon. The chipset controls the timing of these transfers. Better chipsets can do this work more efficiently than others.

Next: Bus Buffering and Data Flow

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