21-12-2012, 06:54 PM
Transmeta Crusoe Processor
Transmeta Crusoe Processor.pptx (Size: 1.04 MB / Downloads: 28)
What is Crusoe?
A low power consuming x86 processor.
Developed by Transmeta Corporation.
Devoted to fill gap in mobile CPU market.
Hybrid hardware-software design.
VLIW Approach
Very Long Instruction Word processor.
Multiple FU’s, each explicitly programmed on each instruction.
A Very Long Instruction Word is called a molecule.
Each molecule contains 4 atoms: one instruction for each FU.
A molecule is either 128 bits or 64 bits wide [1].
Code Morphing
2 parts of the code morphing software:
Interpreter
Interprets x86 code.
Filters infrequent code for interpretation only.
Gathers statistical data.
Translator
Compiles frequently used code for optimization.
Stores translated code into translation cache.
Advantages
Lighter is better.
Low power consumption.
Fan less systems.
High mobility without compromise.
Limitations
Code optimization doesn’t start until a block of code has been translated.
Code translation requires clock cycles which could otherwise be used in performing application computation.
Dynamic translation is expensive.