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Cache Organization
Chapter 9
AMD-K6-2E+ Embedded Processor Data Sheet
23542A/0—September 2000
Preliminary Information
the modified state, invalidates all lines in all caches, and
then executes a flush acknowledge special cycle (See
s
The second method for flushing the caches is for software to
execute the WBINVD instruction, which causes all modified
lines to first be written back to memory, then marks all
cache lines as invalid. Alternatively, if writing modified lines
back to memory is not necessary, the INVD instruction can
be used to invalidate all cache lines.
s
The third method for flushing the caches is to make use of
the Page Flush/Invalidate Register (PFIR), which allows
cache invalidation and optional flushing of a specific 4-
Kbyte page from the linear address space (see
“Pageprevious two methods of flushing the caches, this particular
method requires the software to be aware of which specific
pages must be flushed and invalidated.
L2 Cache Disabling
The L2 cache in the AMD-K6-2E+ processor can be completely
disabled by setting the L2 Disable (L2D) bit (EFER[4]) to 1 (see
disabled in this manner, the processor does not access the L2
cache for any purpose, including allocations, read hits, write
hits, snoops, inquire cycles, flushing, and read/write attempts
The L1 cache operation is not affected by disabling the L2
cache.
The L2D bit is provided for debug and testing purposes only. For
normal operation and maximum performance, this bit must be
set to 0, which is the default setting following reset.
The AMD-K6-2E+ processor does not provide a method for
disabling the L1 cache while the L2 cache remains enabled.