부산대학교 도서관

In addition to the considerable effort spent on functional validation of Intel® processors, a separate parallel activity is conducted to verify that processor performance meets or exceeds specifications. In this paper, we discuss both the pre-silicon and post-silicon performance validation processes carried out on the 90nm version of the Intel® Pentium® 4 processor. For pre-silicon performance work, we describe how a detailed performance simulator is used to ensure that the processor specification meets the product's performance targets and also that the implementation matches the defined specification. Additionally, we describe how we project the performance of the Pentium 4 processor on key applications and benchmarks. Once silicon arrives, the second phase of performance verification work starts. We describe the process for detecting post-silicon performance issues, developing associated optimizations, and communicating these to application engineers, compiler teams, and microprocessor architects for appropriate action. We also discuss the tools used to gather performance metrics and characterize application performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]