The GATE Grind

GATE 2014 CS (CS2) – Question 54

Computer Organization and Architecture · Memory Interfacing and Hierarchy · 2 marks · Multiple choice

Cache associativity doubles while capacity and block size stay fixed. Which is guaranteed unaffected?

  1. Tag-comparator width
  2. Set-index-decoder width
  3. Way-selection-multiplexer width
  4. Processor-to-main-memory data-bus width

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Correct answer: (D) Processor-to-main-memory data-bus width

Explanation

At fixed capacity and block size, doubling ways halves the number of sets, changing index width and typically tag/comparator and selection hardware. It does not require changing the processor-to-main-memory data-bus width. Thus **D** is guaranteed unaffected by this cache-organisation change.