Energy-Efficient Branch Predictor via Instruction Block Type Prediction in Decoupled Frontend
The branch predictor is widely used to enhance processor performance, but it also constitutes one of the major energy-consuming components in processors. We found that approximately 32% of instruction blocks in a decoupled frontend do not contain branch instructions, while 30.8% of instruction block...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-01-01
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| Series: | IET Computers & Digital Techniques |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1049/cdt2/3359419 |
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| author | Zilin Li Jizeng Wei Shuangsheng Li Yaogong Yang |
| author_facet | Zilin Li Jizeng Wei Shuangsheng Li Yaogong Yang |
| author_sort | Zilin Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The branch predictor is widely used to enhance processor performance, but it also constitutes one of the major energy-consuming components in processors. We found that approximately 32% of instruction blocks in a decoupled frontend do not contain branch instructions, while 30.8% of instruction blocks contain only conditional branches. However, because the type of instructions within a block cannot be determined during prediction, branch prediction must be executed every cycle. In this work, we propose the next block type (NBT) and no branch sequence table (NST) for predicting instruction block types. These mechanisms occupy minimal space and are straightforward to implement. For a four-way out-of-order processor, the NBT and NST reduce the branch predictor’s energy consumption by 52.36% and processor’s energy consumption by 4.1% without sacrificing the processor’s instructions per cycle (IPC) and branch prediction accuracy. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-36640cfdca644ac9af4b86a6f0d58f53 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1751-861X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IET Computers & Digital Techniques |
| spelling | doaj-art-36640cfdca644ac9af4b86a6f0d58f532025-08-20T02:57:44ZengWileyIET Computers & Digital Techniques1751-861X2025-01-01202510.1049/cdt2/3359419Energy-Efficient Branch Predictor via Instruction Block Type Prediction in Decoupled FrontendZilin Li0Jizeng Wei1Shuangsheng Li2Yaogong Yang3College of Intelligence and ComputingCollege of Intelligence and ComputingCollege of Intelligence and ComputingPhytium Technology Co., LtdThe branch predictor is widely used to enhance processor performance, but it also constitutes one of the major energy-consuming components in processors. We found that approximately 32% of instruction blocks in a decoupled frontend do not contain branch instructions, while 30.8% of instruction blocks contain only conditional branches. However, because the type of instructions within a block cannot be determined during prediction, branch prediction must be executed every cycle. In this work, we propose the next block type (NBT) and no branch sequence table (NST) for predicting instruction block types. These mechanisms occupy minimal space and are straightforward to implement. For a four-way out-of-order processor, the NBT and NST reduce the branch predictor’s energy consumption by 52.36% and processor’s energy consumption by 4.1% without sacrificing the processor’s instructions per cycle (IPC) and branch prediction accuracy.http://dx.doi.org/10.1049/cdt2/3359419 |
| spellingShingle | Zilin Li Jizeng Wei Shuangsheng Li Yaogong Yang Energy-Efficient Branch Predictor via Instruction Block Type Prediction in Decoupled Frontend IET Computers & Digital Techniques |
| title | Energy-Efficient Branch Predictor via Instruction Block Type Prediction in Decoupled Frontend |
| title_full | Energy-Efficient Branch Predictor via Instruction Block Type Prediction in Decoupled Frontend |
| title_fullStr | Energy-Efficient Branch Predictor via Instruction Block Type Prediction in Decoupled Frontend |
| title_full_unstemmed | Energy-Efficient Branch Predictor via Instruction Block Type Prediction in Decoupled Frontend |
| title_short | Energy-Efficient Branch Predictor via Instruction Block Type Prediction in Decoupled Frontend |
| title_sort | energy efficient branch predictor via instruction block type prediction in decoupled frontend |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1049/cdt2/3359419 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT zilinli energyefficientbranchpredictorviainstructionblocktypepredictionindecoupledfrontend AT jizengwei energyefficientbranchpredictorviainstructionblocktypepredictionindecoupledfrontend AT shuangshengli energyefficientbranchpredictorviainstructionblocktypepredictionindecoupledfrontend AT yaogongyang energyefficientbranchpredictorviainstructionblocktypepredictionindecoupledfrontend |