Discuss the role of cache memory in improving CPU performance. Explain the different cache levels and their characteristics.

In many CPUs, a register called the _____ stores bit flags representing CPU and program status, including those representing processing errors and the results of comparison operations.

How does pipelining improve CPU efficiency? What’s the potential effect on pipelining’s efficiency when executing a conditional BRANCH instruction? What techniques can be used to make pipelining more efficient when executing conditional BRANCH instructions?

If a microprocessor has a cycle time of 0.5 nanoseconds, what’s the processor clock rate? If the fetch cycle is 40% of the processor cycle time, what memory access speed is required to implement load operations with zero wait states and load operations with two wait states?