Power/Performance Bits: July 18


Ad hoc "cache hierarchies" Researchers at MIT and Carnegie Mellon University designed a system that reallocates cache access on the fly, to create new "cache hierarchies" tailored to the needs of particular programs. Dubbed Jenga, the system distinguishes between the physical locations of the separate memory banks that make up the shared cache. For each core, Jenga knows how long it would t... » read more

System Bits: April 7


Ultra-efficient magnetic-field detector In a development that could lead to miniaturized, battery-powered devices for medical and materials imaging, contraband detection, and even geological exploration, MIT researchers have developed a new, ultrasensitive magnetic-field detector they say is 1,000 times more energy-efficient than its predecessors. Magnetic-field detectors, or magnetometers,... » read more