Processor Programming (Continued)
3.3.2.1 Control Registers
The CD bit (Cache Disable, bit 30) in CR0 globally con-
trols the operating mode of the L1 cache. LCD and LWT,
Local Cache Disable and Local Write-through bits in the
Translation Lookaside Buffer, control the mode on a page-
by-page basis. Additionally, memory configuration control
can specify certain memory regions as non-cacheable.
A map of the Control Registers (CR0, CR1, CR2, CR3,
and CR4) is shown in Table 3-6 and the bit definitions are
given in Table 3-7. (These registers should not be confused
with the CRRn registers.) CR0 contains system control bits
which configure operating modes and indicate the general
state of the CPU. The lower 16 bits of CR0 are referred to
as the Machine Status Word (MSW).
If the cache is disabled, no further cache line fills occur.
However, data already present in the cache continues to
be used. For the cache to be completely disabled, the
cache must be invalidated with a WBINVD instruction
after the cache has been disabled.
When operating in real mode, any program can read and
write the control registers. In protected mode, however,
only privilege level 0 (most-privileged) programs can read
and write these registers.
Write-back caching improves performance by relieving
congestion on slower external buses. With four dirty bits,
L1 Cache Controller
the cache marks dirty locations on
a double-word
The GXLV processor contains an on-board 16 KB unified
data/instruction write-back L1 cache. With the memory
controller on-board, the L1 cache requires no external
logic to maintain coherency. All DMA cycles automatically
snoop the L1 cache.
(DWORD) basis. This further reduces the number of
DWORD write operations needed during a replacement or
flush operation.
The GXLV processor will cache SMM regions, reducing
system management overhead to allow for hardware
emulation such as VGA.
Table 3-6. Control Registers Map
31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
CR4 Register
Control Register 4 (R/W)
RSVD
T
S
C
RSVD
CR3 Register
CR2 Register
CR1 Register
CR0 Register
Control Register 3 (R/W)
PDBR (Page Directory Base Register)
RSVD
0
0
RSVD
Control Register 2 (R/W)
PFLA (Page Fault Linear Address)
Control Register 1 (R/W)
RSVD
Control Register 0 (R/W)
P
G
C
D
N
W
RSVD
A
M
R
S
V
D
W
P
RSVD
N
E
R
S
V
D
T
S
E
M
M
P
P
E
Machine Status Word (MSW)
Table 3-7. CR4-CR0 Bit Definitions
Bit
Name Description
CR4 Register
Control Register 4 (R/W)
31:3
2
RSVD Reserved: Set to 0 (always returns 0 when read).
TSC
Time Stamp Counter Instruction:
If = 1 RDTSC instruction enabled for CPL = 0 only; reset state.
If = 0 RDTSC instruction enabled for all CPL states.
1:0
RSVD Reserved: Set to 0 (always returns 0 when read).
Control Register 3 (R/W)
CR3 Register
31:12
11:0
PDBR Page Directory Base Register: Identifies page directory base address on a 4 KB page boundary.
RSVD Reserved: Set to 0.
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