Title :
Evaluating STT-RAM as an energy-efficient main memory alternative
Author :
Kultursay, Emre ; Kandemir, Mahmut ; Sivasubramaniam, Anand ; Mutlu, Onur
Author_Institution :
Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA, USA
Abstract :
In this paper, we explore the possibility of using STT-RAM technology to completely replace DRAM in main memory. Our goal is to make STT-RAM performance comparable to DRAM while providing substantial power savings. Towards this goal, we first analyze the performance and energy of STT-RAM, and then identify key optimizations that can be employed to improve its characteristics. Specifically, using partial write and row buffer write bypass, we show that STT-RAM main memory performance and energy can be significantly improved. Our experiments indicate that an optimized, equal capacity STT-RAM main memory can provide performance comparable to DRAM main memory, with an average 60% reduction in main memory energy.
Keywords :
MRAM devices; buffer storage; performance evaluation; power aware computing; energy analysis; energy-efficient main memory alternative; equal capacity STT-RAM main memory evaluation; key optimization identification; partial write bypass; performance analysis; row buffer write bypass; spin-transfer torque random-access memory; substantial power savings; Arrays; Magnetic tunneling; Organizations; Phase change random access memory; Sensors; Transistors;
Conference_Titel :
Performance Analysis of Systems and Software (ISPASS), 2013 IEEE International Symposium on
Conference_Location :
Austin, TX
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4673-5776-0
Electronic_ISBN :
978-1-4673-5778-4
DOI :
10.1109/ISPASS.2013.6557176
