The pair INC EBX / MOV ECX,[EAX] is imperfect because the latter instruction has an AGI stall. The sequence takes 4 clocks. If you insert a NOP or any other instruction so that MOV ECX,[EAX] pairs with JMP L1 instead, then the sequence takes only 3 clocks.

The next example is in 16-bit mode, assuming that SP is divisible by 4:

L3: PUSH AX

PUSH BX

PUSH CX

PUSH DX

CALL FUNC

Here the PUSH instructions form two imperfect pairs, because both operands in each pair go into the same DWORD of memory. PUSH BX could possibly pair perfectly with PUSH CX (because they go on each side of a DWORD boundary) but it doesn't because it has already been paired with PUSH AX. The sequence therefore takes 5 clocks. If you insert a NOP or any other instruction so that PUSH BX pairs with PUSH CX, and PUSH DX with CALL FUNC, then the sequence will take only 3 clocks. Another way to solve the problem is to make sure that SP is not divisible by 4. Knowing whether SP is divisible by 4 or not in 16-bit mode can be difficult, so the best way to avoid this problem is to use 32-bit mode.

13.2 Address generation interlock

It takes one clock cycle to calculate the address needed by an instruction that accesses memory. Normally, this calculation is done at a separate stage in the pipeline while the preceding instruction or instruction pair is executing. But if the address depends on the result of an instruction executing in the preceding clock cycle, then we have to wait an extra clock cycle for the address to be calculated. This is called an AGI stall.

; Example 13.1 ADD EBX,4

MOV EAX,[EBX] ; AGI stall

The stall in this example can be removed by putting some other instructions in between these two, or by rewriting the code to:

; Example 13.2 MOV EAX,[EBX+4] ADD EBX,4

You can also get an AGI stall with instructions that use ESP implicitly for addressing, such as PUSH, POP, CALL, and RET, if ESP has been changed in the preceding clock cycle by instructions such as MOV, ADD, or SUB. The P1 and PMMX have special circuitry to predict the value of ESP after a stack operation so that you do not get an AGI delay after changing ESP with PUSH, POP, or CALL. You can get an AGI stall after RET only if it has an immediate operand to add to ESP. Examples:

The LEA instruction is also subject to an AGI stall if it uses a base or index register that has been changed in the preceding clock cycle. Example:

INC ESI / LEA EAX,[EBX+4*ESI] ; AGI stall

PPro, P2 and P3 have no AGI stalls for memory reads and LEA, but they do have AGI stalls for memory writes. This is not very significant unless the subsequent code has to wait for the write to finish.

13.3 Splitting complex instructions into simpler ones

You may split up read/modify and read/modify/write instructions to improve pairing. Example:

ADD [mem1],EAX / ADD [mem2],EBX ; 5 clock cycles

This code may be split up into a sequence that takes only 3 clock cycles:

MOV ECX,[mem1] / MOV EDX,[mem2] / ADD ECX,EAX / ADD EDX,EBX MOV [mem1],ECX / MOV [mem2],EDX

Likewise you may split up non-pairable instructions into pairable instructions:

Other examples of non-pairable instructions that may be split up into simpler pairable instructions:

CDQ split into: MOV EDX,EAX / SAR EDX,31 NOT EAX change to XOR EAX,-1

NEG EAX split into XOR EAX,-1 / INC EAX

MOVZX EAX,BYTE PTR [mem] split into XOR EAX,EAX / MOV AL,BYTE PTR [mem] JECXZ split into TEST ECX,ECX / JZ

LOOP split into DEC ECX / JNZ XLAT change to MOV AL,[EBX+EAX]

If splitting instructions does not improve speed, then you may keep the complex or nonpairable instructions in order to reduce code size. Splitting instructions is not needed on the PPro, P2 and P3, except when the split instructions generate fewer uops.

13.4 Prefixes

An instruction with one or more prefixes may not be able to execute in the V-pipe (see page 54), and it may take more than one clock cycle to decode.

On the P1, the decoding delay is one clock cycle for each prefix except for the 0FH prefix of conditional near jumps.

The PMMX has no decoding delay for 0FH prefix. Segment and repeat prefixes take one clock extra to decode. Address and operand size prefixes take two clocks extra to decode. The PMMX can decode two instructions per clock cycle if the first instruction has a segment or repeat prefix or no prefix, and the second instruction has no prefix. Instructions with address or operand size prefixes can only decode alone on the PMMX. Instructions with more than one prefix take one clock extra for each prefix.

Address size prefixes can be avoided by using 32-bit mode. Segment prefixes can be avoided in 32-bit mode by using a flat memory model. Operand size prefixes can be avoided in 32-bit mode by using only 8 bit and 32 bit integers.

Where prefixes are unavoidable, the decoding delay may be masked if a preceding instruction takes more than one clock cycle to execute. The rule for the P1 is that any instruction that takes N clock cycles to execute (not to decode) can 'overshadow' the decoding delay of N-1 prefixes in the next two (sometimes three) instructions or instruction pairs. In other words, each extra clock cycle that an instruction takes to execute can be used to decode one prefix in a later instruction. This shadowing effect even extends across a predicted branch. Any instruction that takes more than one clock cycle to execute, and any instruction that is delayed because of an AGI stall, cache miss, misalignment, or any other reason except decoding delay and branch misprediction, has a shadowing effect.

The PMMX has a similar shadowing effect, but the mechanism is different. Decoded instructions are stored in a transparent first-in-first-out (FIFO) buffer, which can hold up to four instructions. As long as there are instructions in the FIFO buffer you get no delay. When the buffer is empty then instructions are executed as soon as they are decoded. The buffer is filled when instructions are decoded faster than they are executed, i.e. when you have unpaired or multi-cycle instructions. The FIFO buffer is emptied when instructions execute faster than they are decoded, i.e. when you have decoding delays due to prefixes. The FIFO buffer is empty after a mispredicted branch. The FIFO buffer can receive two instructions per clock cycle provided that the second instruction is without prefixes and none of the instructions are longer than 7 bytes. The two execution pipelines (U and V) can each receive one instruction per clock cycle from the FIFO buffer. Examples:

CLD / REP MOVSD

The CLD instruction takes two clock cycles and can therefore overshadow the decoding delay of the REP prefix. The code would take one clock cycle more if the CLD instruction were placed far from the REP MOVSD.

CMP DWORD PTR [EBX],0 / MOV EAX,0 / SETNZ AL

The CMP instruction takes two clock cycles here because it is a read/modify instruction. The 0FH prefix of the SETNZ instruction is decoded during the second clock cycle of the CMP instruction, so that the decoding delay is hidden on the P1 (The PMMX has no decoding delay for the 0FH).

13.5 Scheduling floating-point code

Floating-point instructions cannot pair the way integer instructions can, except for one special case, defined by the following rules:

•the first instruction (executing in the U-pipe) must be FLD, FADD, FSUB, FMUL, FDIV,

FCOM, FCHS, or FABS.

•the second instruction (in V-pipe) must be FXCH

•the instruction following the FXCH must be a floating-point instruction, otherwise the FXCH will pair imperfectly and take an extra clock cycle.

This special pairing is important, as will be explained shortly.

While floating-point instructions in general cannot be paired, many can be pipelined, i.e. one instruction can begin before the previous instruction has finished. Example:

Obviously, two instructions cannot overlap if the second instruction needs the result of the first one. Since almost all floating-point instructions involve the top of stack register, ST(0), there are seemingly not very many possibilities for making an instruction independent of the result of previous instructions. The solution to this problem is register renaming. The FXCH instruction does not in reality swap the contents of two registers; it only swaps their names. Instructions that push or pop the register stack also work by renaming. Floating-point register renaming has been highly optimized on the Pentiums so that a register may be renamed while in use. Register renaming never causes stalls - it is even possible to rename a register more than once in the same clock cycle, as for example when FLD or FCOMPP is paired with FXCH.

By the proper use of FXCH instructions you may obtain a lot of overlapping in your floatingpoint code. All versions of the instructions FADD, FSUB, FMUL, and FILD take 3 clock cycles and are able to overlap, so that these instructions may be scheduled. Using a memory operand does not take more time than a register operand if the memory operand is in the level 1 cache and properly aligned.

By now you must be used to rules having exceptions, and the overlapping rule is no exception: You cannot start an FMUL instruction one clock cycle after another FMUL instruction, because the FMUL circuitry is not perfectly pipelined. It is recommended that you put another instruction in between two FMUL's. Example:

Here you have a stall before FMUL [b2] and before FMUL [c2] because another FMUL started in the preceding clock cycle. You can improve this code by putting FLD instructions in between the FMUL's:

In other cases you may put FADD, FSUB, or anything else in between FMUL's to avoid the stalls.