Superscalar instruction execution in the 21164 Alpha microprocessor

The 21164 is a new quad-issue, superscalar Alpha microprocessor that executes 1.2 billion instructions per second. The 300-MHz, 0.5-μm CMOS chip delivers an estimated 345/505 SPECint32/SPECfp92 performance. The design's high clock rate, low operational latency, and high-throughput/nonblocking memory systems contribute to this performance.