Iron law of performance

Tag: iron-law

Aliases: performance equation

Execution time = Instructions × CPI × Cycle time. Frames every architectural decision as a tradeoff between these three terms.

Lecture references

• L02 · Performance & Power — p.11 , p.14
• L03 · Pipelining — p.5
• L04 · Hazards — p.9
• L10 · Branch Prediction — p.22
• L12 · Caches — p.16

Exam references

• Midterm — Spring 2025 — Q1