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Benefits

  • Extensible Templates – Reuse and customize for different architectures.
  • Scalable Blocks – Build from single pipelines to multi-core clusters.
  • System Context – Validate uArch with caches, buses, NoCs, and RTOS.
  • Early Bottleneck Detection – Identify hazards and inefficiencies before RTL.
  • Cross-Domain Utility – Works for CPU, DSP, memory controllers, and AI accelerators.

The microarchitecture (uArch) model in VisualSim provides a detailed simulation of processor and subsystem behavior, enabling designers to explore instruction flow, pipeline interactions, and memory hierarchies.

While VisualSim often focuses on stochastic and hybrid modeling, microarchitecture remains critical in the semiconductor space, where performance, efficiency, and scalability are directly impacted by low-level design choices.

VisualSim includes ready-to-use microarchitecture templates for:

  • ARM processors
  • RISC-V cores
  • Memory controllers
  • DRAM subsystems
  • Custom accelerators
  • Cache- Coherent and Non-Coherent
  • NoC – Arteris, ARM, and Interfaces – UCIe, PCIe, and networking – TSN, Ethernet

These models are built as interconnected pipeline blocks (fetch, decode, rename, dispatch, execution, commit) and can be scaled or extended to other architectures and standards. This modularity allows users to explore both individual core performance and multi-core/system-level scaling.

Overview

  • Fetch Unit – Retrieves instructions and manages instruction queues.
  • Decode Stage – Decodes instructions into micro-ops.
  • Rename & Allocate Stage – Resolves register dependencies and allocates resources.
  • Dispatch Stage – Directs instructions to execution units.
  • Execution Unit – Handles arithmetic, logical, and memory ops.
  • Commit Stage – Updates the architectural state after execution.

Supported Standards

  • No direct industry standard.
  • Supports custom extensions for ARM, RISC-V, DSP, and accelerator pipelines.

Key Parameters

  • Processor_Speed_MHz – Core frequency.
  • Fetch_Queue_Size – Queue length for instruction fetch.
  • Decode_Queue_Size – Width and buffering of decode stage.
  • Uops_Per_Cycle – Number of micro-ops per cycle.
  • Dispatch_Per_Cycle – Dispatch bandwidth.

Parameter Snapshots

  • Decode Parameter
  • Rename Allocate Parameter
  • Fetch Parameter

Simulation Results

  • Pipeline Latency & Throughput
  • Instruction Hazards & Reordering
  • Branch Prediction Accuracy
  • Cache & DRAM Interaction Studies
  • Power vs. Performance Trade-offs
  • Stats
  • Plot

Application

  • Processor Design – ARM, RISC-V, and custom accelerators.
  • Memory Subsystems – DRAM, DDR, LPDDR, and memory controller microarchitecture.
  • Performance Optimization – Pipeline depth, instruction throughput, hazards.
  • Instruction Scheduling Studies – OOO execution, reordering, branch prediction.
  • Power Efficiency Analysis – Trade-offs in embedded and high-performance cores.
  • Scalable Multi-Core Architectures – From single cores to large SoCs.

Integrations

  • Branch Predictor, Caches, and DRAM models.
  • Memory Controllers – DDR, LPDDR, HBM.
  • Interconnects – AMBA, NoCs, TileLink.
  • Task Graphs & RTOS – Workload-driven microarchitecture validation.

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