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A better version of the "Why a new Design" #2

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32 changes: 23 additions & 9 deletions source/VexiiRiscv/Introduction/index.rst
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -52,17 +52,31 @@ Here is a list of important assumptions and things to know about :
- In the execute pipeline, stage.up(RS1/RS2) is the value to be used, while stage.down(RS1/RS2) should not be used, as it implement the bypassing for the next stage
- Fetch.ctrl(0) isn't persistant.

About VexRiscv (not VexiiRiscv)
Why a New Design?
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Why a New Design

Hmm maybe "new design" is too much implicit (maybe it should be more explicit)
"Why VexiiRiscv" ?

------------------------------------

There is few reasons why VexiiRiscv exists instead of doing incremental upgrade on VexRiscv
The original VexRiscv is a successful design. But we have reached the limits of what it can accomplish, and in the process of improving it, we added too much complexity. We now have a newer and better abstraction. Specifically the new VexiiRiscv abstraction:
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"better abstraction" can make people running away. Also, fondamentaly it isn't about the abstraction, it is more about the framework :)


- Mostly, all the VexRiscv parts could be subject for upgrades
- VexRiscv frontend / branch prediction is quite messy
- The whole VexRiscv pipeline would have need a complete overhaul in oder to support multiple issue / late-alu
- The VexRiscv plugin system has hits some limits
- VexRiscv accumulated quite a bit of technical debt over time (2017)
- The VexRiscv data cache being write though start to create issues the faster the frequency goes (DRAM can't follow)
- The VexRiscv verification infrastructure based on its own golden model isn't great.
- Supports more parallelism with optionally multiple issues and multiple early and late alus.
- Has a much cleaner frontend / branch prediction design.
- Has a more flexible plugin system.
- Has a much better verification approach.
- Works better with DDRAM than the existing write through data cache.
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I would say this is aproximative. The VexRiscv design works quite well with SDR DRAM. The notion of running the CPU at higher frequency with write through was starting to hit DRAM limits is kinda key.
(also DRAM not DDRAM right ? )


Really almost the whole VexRiscv system would need to rewritten, so it is better to start anew. This can be done faster than carrying around the old baggage.

What was Wrong with the Old Design?
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"Old Design" is too much relying on the implicit understanding that we talk about VexRiscv.
So maybe it should refer to VexRiscv directly

------------------------------------

There are a few reasons why we are creating a new VexiiRiscv instead of doing incremental upgrade on VexRiscv:

- Almost all of the VexRiscv parts need to be upgraded.
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Almost all of the VexRiscv parts need to be upgraded.

It isn't that they need to be ugraded, it is more that something better could be done.

- VexRiscv front end amd branch prediction is quite messy.
- The whole VexRiscv pipeline would have need a complete overhaul in oder to support multiple issue / late-alu.
- The VexRiscv plugin system has hits some limits.
- VexRiscv accumulated quite a bit of technical debt since it was introduced in 2017.
- The VexRiscv data cache being write though starts to have issues as frequency increases (DRAM can't follow).
- The VexRiscv verification infrastructure being based on its own golden model isn't great.

So, enough is enough, it was time to start fresh :D