83 results about "Branch predictor" patented technology

In computer architecture, a branch predictor is a digital circuit that tries to guess which way a branch (e.g. an if–then–else structure) will go before this is known definitively. The purpose of the branch predictor is to improve the flow in the instruction pipeline. Branch predictors play a critical role in achieving high effective performance in many modern pipelined microprocessor architectures such as x86.