Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: Notesfiles $Revision: 1.6.2.17 $; site uiucdcs.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxj!houxm!ihnp4!inuxc!pur-ee!uiucdcs!bcase From: bcase@uiucdcs.UUCP Newsgroups: net.arch Subject: Re: Arbitrary byte alignment Message-ID: <27800025@uiucdcs.UUCP> Date: Fri, 5-Oct-84 11:46:00 EDT Article-I.D.: uiucdcs.27800025 Posted: Fri Oct 5 11:46:00 1984 Date-Received: Mon, 8-Oct-84 02:45:07 EDT References: <470@houxl.UUCP> Lines: 8 Nf-ID: #R:houxl:-47000:uiucdcs:27800025:000:349 Nf-From: uiucdcs!bcase Oct 5 10:46:00 1984 The main reason most memories don't support all kinds of arbitrary alignments is that the critical path to memory is lengthened. Thus, even memory references which do not require the alignment hardware pay the price and are slowed down. And sometimes the hardware itself can be more expensive than the memory chips (in small memories). bcase