| abstract |
A microprocessor (12) comprising a memory system (20) for outputting data in response to an address, wherein the memory system is further operable to receive a prefetch request having a predicted target data address. The microprocessor further includes a load target circuit (56 or 112), which comprises a first plurality of entries (116) of a first length and a second plurality of entries (114) of a second length. Each of the first plurality of entries comprises a value (ADDRESS TAG) for corresponding the entry to a corresponding first plurality of data fetching instructions. Further, each of the first plurality of entries further comprises a value (POINTER A) for indicating a corresponding predicted target data address. Each of the second plurality of entries also comprises a value (ADDRESS TAG) for corresponding each of the second plurality of entries to a corresponding second plurality of data fetching instructions. However, each of the second plurality of data fetching instructions is of a type for which it is undesirable to issue a prefetch request. |