jeffythedragonslayer wrote:
WAI feels like overkill when I only need to wait a small number of cycles
I'd be looking at the decision in a somewhat different way. Regardless of whether it's a small number of cycles or a large number of cycles, you're still faced with the question, "What's the best/easiest way to accomplish this?" And I suspect you'll find that using WAI is easier than somehow inserting a number of NOPs. But I encourage you to try both approaches (on paper, at least.)
Edit: will the number of cycles be known beforehand? If so, then inserting NOPs is easier. Or, is the number variable, becoming known only at runtime? In this case I expect WAI will be easier.
Also; paraphrasing what Garth said, most of the power consumption is going to be related to bus activity. And bus activity continues during NOPs, but not during a WAI. Since you only need to wait a small number of cycles, wouldn't you say the issue of power consumption during this time has negligible importance?
-- Jeff
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