Editing Synchronous dynamic random-access memory (section)

== {{Anchor|BURST}} Burst ordering ==
A modern microprocessor with a [[CPU cache|cache]] will generally access memory in units of [[cache line]]s. To transfer a 64-byte cache line requires eight consecutive accesses to a 64-bit DIMM, which can all be triggered by a single read or write command by configuring the SDRAM chips, using the mode register, to perform eight-word [[Burst mode (computing)|bursts]]. A cache line fetch is typically triggered by a read from a particular address, and SDRAM allows the "critical word" of the cache line to be transferred first. ("Word" here refers to the width of the SDRAM chip or DIMM, which is 64 bits for a typical DIMM.) SDRAM chips support two possible conventions for the ordering of the remaining words in the cache line.

Bursts always access an aligned block of BL consecutive words beginning on a multiple of BL. So, for example, a four-word burst access to any column address from four to seven will return words four to seven. The ordering, however, depends on the requested address, and the configured burst type option: sequential or interleaved. Typically, a memory controller will require one or the other. When the burst length is one or two, the burst type does not matter. For a burst length of one, the requested word is the only word accessed. For a burst length of two, the requested word is accessed first, and the other word in the aligned block is accessed second. This is the following word if an even address was specified, and the previous word if an odd address was specified.

For the sequential [[Burst mode (computing)|burst mode]], later words are accessed in increasing address order, wrapping back to the start of the block when the end is reached. So, for example, for a burst length of four, and a requested column address of five, the words would be accessed in the order 5-6-7-4. If the burst length were eight, the access order would be 5-6-7-0-1-2-3-4. This is done by adding a counter to the column address, and ignoring carries past the burst length. The interleaved burst mode computes the address using an [[exclusive or]] operation between the counter and the address. Using the same starting address of five, a four-word burst would return words in the order 5-4-7-6. An eight-word burst would be 5-4-7-6-1-0-3-2.<ref>{{cite web
 | url = http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/datasheets/nanya-nt5ds-datasheet.pdf#page=13
 | title = Nanya 256&nbsp;Mb DDR SDRAM Datasheet
 | date = April 2003 | access-date = 2015-08-02
 | website = intel.com
}}</ref> Although more confusing to humans, this can be easier to implement in hardware, and is preferred by [[Intel]] for its microprocessors.{{Citation needed|date=August 2015}}

If the requested column address is at the start of a block, both burst modes (sequential and interleaved) return data in the same sequential sequence 0-1-2-3-4-5-6-7. The difference only matters if fetching a cache line from memory in critical-word-first order.