<hardware, processor> An implementation of secondary cache
memory that allows it to be directly accessed by the CPU.
Backside cache is used by Apple Computers, Inc. in their
PowerPC G3 processor. Previous PowerPC processors used the
system bus to access both secondary cache and main memory.
In the PowerPC G3 a dedicated bus handles only CPU/cache
transactions. This bus can operate faster than the system bus
thus improving the overall performance of the processor.
The term apparently derives from the relocation of the
secondary cache from the motherboard to the processor card
itself, i.e. on the backside of the processor card.
