Patent ID: 7000076

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a first circuit to generate a first replacement way for a cache when a cache line is to be evicted, the first circuit to exhibit complex harmonics when generating the first replacement way, but in which the first replacement way generated may provide for a way not present in the cache; a second circuit to generate a second replacement way for the cache, in which the second replacement way corresponds to ways present in the cache, but the second replacement way has less randomness than the first replacement way; a detector circuit coupled to receive the first replacement way from the first circuit and to detect if the first replacement way corresponds to a way present in the cache, the detector circuit to generate a select signal in response to the detection; and a select circuit coupled to receive the select signal, the first replacement way and the second replacement way and in response to the select signal, to select the first replacement way for eviction of the cache line if the select signal indicates that the first replacement way corresponds to a way present in the cache, but to select the second replacement way for eviction of a cache line if the select signal indicates that the first replacement way corresponds to a way not present in the cache.