Patent ID: 6981119

Claim:
A system, comprising: a memory controller; and a memory coupled to the memory controller; wherein the memory controller is configured to allocate a plurality of storage locations within the memory to store a unit of data, wherein the unit of data is compressed, and wherein the unit of data does not occupy a portion of the plurality of storage locations that would otherwise be occupied by the unit of data if the unit of data was not compressed; wherein the memory controller is configured to store performance-enhancing data associated with the unit of data in the portion of the plurality of storage locations; wherein in response to a request for the unit of data from a functional unit, the memory controller is configured to cause both the unit of data and the performance-enhancing data associated with the unit of data to be returned to the functional unit, wherein retrieval of the unit of data from the memory does not depend on retrieval of the performance-enhancing data associated with the unit of data from the memory.