On the importance of cache tuning in a cache-aware algorithm: A case study

In the present paper we describe and analyse a sieving algorithm for determining prime numbers. This external memory algorithm contains several parameters which are related to the sizes of the levels in the memory hierarchy. We examine how we should choose the values of these parameters in order to obtain an optimal running time. We compare the running times obtained by varying the parameters. We conclude that in this specific problem fine tuning pays off as we got a speed-up of almost 40%.