Obtaining load target operand pre-fetch address from history table information upon incremented number of access indicator threshold

An information handling system, comprising:

• means for providing a first load instruction address;
• means for accessing an entry within a pre-fetch history table by comparing a portion of said first load instruction address with a second address located as an entry in said pre-fetch history table, wherein said pre-fetch history table contains a target operand address associated with said first load instruction address;
• means for determining whether or not pre-fetch history is contained in said entry in accordance with the status of a validity bit;
• means responsive to a determination that pre-fetch history is contained in said entry for incrementing an indicator field within said entry, wherein said indicator field maintains a count of the number of accesses to said entry;
• and
• means for obtaining a target operand address for a next load instruction in response to said count exceeding a threshold value, wherein said pre-fetch target operand address is determined in accordance with said associated target operand address within said pre-fetch history table.

A computer product residing on a computer usable medium for improving pre-fetch accuracy in a data processing system utilizing a pre-fetch history table, comprising:

• instruction means for providing a first load instruction address;
• instruction means for accessing an entry within a pre-fetch history table by comparing a portion of said first load instruction address with a second address located as an entry in said pre-fetch history table, wherein said pre-fetch history table contains a target operand address associated with said first load instruction address;
• determining whether or not pre-fetch history is contained in said entry in accordance with the status of a validity bit;
• instruction means responsive to a determination that pre-fetch history is contained in said entry for incrementing an indicator field within said entry, wherein said indicator field maintains a count of the number of accesses to said entry;
• and
• instruction means for obtaining a target operand address for a next load instruction in response to said count exceeding a threshold value, wherein said pre-fetch target operand address is determined in accordance with said associated target operand address within said pre-fetch history table.