This work presents two emerging media niicroprocessors, VIRAM and Imagine, and conipares tlie iniplenientation strategies and perforniance results of these unique architectures. VIRAM is a coniplete systeni on a chip which uses PIM technology to conibine vector processing with enibedded DRAM. Imagine is a prograniniable streaming architecture with a specialized nieniory hierarchy designed for coniputationally intensive data-parallel codes. First, we present a siniple and effective approach f o

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... understanding and optiniizing vector/streani applications. Perforniance results are then presented front a number of niultiniedia benchniarks and a coniputationally intensive scient@ kernel. We explore tlie coniplex interactions between prograniniing paradigms, tlie architectural support at tlie ISA level and tlie underlying niicroarchitecture of these two systenis. Our long term goal is to evaluate leading media niicroprocessors as possible building blocks for future high perforniance systenis.