Q9

Consider the following processors (ns stands for nanoseconds). Assume that the pipeline registers have zero latency. $\text{P1:}$ Four-stage pipeline with stage latencies $\text{1 ns, 2 ns, 2 ns, 1 ns}$. $\text{P2:}$ Four-stage pipeline with stage latencies $\text{1 ns, 1.5 ns, 1.5 ns, 1.5 ns}$. $\text{P3:}$ Five-stage pipeline with stage latencies $\text{0.5 ns, 1 ns, 1 ns, 0.6 ns, 1 ns}$. $\text{P4:}$ Five-stage pipeline with stage latencies $\text{0.5 ns, 0.5 ns, 1 ns, 1 ns, 1.1 ns}$. Which processor has the highest peak clock frequency?