Betanumerical
Veteran
Yes, it needs to go through the main system RAM. Because its a cache, not a local store. A cache, by definition cannot contain anything not backed by an address in main memory.
And if Sony had made customisations allowing the use of L3 as an SPU-style local store, they definitely wouldn't have been quiet about it.
Could they not memory map parts of the SSD? (not saying its a smart decision ).