In {TAIL ~ accordance} with one aspect, a method and system for determining the effectiveness of operation of a branch unit in a processing system, the processing system including at least one performance monitor counter and at least one monitor mode control register to configure {HEAD ~ the operations} of the at least one PMC, includes accumulating count data during branch unit operation with the at least one PMC during a predetermined sampling period, and determining branch prediction effectiveness based on the accumulated count data 
In { TAIL ~ accordance } with one aspect , a method and system for determining the effectiveness of operation of a branch unit in a processing system , the processing system including at least one performance monitor counter and at least one monitor mode control register to configure { HEAD ~ the operations } of the at least one PMC , includes accumulating count data during branch unit operation with the at least one PMC during a predetermined sampling period , and determining branch prediction effectiveness based on the accumulated count data
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