1. A method for prefetching data from a system memory to a cache for a direct memory access (DMA) mechanism in a computer system, the method comprising the steps of: setting up the DMA mechanism for a processor; detecting a load access pattern of the DMA mechanism; predicting at least one potential load of data based on the load access pattern; and in response to the prediction, prefetching the data from the system memory to the cache before a DMA command requests the data.