ECS 154B COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE (4) I,
II, III
Lecture: 3 hours
Discussion: 1 hour
Prerequisites: Course ECS
154A or EEC 170, and course ECS 60
Grading: Letter; two midterms (20% each), final exam (40%)
and programming and digital design work (20%)
Catalog Description:
Hardwired and microprogrammed CPU design. Memory hierarchies. Uniprocessor
performance analysis under varying program mixes. Introduction to pipelining
and multiprocessors.
Expanded Course Description:
- Hardwired and Microprogrammed CPU Design
Internal bus systems. Register transfer languages. Microprogramming. Homework
using digital design software to implement part or all of a simple CPU.
- Memory Hierarchies
General idea of multilevel memory systems. Emphasis here is on caches,
since virtual memory is covered in courses 154A, 150, 151AB.
- Uniprocessor Performance Analysis
Instruction set profile analyses under varying program mixes. Cost/performance
tradeoffs. Introduction to RISC philosophy, and interactions with pipelining,
orthogonal instruction sets, etc.
- Multiprocessor Speedup
Introduction to shared-memory and message-passing multiprocessor systems.
Textbooks:
D. Patterson and J. Hennessy, Computer Organization and Design the Hardware/Software Interface, Elsevier HSS, 2004
Computer Usage:
Extensive digital design simulation assignments.
Engineering Design Statement:
Design tradeoffs--hardwired vs. microprogrammed CPU implementation, RISC
vs CISC architectural philosophy, and so on--form a continuing theme in
the course.
ABET Category Content:
Engineering Science: 2 units
Engineering Design: 2 units
Program Outcomes:
Students will:
- learn the foundational concepts of microprocessor organization
- accomplish a sequence of integrated projects which create the low-level software and
digital design of a fully-functional, pipeline microprocessor
- work with state-of-art commercial CAD tools to solve design problems
Student Outcomes:
- An ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering
- An ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data
- An ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability
- : An ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams
- An ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
- The broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context
- A recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning
- A knowledge of contemporary issues
- An ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice
Instructors: M.
Farrens, N. Matloff
Prepared by: M. Farrens, N. Matloff, R. Olsson (Nov. 1996)
Overlap Statement:
This course does not duplicate any existing course.
5/06
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