Computer Architecture by D. Wentzlaff

Course Information

• Course: Computer Architecture in Coursera
• Lecturer: David Wentzlaff (Princeton)
• Approx. 50 hours to complete
• Textbook:
  • Computer Architecture A Quantitative Approach (5th) by Hennessy and Patterson (2012)
    • Abbreviation: H&P5
  • Modern Processor Design Fundamentals of Super-scalar Processors (1st) by Shen and Lipasti (2004)
    • Abbreviation: S&L
• Prerequisite: Computer Organization and Digital Logic
  • What’s the different between Comp.Org vs Comp.Arch lectures? See below!
  • 700M transistor (Intel Core i7) vs 50K transistors (Basic pipelined processor)

Abstractions in Modern Computing Systems

• From application requirements:
  • suggest how to improve architecture
  • Provide revenue to fund development
• From technology constraints:
  • Restrict what can be done efficiently
  • New tech makes new arch possible

Syllabus

1. Instruction Set Architecture and Microcode
2. [[ DW) Microcode and Pipelining ]]
3. [[ Cache Review ]]
4. [[ Superscalar1 ]]
5. [[ Superscalar2 ]]
6. [[ Superscalar3 ]]
7. [[ Superscalar4 ]]
8. [[ VLIW1 ]]
9. [[ VLIW2 ]]
10. [[ Branch Prediction ]]
11. [[ Advanced Caches 1 ]]
12. [[ Advanced Caches 2 ]]
13. [[ Memory Protection ]]
14. [[ Vector Processors and GPUs ]]
15. [[ Multithreading ]]
16. [[ Parallel Programming 1 ]]
17. [[ Parallel Programming 2 ]]
18. [[ Small Multiprocessors ]]
19. [[ Multiprocessor Interconnect1 ]]
20. [[ Multiprocessor interconnect2 ]]
21. [[ Large Multiprocessors - Directory Protocols ]]

Reference

• Computer Architecture Quantitive Approach