By the end of this course you should be able to:

1. Describe the fundamental components required in a single core of a modern microprocessor as well as how they interact with each other, with main memory, and with external storage media.
2. Suggest, compare, and contrast potential architectural enhancements by applying appropriate performance metrics.
3. Apply fundamental knowledge about a processor’s datapath, different memory hierarchies, performance metrics, etc. to design a microprocessor such that it (a) meets a target set of performance goals and (b) is realistically implementable.
4. Explain how code written in (different) high-level languages (like C, Java, C++, Fortran, etc.) can be executed on different microprocessors (i.e. Intel, AMD, etc.) to produce the result intended by the programmer.
5. Use knowledge about a microprocessor’s underlying hardware (or “architecture”) to write more efficient software.
6. Explain and articulate why modern microprocessors now have more than one core and how software must adapt to accommodate the now prevalent multi-core approach to computing.

Midterm scores and statistics can be found (here).
Your estimated course grade can be found (here).
Final course grades can be found (here).

• Labs will be held in 216 Stinson-Remick.

• David A. Patterson and John L. Hennessy, Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface, 4th Ed., Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, ISBN 978-0-12-374493-7.