CS465
Computer Systems Architecture (Fall 2008)
Meeting Time and Location:
Thursdays 4:30pm-7:10pm,
Enterprise Hall 276
Instructor: Prof.
Daniel Barbará.
Email: dbarbara (at) gmu (dot) edu
Office: STII
353
Office hour: by appointment
Graduate TA: TBA
Course Home Page
CS465
Overview
This course provides an introduction to the
fundamental concepts in computer architecture. Topics include:
- Basic system components
- Performance measurements
- Instructions and their representation
- Number representation
- Implementation of Arithmetic operations
- Processor organization
- Pipelining
- The memory hierarchy
Course Outcomes:
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Be able to explain the organization of the classical von Neumann machine and its major functional components
-
Be able to compare performance of simple system configurations and understand the performance implications of architectural choices
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Be able to show how instructions are represented at both the machine level and in the context of a symbolic assembler; be able to understand small MIPS programs and write MIPS assembly program segments
-
Be able to use different formats to represent numerical data and convert
numerical data from one format to another
-
Be able to explain how an instruction is executed and the concept of datapaths and control
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Be able to explain basic instruction level parallelism using pipelining and the major hazards that may occur
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Be able to explain the effect of memory latency on running time; be able to describe the use of memory hierarchy to reduce the effective memory latency, in
particular, the role of cache and virtual memory; be able to understand the principles of memory management
-
Be able to explain the basic I/O implementation and data transfers
Prerequisites: C or better in ECE303, or both CS265 and
ECE301
(Assembly Language Programming (CS 265) and Digital
Electronics (ECE 301)) OR ECE 303. Students not satisfying the prerequisites
will be dropped from the class.
Textbook
Class Attendance
Required. Please arrive on time. I
expect to start at 4:30 sharp; Please
participate in class! Ask questions if there is something you don't understand.
Grading Policies
There will also be written homeworks, a in-class midterm exam, and a final exam.
Both the final and midterm
are open-book and open-notes. The final exam will be comprehensive,
i.e., it will cover the entire course. Missed exams must be arranged with the
instructor BEFORE the exam. Documentation of the illness (doctor's note)
is required. No early exams will be given and make-up exams are strongly
discouraged.
End-of-semester numeric scores will be weighted as follows (tentative
plan):
- 40% Assignments
- 60% Exams
In order to obtain an A, your final score
should be at least 90. A total score of 49 or less will result in an F.
Late Policy
Late homework will be accepted with a
penalty of 20% per day within 3 days after deadlines and will not be accepted
three days after due, unless under prearranged conditions.
Honor Code
You are expected to abide by
the honor code. All assignments and exams are individual efforts. Please
refer to GMU Academic
Policies and Computer
Science Department Honor Code. Any violation of the honor code will
result in a zero of the assignment/exam, and may result in an F for the class.
School Calendar
Disability