Transcript Document

Cpt_S 260: Lecture 1: Introduction
• This week’s topics:
 logistics
 information technology trends (new applications)
 why computer architecture?
 modern trends affecting processor design
 assessing computer performance
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Logistics
• See class web-page
http://eecs.wsu.edu/~hassan/cs260
• TA:
– Yuchen Hou ([email protected])
– Office: Sloan 330
– Office hours: Tuesday & Thursday 12:50pm to 2:50pm
• Textbook: Computer Organization – HW/SW Interface,
Patterson and Hennessy, 4rd edition
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Course Organization
• Grading
• 15% midterm1 (late September)
• 20% midterm2 (late October)
• 30% final
• 35% assignments
• See class web site for tests exact date/location
•~10 assignments – assignments due at the start of class
(either paper or electronic)
• Co-operation policy: you may discuss – you may not
see someone else’s written matter when writing your
solution
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Computer Revolution
• Smart phones
• Smart watches
• Smart cars
• Smart homes
• Google glass
• Wearable sensor networks
• Genome sequencing
• Internet
• Search Engines
• Future glass technologies
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZkHpNnXLB0
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Embedded Processors Evolution
• 91% of adults have a cell phone today! (according to PEW
project survey)
• Embedded processors are becoming part of our everyday
life
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Why Computer Architecture?
• Yes, I know, required class…
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Why Computer Organization
• Embarrassing if you are a BS in CS and can’t
make sense of the following terms: DRAM, pipelining,
cache hierarchies, I/O, virtual memory
• Embarrassing if you are a BS in CS and can’t decide
which processor to buy: 3 GHz P4 or 2.5 GHz Athlon
(helps us reason about performance/power)
• Obvious first step for chip designers, compiler/OS writers
• Will knowledge of the hardware help me write better
programs?
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Must a Programmer Care About Hardware?
• Memory management: if we understand how/where data
is placed, we can help ensure that relevant data is nearby
• Thread management: if we understand how threads
interact, we can write smarter multi-threaded programs
 Why do we care about multi-threaded programs?
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