CS/ECE 752 Advanced Computer Architecture I
Instructor: Karu Sankaralingam; URL: http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~karu
Meeting time: MECH ENGR 1143, 01:00 PM - 02:15 PM, MWF
Office hours: Monday,Wednesday 3-4pm, Thursday: 11-12am
TA: Derek Hower
Course URL: http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~karu/courses/cs752/Spring2007/
Mailing list: compsci752-1-s07@lists.wisc.edu
Syllabus
Course title | Instructor | TA | Class meeting | Class information | Required Texts and References | PrerequisitesCourse objective | Evaluation | Academic Misconduct Policy
Course title
Advanced Computer Architecture 1
CS/ECE 752
Instructor
Karu Sankaralingam
TA
Derek Hower
Meeting
MECH ENGR 1143, 01:00 PM - 02:15 PM, MWF
Class information
Web: http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~karu/courses/cs752/Spring2007
Email list: You should already be subscribed to compsci752-1-s07@lists.wisc.edu
Required Texts and References
John L. Hennessy and David A. Patterson,
Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach
Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, Fourth Edition, 2006.
Mark D. Hill, Norman P. Jouppi, and Gurindar S. Sohi
Readings in Computer Architecture
Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2000.
Prerequisites
Students must have graduate standing and have successfully completed
an undergraduate-level computer architecture course and be well-versed
in how a basic computer works, assembly language programming,
pipelining, caching, and virtual memory. Students lacking this
knowledge may be able to catch up by reviewing the prior material
during the first week of the semester. CS/ECE 552 as is taught is the
important prerequisite. CS 537 is also a prerequisite, but it is less
important.
Course objective
Computer architecture is the science and art of selecting and
interconnecting hardware components to create a computer that meets
functional, performance and cost goals. This course qualitatively and
quantitatively examines computer design tradeoffs. We will learn, for
example, how uniprocessors execute many instructions concurrently and
why state-of-the-art memory systems are nearly as complex as
processors. We will also learn how VLSI technology has evolved and
influenced the design of ISAs and the internal working of
processors. At the end of this course you will be able to appreciate,
the technical rationale behind the clock-speed race in the 90s, reason
for its demise, and the reasons why industry is moving towards
multi-core chips.
This course will involve a large project component and a
significant amount of paper reading. In the project you will undertake
an analysis of processor microarchitecture and write up a conference
style paper. You will need to submit a short paper review at the
begining of each class.
Evaluation
Your performance in this class will be evaluated through class
participation, homework assignments, two in-class exams, and a final
project. Your performance in this class will be determined by you! It
will require a strong dedication to learning the material and could
require a substantial time commitment to complete the assignments and
project. The weights of each of these components is listed below:
- 40% Project
- 20% Exam 1
- 20% Exam 2
- 15% Homework & Reviews
- 5% Class Participation
A substantial component of this course is the project. The final project will be due at the end of the semester with a project proposal and a progress report required during the course of the semester. Dates are posted on the class schedule page and project page.
There will be 2 in-class exams. The first is scheduled for March 5th and will cover material presented up to and including March 2nd. The second exam is scheduled for April 18th and will cover all the material presented in the course.
Homework assignments will be assigned approximately every other week and are due at the begining of class. Submit clearly legible hand-written or machine-printed assignments. You have a "late account" of 3 days for the semester which you can spend any way you choose. For example, you can turn in three homework assignments one day late each, or one homework assignment 3 days late, without penalty. Once you have exhausted your late account, no late assignments will be accepted. Late account days cannot be applied to the project.
The course schedule lists reading material for each lecture. You are
responsible for reading this material prior to the lecture. The text
will be supplemented by conference and journal papers available in a
course reader listed on the course page. These reading assignments are
required and the papers will be discussed in class. You should read
these papers before class and submit a short review of each paper by
email before class. The reviews will be evaluated. The class
participation grade will be assigned based on students contributions
in class during the paper discussions and lectures.
Academic Misconduct Policy
All students should adhere to UW
Student Code of Conduct. University and L&S Policies will be
followed strictly in this course.