Computer Science and Engineering
CSE 120 Computer Architecture
Introduction to computer architecture including examples of current approaches and the effect of technology and software. Computer performance evaluation, basic combinatorial and sequential digital components, different instruction set architectures with a focus on the MIPS ISA and RISC paradigm. Evolution of CPU microarchitecture from single-cycle to multi-cycle pipelines, with overview of super-scalar, multiple-issue and VLIW. Memory system, cache, virtual memory and relationship between memory and performance. Evolution of PC system architecture. May include advanced topics, such as parallel processing, MIMD, and SIMD.