Introduction to Computer Architecture Supervision 3

Exercises

1. 2012 Paper 5 Question 3
2. 2004 Paper 3 Question 1, parts b), c) and d)
3. 2008 Paper 6 Question 2
4. Case study: for a processor or system-on-chip of your choice (perhaps one you own), try to find as much of the following information as possible:
   • Its main components
   • Which instruction set(s) and extensions it supports
   • The core's pipeline structure, including numbers and types of functional units and number of available registers
   • Details of the memory hierarchy
   • What it does to reduce the effect of control and data dependencies
   • Its support for parallelism and prediction (if any)
   • What it can do to improve performance and/or power efficiency
   • Its clock speed and fabrication process (e.g. 28/40/65 nm)
   • How it has been tailored to its target market, and the compromises which had to be made
   • How it improved on its predecessor (if any) and how it was improved upon by its successor (if any)
   • Any other noteworthy features or design decisions
   • (Bonus points if you can find or produce a labelled image of the various parts of the chip)
   You may find useful information in the manufacturer's developers' guides, technology review sites, Wikipedia, etc.