Computer Organization and Design Wrap Up! Montek Singh Wed, Dec 4, 2013

What else can we do? … to improve speed?

Multicore/multiprocessor  Use more than one processor = multiprocessor called multicore when they are all on the same chip called multicore when they are all on the same chip  read all about it in Chapter 7 of textbook FIGURE 7.2 Classic organization of a shared memory multiprocessor. Copyright © 2009 Elsevier, Inc.

GPUs for data-intensive tasks  Originally developed for graphics Now rapidly gaining importance for general-purpose computing Now rapidly gaining importance for general-purpose computing Main advantages Main advantages  Massively data-parallel  Fast memory architectures

Nanotechnology  Nanoelectronics DNA based self-assembled electronics DNA based self-assembled electronics  Use DNA to fabricate tinier transistors than possible today using laser/lithographic techniques

Energy-efficient design  Many many research directions… A new and very interesting one is “energy harvesting” A new and very interesting one is “energy harvesting”

That’s it folks! So, what did we learn this semester?

What we learnt this semester  You now have a pretty good idea about how computers are designed and how they work: How data and instructions are represented How data and instructions are represented How arithmetic and logic operations are performed How arithmetic and logic operations are performed How ALU and control circuits are implemented How ALU and control circuits are implemented How registers and the memory hierarchy are implemented How registers and the memory hierarchy are implemented How performance is measured How performance is measured How performance is increased via pipelining How performance is increased via pipelining  Lots of lower-level programming experience: C and MIPS C and MIPS  This is how programs are actually executed!  This is how OS/networking code is actually written!  Java and other higher-level languages are convenient high-level abstractions. You probably have new appreciation for them!

Grades? We are trying to wrap up all grading! Your final grades will be on Sakai by Thursday evening. Also, don’t forget to submit your course evaluation!