Week 1 Notes
Architecture
Architecture differences amber
The data path of a typical Von-Neumann machine amber
The Fetch Decode Execute cycle green
- Fetch:
- Fetch instruction from memory
- Change program counter to point to next instruction
- Decode:
- Determine type of instruction just fetched
- If instruction uses a word in memory, locate it
- Fetch data, if needed, into a CPU register
- Execute:
- Execute instructions
- Store:
- Store results back into memory
Superscalar Architectures red
Dual five-stage pipelines with a common instruction fetch unit.
A superscalar processor with five functional units.
Memory Hierarchies green
A five-level memory hierarchy.
Cache Memory amber
The cache is logically between the CPU and main memory
Physically, there are several possible places it could be located