CSE 141 -- Introduction to Computer Architecture

CSE 141 -- Introduction to Computer Architecture

Winter 2023, Instructor: Dean Tullsen

Basic Course Information (for the full syllabus, please log on to Canvas):

Instructor: Dean Tullsen

Meeting times and places

Lecture: FAH 1301, TuTh 3:30-4:50
discussion: WLH 2005, W 4-4:50

Course textbook (required!!)

Patterson & Hennessy, "Computer Organization and Design -- The Hardware/Software Interface", Morgan Kaufmann, Fifth Edition

Other recommended reading

Hennesy & Patterson, "Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach", Morgan Kaufmann

a more advanced treatment of many of the same topics in the textbook, as well as a lot more breadth.

Synthesis Lectures on Computer Architecture

This contains a number of truly outstanding (and very recent and up-to-date) books on computer architecture, any of which you can download free while in the UCSD domain. In particular, see the books on Processor Microarchitecture (most useful for this class), Performance Evaluation Methods, Memory System, and Multithreading Architectures.

iclickers -- I plan to use them.

For most communication, we will use Piazza or maybe Slack.

Assignments:

You will always have at least a week to do homework assignments. When seeking help from instructor and TA, avoid the crowds and come early. Office hours are crowded and less effective right before an assignment is due. Also, think about coming after an assignment is due (or returned) to clear up (your) mistakes, etc.
Homework assignments must be typed (typeset).

I will make copies of selected slides available to you before class online in pdf format. The slides will not always be complete, but will make a nice start to your own notetaking. In general, look for them early morning the day of class. I will post the slides on Piazza. You will find them fairly essential for decent note-taking.

Course Outline:

II. Computer System Performance and Performance Metrics

III. Computer Arithmetic and Number Systems

IV. CPU Architecture

V. Pipelining

VI. Superscalars

VII. The Memory/Cache Hierarchy

VIII. Multicores, Multithreading, and Multiprocessors

IX. (as time allows) Secure Architectures

Grading Information:

The grade for 141 will be based on homeworks, clicker participation, a midterm, and a final.
The final will be inclusive of all course material.
The final exam is March 21, and the midterm exam is (perhaps) Feb 14. Due to the size of the class, I will not have the ability to accommodate students who cannot make those dates, so please make sure you will be there.