Prof. Sanjeev Setia
setia@cs.gmu.edu
703-993-4098
This course provides an introduction to the fundamental concepts in computer architecture.
Assembly Language Programming (CS 265) and Digital Electronics (ECE 301). Students not satisfying the prerequisites will be dropped from the class.
The textbook for this class is Computer Organization & Design: The Hardware Software Interface by D. Patterson and J. Hennessy (2nd Edition, Morgan Kaufmann, 1997). Another text by the same authors Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach (Morgan Kaufmann, 1996) can be used as a reference text for advanced topics.
| Week 1: | Introduction (Ch. 1); Instructions (Ch 3) |
| Week 2: | Instructions (Ch 3) |
| Week 3: | Instructions (Ch 3); Performance (Ch 2); |
| Week 4: | Performance (Ch 2); Arithmetic (Ch 4) |
| Week 5: | Arithmetic (Ch. 4) |
| Week 6: | Arithmetic; Midterm I; |
| Week 7: | Processor (Ch 5) |
| Week 8: | Processor (Ch 5) |
| Week 9: | Processor (Ch 5); |
| Week 10: | Processor (Ch 5); Memory (Ch 7) |
| Week 11: | Memory (Ch. 7); |
| Week 12: | Midterm II; I/O (Ch 8) |
| Week 13: | I/O (Ch. 8); |
| Week 14: | Pipelining (Ch. 6) |
| Week 15: | Review |
The grade for the course will be based on the following components: (i) Assignments (40%) (ii) Weekly quizzes (10%) (iii) Mid-term exams (30%) (iv) Final exam (15%) (v) Class participation (5%). All exams will be closed book. The final exam will be comprehensive, i.e., it will cover the entire course.
In order to obtain an A, your final score should be at least 90%. A score below 50% will result in an F.
There will be homework assigned regularly. At least three of the assignments will require 2-3 weeks of effort and will carry more weight than other assigned homework. All assignments have to be done individually by each student.
You are expected to abide by the University's honor code; specifically, collaboration among students on homework assignments is considered unacceptable. Any violation of the honor code will result in an F for the class.
Mid-term exam I: March 4(tentative)
Mid-term exam II: April 15 (tentative)
Final exam: TBA
Mondays 2-4 pm in my office (Room 347, S&T II)
TBA
All handouts and other course material will be available at URL http://www.cs.gmu.edu/~setia/cs365
If you're planning to use the computers on campus for doing your projects, please obtain an IT&E labs account or a Mason Cluster account.