Describe the major turning points in computer architecture as technology
A high-performance superscalar processor that supports out-of-order execution
March 21, 2023What are false (or name) dependencies and what hardware technique is often used to remove them within a processor?
March 21, 2023Describe the major turning points in computer architecture as technology
COMPUTER SCIENCE TRIPOS Part II – 2020 – Paper 9
Comparative Architectures (rdm34)
(a) The performance of single-chip computers has improved rapidly over the past 40
years. Describe the major turning points in computer architecture as technology,
applications and target markets have driven change. [10 marks]
(b) Your processor supports simultaneous multithreading (SMT) and has hardware
support for two threads. What characteristics would you consider when deciding
which two threads would be best to schedule together? [4 marks]
(c) An analysis of a multicore processor used within a datacentre suggests that its
performance could be improved by increasing the number of threads supported
in hardware. This could be done by adding more thread contexts to a core with
support for simultaneous multithreading and/or adding more cores. Contrast
these two different approaches and describe their limitations if we accept our
area budget (i.e. die size) is fixed. [6 marks]
