On Wednesday, August 6th, you will be asked to write a paper based on what you've learned by researching current and near future high-end desktop and server CPU and GPU designs. The actual topic will not be announced in advance. However, here are some possibilities to give you an idea of the kind of topics that may be posed:
The purpose of this assignment is to expose you to contemporary CPU and GPU architectures. The textbook contains foundational, abstract material. Researching this project will give a chance to learn about real world applications and alternate perspectives.
When reading the articles, you should focus on the things relevant to this class: the design of the data path, pipeline depth, number of functional units, caching and branching strategies, the relationship between the instruction-set and the hardware used to recognize it, etc. Expect to spend 15-20 hours assimilating data.
First, read the book — the 3rd edition contains a lot of good information about architectures other than MIPS. Next: scour the web. The following links are provided to get you started on your research — you are expected to find other sources of information!
In case you're curious, this is the set of links (which haven't been tested, so some may be dead) I gave the students in a previous semester. You may find them helpful — having a sense of history will enable to you better understand the future — but the focus of the paper will not be on what was cutting edge three years ago!
BONUS: at the beginning of the period on Monday, April 24th, turn in mechanically printed a bibliography that documents your information sources. Each citation must include a 1-2 sentence synopsis of the content. URLs should be to specific pages—not just to the host site; if the site uses a frame interface, identify the selections necessary to reach the data. Here's an example of what I expect:
CDA3101 2008F Term Paper Bibliography Dave Small 1> http://www.somewhere.net/MULE.html - Compares the suitability of Silicon Graphic Workstations and Commodore 64s for playing the game M.U.L.E. 2> "CDA Related Stuff," BYTE Magazine Vol 35 Num 7 (July 2000) pp33-49; Describes and compares Foo and Bar CPU architectures. 3> http://www.elsewhere.com/frame.html - (select "CPU" and "uLE") Discusses the uLE (muLE) CPU designed specifically for the game M.U.L.E.
The number of bonus points awarded will depend upon the quality of the bibliography. Those that cite many good resources that I didn't guide you to will be worth the most. Uninteresting bibliographies won't be worth much, if anything. (Yes, I know about the existence of online dictionaries and encyclopedias. Having a bunch of links defining terms like "TLB" is not particularly interesting).
On Monday, April 24th, you will be assigned a specific topic asked to write a paper during the regular class period based upon the research you did. To score well, a paper must demonstrate that you researched and understand many different manufacturer's approaches. You also need to demonstrate the ability to think critically: papers of the form "I think the new Ring CPU will dominate because I read this website that said it was cool and was engraved with the line 'one ring to rule them all'" will not be viewed favorably.
As a mnemonic aide, prepare — and don't forget to bring! — a single 3"x5" card with what ever handwritten information you want on the front side; the backside must be blank except for the following information:
Note: points will be deducted if your card does not conform to the description above!