HW Assignment 5

1- (41 points) Define the following concepts:

• (4 points) Von Neumann Computer Architecture (Stored Program computer)
It is the basic design principal of computer architecture. It means that there is one main
memory which stores the instructions and data.
• (2 points) Program Counter (PC) or instruction pointer
Program counter holds the address of instructions executing at that time.
• (2 points) Instruction register
Instruction register is the register which holds the instruction being processed in processor.
• (5 points) CPU and CPU registers
CPU is the Central Processing Unit consist of Registers, ALU and (CU) control unit. CPU
registers are the memory units build on processor. They are a lot faster than external
memory.
• (2 points) Opcode with an example.
Opcode are the code of instructions which are known to CPU. By which processor recognize
the instructions and send the control signals. Example: MOV, ADD
• (2 points) opcode table.
It consists of all opcodes of instructions which can be recognized by the processor. And they
specify the operation performed by the instruction
• (2 points) Instruction set
It is the set of all instructions performed by the processor.
• (2 points) ALU
ALU stands for Arithmetic Logic Unit. It performs all Arithmetic and logical operations
offered by the processor. It is built in the CU.
• (2 points) Computer Bus
Computer buses are like wires. They provide communication between different parts of
computer parts. They transfer data to different parts.
• (4 points) Control unit
Control unit is the one responsible for decoding instruction to what is it is for. OR
interpreting the instructions.

• (14 points) Performance and important performance metrics in processors (explain each
one)
Efficiency: It is fraction of time which processor spent while doing the useful task.
Latency: It is the delay time between start of process and the operation of process.
Throughput: The amount of work done per unit time.
Relative Performance : Comparison of the Computer A to Computer B. It is the ratio of
CompA/CompB.
There are many factors which effects the performance of processor.

2- (4 points) which of these processors are faster? Explain why.

a) A 3.2 GHz processor with three cores , or a 8.4 GHz processor with one core?
3.2 GHz Processor with three cores is faster than other one.

b) A 1-core processor that supports serial processing, or a 2-core processor that supports
parallel processing?
 Parallel processing is faster than serial processing. So 2-core processor with parallel
processing will be faster.

3- (15 points) In the following figure, show what happens to the content of memory, ALU registers
and the status of the control unit through the 4-phases of executing the instructions M1 to M5.
Support program counter is initially holding the address of instruction M1. (hint: to get some help,
refer to slide 38~43 in ppt slides).

 CU goes to M1 , copies it into IR , it interprets the instruction and executes it in REG1

 Moves IP to M2, then to the IR, then to the REG2 of the ALU.
 IP to M3 which adds REG1 and REG2 values, and it gets put into the ALU
 Then the pointer goes to M4, which goes to the IR, which then takes the accumulator
value and puts it in M5.

4- (5 points) Using the following opcode table, what is the binary machine language for MOVE?
How many bits should be used to represent the opcode? How many different instructions this
number of bits can represent? Why?

The Opcode of MOV instruction is (1010 0000) 2

There are 8-bits to represent move instruction opcode

The total number of different instructions can be 2^8= 256 instructions

5- (8 points) Explain what happens at each phase of an instruction cycle?

 Fetch: Instruction pointer fetch the instruction and PC points towards an instruction in
memory.
 Interpret: Instruction is then loaded into the instruction register (IR).
 Execute: Moved to the ALU where the arithmetic operations are performed.
 Next Instruction: Instruction pointer then points at the next memory Address.

6- (6 points) What type of processors in terms of instruction set performance metric is used in a)
laptops, b) in handheld devices (like iphones). Provide an example for each.

a) laptops uses different variations of processors like Core i5,i7,i3

b) Handheld devices like iPhone uses ARM processors.

7- (12 points) Describe different types of instruction formats. Give an example for each type and
include the RTL notation.

Operation, Address 1, Address 2, Address 3 Eg: [Address 1] <- [Address 2] Operation [Address 3]

Dest, sour1, sour2 Ex. A <- B ADD C

Sour1, sour2, Dest Ex. A <- B ADD C

8- (9 points) Research Question: Use the links to x86 and ARM processor instruction sets in slide 32
and compare them in a table.

x86 ARM
a) x86 is CISC (Complex Instruction Set a) ARM is RISC (Reduced Instruction Set
Computing) Computing)
b) CISC instructions are complex. They take b) ARM processors follow the explicit load-
multiple CPU cycles to execute single and-store model.
instruction.
c) There are variable length instructions c) The length and fields are fixed