2. Fundamentals of Computer Design
Computer design principles address the trade-offs between cost, performance, and energy efficiency. Key factors influencing design decisions include modularity, scalability, and various performance metrics. The chapter explores the system design process, basic design styles, memory hierarchy, and the importance of energy efficiency in modern computing. Future trends highlight innovations such as quantum computing and AI-driven architectures.
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Sections
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What we have learnt
- Understanding the core principles that guide computer design.
- The importance of evaluating cost-performance trade-offs in system design.
- Emerging trends in computer design, including quantum computing and AI applications.
Key Concepts
- -- Abstraction
- The different levels of abstraction in design, such as hardware, instruction set, and software layers that simplify complex systems.
- -- Modularity
- The design principle of creating reusable and independent components to boost efficiency and ease of maintenance.
- -- Scalability
- The ability of a system to handle growth in demand by upgrading or integrating additional resources without requiring a complete redesign.
- -- Cost/Performance Tradeoff
- The balance between the cost of hardware components and the performance they deliver, critical in system design decisions.
- -- Virtual Memory
- A memory management technique that provides an 'idealized abstraction' of main memory, allowing large programs to operate within limited physical memory.
- -- Instruction Pipelining
- A technique used in CPUs where multiple instruction phases are overlapped to improve throughput.
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