Digital Computer Systems

EE 444
Teaching Staff
Jianmin Zou

Office: T-611
Office hours: M,W 2:00-3:30PM
jzou@ccny.cuny.edu
Goals of this Course
Understand how computers work
Understand the relationship between
assembly language, machine language,
and high-level language
Understand the interaction between
software and hardware
Understand the basics of computer
hardware design

Why do you need to learn
this?
To write more efficient programs
To design better computer systems
To be able to use computers in different
applications and environments
To be able to analyze the performance of
any computer system
To be able to make a purchasing decision or
offer expert advice
Grading
Homeworks 10%
Mid-term 1 25% (around mid-Mar)
Mid-term 2 25% (around mid-Apr)
Final (cumulative) 40%

All the exams are open books/notes
No need to memorize

Homeworks
Homeworks are due at the start of the
lecture
Absolutely no late homeworks are accepted
Homeworks done in individual and later
groups of at most 3 students
If I feel that you copied the solutions
from previous semesters, youll get a zero
in that homework.
SoHow to get an A in this
course?
You have three sources of information:
These lectures (on the course web page)
Your own notes (lectures are not enough)
The textbook (webpage shows which sections to read)
Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface,
4
th
Edition Morgan Kaufmann; (October 2008)
Never wait till near the exam to study
Always ask about anything you dont understand. Never be
shy!
Dont memorize!
SoWhat is a computer?
The Computer is only a fast idiot, it has no imagination;
it cannot originate action. It is, and will remain, only a tool
to human beings.
American Library Associations reaction to UNIVAC computer
Exhibit at the 1964 New York Worlds fair.
Computers
are dumb!
Basic computer Operations

The Motherboard
Processors
Opening the Box of Laptop
Classes of Computers
Desktop computers
General purpose, variety of software
Subject to cost/performance tradeoff
Server computers
Network based
High capacity, performance, reliability
Range from small servers to building sized
Embedded computers
Hidden as components of systems
Stringent power/performance/cost
constraints
The Processor Market
It all starts with a problem
Automating Algorithm
Execution
Algorithm development
A detailed know-how
Granularity depends on the machine
Done with human brain power
Algorithm execution
Sequencing
Execution

Two Side Effects
Algorithm must handle different set
of inputs
Algorithm must be presented in a
formal way
Hardware and Software
Hardware Organization
Control Unit
Memory
CPU
Data Path
Input
Output
Storage
Hardware vs Software
Logically equivalent
Price/performance
Depends on the application
Computer History
Eckert and Mauchly



1
st
working electronic
computer (1946)
18,000 Vacuum tubes
1,800 instructions/sec
3,000 ft
3
Computer History
Maurice Wilkes




1
st
stored program
computer
650 instructions/sec
1,400 ft
3
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/UoCCL/misc/EDSAC99/
EDSAC 1 (1949)
Intel 4004 Die Photo
Introduced in 1970
First
microprocessor
2,250 transistors
12 mm
2
108 KHz



Intel 8086 Die Scan
29,000 transistors
33 mm
2
5 MHz
Introduced in 1979
Basic architecture
of the IA32 PC


Intel 80486 Die Scan
1,200,000
transistors
81 mm
2
25 MHz
Introduced in 1989
1
st
pipelined
implementation of
IA32


Pentium Die Photo
3,100,000
transistors
296 mm
2
60 MHz
Introduced in 1993
1
st
superscalar
implementation of
IA32
Pentium III
9,500,000
transistors
125 mm
2
450 MHz
Introduced in 1999

http://www.intel.com/intel/museum/25anniv/hof/hof_main.htm
Pentium 4
55,000,000
transistors
146 mm
2
3 GHz
Introduced in 2000

http://www.chip-architect.com

Pentium 4
IBM Power 5
Core Duo (Yonah)
Core 2 Duo
(Merom)
Montecito Cell Processor
Niagara
(SUN UltraSparc T1)
Inside the Processor
AMD Barcelona: 4 processor cores
Year
T
r
a
n
s
i
s
t
o
r
s
1000
10000
100000
1000000
10000000
100000000
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
i80386
i4004
i8080
Pentium
i80486
i80286
i8086
Technology Trends:
Microprocessor Complexity
2X transistors/Chip
Every 1.5 years

Called
Moores Law
Alpha 21264: 15 million
Pentium Pro: 5.5 million
PowerPC 620: 6.9 million
Alpha 21164: 9.3 million
Sparc Ultra: 5.2 million
Moores Law
Athlon (K7): 22 Million
Itanium 2: 41 Million
Moores Law
Computer Technology
Memory
DRAM capacity: 2x / 2 years (since 96);
64x size improvement in last decade.
Processor
Speed 2x / 1.5 years (since 85);
100X performance in last decade.
Disk
Capacity: 2x / 1 year (since 97)
250X size in last decade.
End of Lecture 1!