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ECE 4504 - Computer Organization (3C)

Course Description

Overview of the structure, elements and analysis of modern enterprise computers. Performance evaluation of commercial computing. Past and emerging technology trends. Impact of parallelism at multiple levels of computer architecture. Memory and storage. Fundamental computer system descriptions, Amdahl's Law, Flynn's and Taxonomy.

Why take this course?

A senior level elective in computer organization is a standard part of most computer engineering and computer science programs. While all CPE and CS students get a basic foundation in computer organization in lower-level required courses, students who wish to pursue careers or graduate study in computer architecture or computer systems need an advanced course that covers the principles and contemporary trends in computer organization.

Learning Objectives

  • Compare several recent commercial computer architectures.
  • Distinguish different categories of parallelism in computer architecture.
  • Analyze computer systems using Amdahl's Law.
  • Describe how processors and memory interact to affect performance.
  • Use metrics to evaluate architectural features.