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Last Semester's Paper: IBM 970 Microprocessor
Last semester's project was to write a comprehensive paper on the IBM 970 processor architecture. While not wishing to dictate the size of the paper, a comprehensive paper would probably be between 10 and 20 pages in length.
You should begin with discussion of the original IBM POWER architecture and its evolution into the 970 architecture.
The discussion of the 970 should include a description of the
- fetch-execute cycle
- memory structure
- typical addressing modes, and
- representative examples of the 3 classes of instructions.
- It should also include a comparative discussion of performance and power dissipation relative to the highest-end Intel or AMD x86 processor. Performance data should include the relative SPEC benchmarks.
Your paper should include a bibliography in which you cite all references used. Good sources for information include the IBM web site, IEEE Computer, IEEE Micro, CACM, Byte and other trade magazines, and various paperback and hardcover books that can be found in the Library or any good bookstore. As graduate students you should be prepared to search the literature to find what you need. You may wish to call the manufacturer to get literature; most are willing to provide single copies at no cost. There are also many independent web pages devoted to this topic.
The most important criterion for judging the quality of the paper is that you demonstrate that you truly understand the processor architecture and instruction set, so you should not just Xerox pages from the manual and paste them into the paper. Rather, it is most important that you explain in your own words how the processor and its instruction classes work.
I will entertain proposals for special projects, however there should be a firm justification for why you wish to do this.
General Information
This paper will count for 20% of your final course grade, and is due at 5pm on the date of the final exam, or one week later for CATECS students.
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