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The Anatomy of a High-Performance Microprocessor: A Systems Perspective
"A rare look into high-performance main-stream processors exposed with clarity and elegance". —Harold Stone, NEC Research Institute "A unique combination of a very well developed, scholarly, thorough, long-term, perspective with detailed hands-on insight into actual current industrial practices". —Tore Larsen, Princeton University and University of Tromso "There are few books on the market which can compete with this text either in the technical depth of the presentation, or the completeness of the coverage". —Ron Hoelzeman, University of Pittsburgh "The best and easiest way to learn how the latest superscalar microprocessors really work. Not only are the microarchitectural features well presented, but they are presented along with a historical context which shows that the new microprocessors have inherited much from the supercomputers of the 60's and 70's". —Edmund Gallizzi, Eckerd College This work describes in detail the microarchitecture of a high-performance microprocessor, giving an integrated treatment of platform and systems issues relating to the design and implementation of microprocessor-based systems. Unique in content and approach, the accompanying interactive CD-ROM provides multiple books and a wide variety of Complete data books Articles from journals and conference proceedings Manuscripts of important historical interest IEEE and Industry standards VHDL and Verilog simulators Numerous video and audio clips Complete text of the book, including figures and tables Shriver and Smith use AMD's K6 3D microprocessor as a "case study" basis for discussions on microarchitecture issues and increasingly important industry specfications and platforms on systems issues. This book is an important reference for individuals building systems using microprocessors and readers looking for significant insights into fundamental design guidelines that transcend the design, implementation, and use of a specific microprocessor. Practitioners, academics, and technical and product managers alike will benefit from this detailed overview of microprocessors, platforms, and systems for years in the future. The main Microprocessors, Platforms, and Systems A Microarchitecture Case Study The K6 3D Microarchitecture Technology Components of Platform Architecture Platform Memory Technology Platform Optimization Techniques and Directions System All of the material on the companion CD-ROM, except for the three simulators, can be used on any system with the A CD-ROM reader, a video board, and a sound card Acrobat Reader with Search Version 3.01 or higher All of the standard plug-ins installed including the Search, Movie, and Weblink plug-ins Adobe Acrobat Readers with Search Version 3.01 for Windows systems and some versions of Unix are included on the companion CD-ROM. The Acrobat Reader with Search for Mac systems, as well as for the operating systems with which the Reader or the Reader with Search (strongly recommended) can be used, is available on Adobe's Web-site UNIX users may have to install a .MOV and .WAV viewer for their specific system The simulators can only be installed on Windows 95 or Windows NT systems There is a Web-site associated with this book and its companion CD-ROM, (see inside front flap)
546 pages, Hardcover
First published June 4, 1998
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April 17, 2012
absolutely stellar bibliography and references -- thanks, guys! good editing, also.
truly tremendous depth in covering the AMD K6, but that's what happens when the chip's architects write the book, and all of AMD and what seems all their buddies are there to consult. everything that chicanerous The Unabridged Pentium 4 ought have been, but utterly failed to be. there's details here regarding things like the branch prediction and pipeline's µarch that i hadn't seen anywhere, including the academic literature, IEEE Spectrum, Microprocessor Report, the samizdat tables of Freeman Agner Fog (peace be upon him), and AMDs woeful, substandard optimization/system programmer manuals.
thorough coverage is also given to the 3DNow!/MMX extensions of yesteryear, and also the system interconnects (though I'd not have minded a bit more detail regarding AMDs PCI southbridge of the time).
the writeup of the control/dispatch units, complete with pseudo-RTL, is breathtaking. one could write a pretty damn faithful simulator from this text, something you can't say about even the landmark CDC6600, Cray-1 and Alpha 21364 papers.
that having been said, the book's likely inscrutable without something more theoretical -- perhaps The Design of Superscalar Microprocessors or Modern Processor Design (the architecture of pipelined computers is sadly just a bit too old these days), or even -- everyone's whore -- good ol' P&H Computer Architecture a Quantitative Approach (4th edition or newer, if you do please!).
worth it for less than $40 to any serious student of computer architecture. the $200+ prices one typically sees, though, are only for the most plenitudinously burdened. at that price, you could just buy a bucket of K6s and destructively experiment.
Polycrystalline silicon ahoy! 26, 24 hours ago, i wanna be...low-pressure chemical-vapour deposited! god bless these magnificent machines, and the men who tame them.
(all pictures taken by Nick Black at the Georgia Institute of Technology's Marcus Nanoscience Reesearch Center, where i sometimes moonlight)
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Hah, normally $262 but I got it for $7.95, w00t w00t
truly tremendous depth in covering the AMD K6, but that's what happens when the chip's architects write the book, and all of AMD and what seems all their buddies are there to consult. everything that chicanerous The Unabridged Pentium 4 ought have been, but utterly failed to be. there's details here regarding things like the branch prediction and pipeline's µarch that i hadn't seen anywhere, including the academic literature, IEEE Spectrum, Microprocessor Report, the samizdat tables of Freeman Agner Fog (peace be upon him), and AMDs woeful, substandard optimization/system programmer manuals.
thorough coverage is also given to the 3DNow!/MMX extensions of yesteryear, and also the system interconnects (though I'd not have minded a bit more detail regarding AMDs PCI southbridge of the time).
the writeup of the control/dispatch units, complete with pseudo-RTL, is breathtaking. one could write a pretty damn faithful simulator from this text, something you can't say about even the landmark CDC6600, Cray-1 and Alpha 21364 papers.
that having been said, the book's likely inscrutable without something more theoretical -- perhaps The Design of Superscalar Microprocessors or Modern Processor Design (the architecture of pipelined computers is sadly just a bit too old these days), or even -- everyone's whore -- good ol' P&H Computer Architecture a Quantitative Approach (4th edition or newer, if you do please!).
worth it for less than $40 to any serious student of computer architecture. the $200+ prices one typically sees, though, are only for the most plenitudinously burdened. at that price, you could just buy a bucket of K6s and destructively experiment.
Polycrystalline silicon ahoy! 26, 24 hours ago, i wanna be...low-pressure chemical-vapour deposited! god bless these magnificent machines, and the men who tame them.
(all pictures taken by Nick Black at the Georgia Institute of Technology's Marcus Nanoscience Reesearch Center, where i sometimes moonlight)
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Hah, normally $262 but I got it for $7.95, w00t w00t
Displaying 1 of 1 review