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 materials: 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 sections: 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 Requirements: All of the material on the companion CD-ROM, except for the three simulators, can be used on any system with the following: 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 Web-site: There is a Web-site associated with this book and its companion CD-ROM, http://computer.org/books/anatomy (see inside front flap)

Bruce Shriver received his PhD in Computer Science from SUNY/Buffalo. He has published and lectured internationally in the design and implementation of computer hardware and software systems. Shriver was made an IEEE Fellow for his work in Computer Systems Organization and Microprogramming. He was president of the IEEE Computer Society in 1992. He has been editor-in-chief of Computer and IEEE Software and the program or general chair of over 35 international meetings. Bruce was Department Group Manager of Software Technology at IBM's T. J. Watson Research Center. He was Vice-President for Research at the University of Southwestern Louisiana where he also held an Eminent Scholar Chair in Computer Science. He is an adjunct professor of Computer Science at the University of Tromso in Norway. Shriver is currently a consultant in high-performance computer systems (hardware and software), as well as intellectual property and related areas. Bruce Shriver ca be contacted at: http://www.genesis2.com/genesis2/

Bennett Smith is a consultant in microprocessors, computing-platforms, and related intellectual property. He is co-inventor on three branch-prediction patents. He is also a registered patent agent and has written specifications or contributed strategic claims in over 20 issued patents since 1993. Smith received his BSEE in 1980 from Texas A&M and subsequently worked as an IC designer at Texas Instruments and Hewlett-Packard. In 1984, he received his MSEE from UC Berkeley, where he studied microprocessor logic design and wrote his thesis under Nick Tredennick. He worked on processor projects during 1984-1989 at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center (on the Micro/370) and at NexGen (on the Nx586, as employee number 6). Smith did design and intellectual property consulting during 1989-1992 for Tredennick, Incorporated. He managed NexGen's intellectual property activities during 1993-1995. He is an IEEE member, is married, has four children, and lives and works in Palo Alto, California. Bennett Smith can be contacted at: http://www.wbsmith.com/