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Computer architecture and design interview questions

Last post 03-04-2008, 1:00 AM by Anonymous. 2 replies.
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  •  01-07-2008, 3:20 AM 347

    Computer architecture and design interview questions

    1.What is pipelining?

               2.What are the five stages in a DLX pipeline?

                Instruction Fetch Stage
              Instruction Decode Stage
               Instruction Execution Stage
               Memory Stage
             Write Back

    3.For a pipeline with ‘n’ stages, what’s the ideal throughput? What prevents us from achieving this ideal throughput?

    4.What are the different hazards? How do you avoid them?

    5.Instead of just 5-8 pipe stages why not have, say, a pipeline with 50 pipe stages?

    6.What are Branch Prediction and Branch Target Buffers?

    7.How do you handle precise exceptions or interrupts?

    8.What is a cache?

    9.What’s the difference between Write-Through and Write-Back Caches? Explain advantages and disadvantages of each.

    10.Cache Size is 64KB, Block size is 32B and the cache is Two-Way Set Associative. For a 32-bit physical address, give the division between Block Offset, Index and Tag.

    11.What is Virtual Memory?

    12.What is Cache Coherency?

    13.What is MESI?

             MESI is a Cache Coherency protocol used in multi-processor systems to indicate the state in which the data in the cache of a particular processor is. It stands of Modified, Exclusive, Shared and Invalid

    14.What is a Snooping cache?

    15.What are the components in a Microprocessor?

    16.What is ACBF(Hex) divided by 16?

    17.Convert 65(Hex) to Binary

    18.Convert a number to its two’s compliment and back

    19.The CPU is busy but you want to stop and do some other task. How do you do it?

  •  03-02-2008, 4:24 AM 750 in reply to 347

    Re: Computer architecture and design interview questions

    cHardware:

    1.What is pipelining?

               2.What are the five stages in a DLX pipeline?

                Instruction Fetch Stage
              Instruction Decode Stage
               Instruction Execution Stage
               Memory Stage
             Write Back

    3.For a pipeline with ‘n’ stages, what’s the ideal throughput? What prevents us from achieving this ideal throughput?

    4.What are the different hazards? How do you avoid them?

    5.Instead of just 5-8 pipe stages why not have, say, a pipeline with 50 pipe stages?

    6.What are Branch Prediction and Branch Target Buffers?

    7.How do you handle precise exceptions or interrupts?

    8.What is a cache?

    9.What’s the difference between Write-Through and Write-Back Caches? Explain advantages and disadvantages of each.

    10.Cache Size is 64KB, Block size is 32B and the cache is Two-Way Set Associative. For a 32-bit physical address, give the division between Block Offset, Index and Tag.

    11.What is Virtual Memory?

    12.What is Cache Coherency?

    13.What is MESI?

             MESI is a Cache Coherency protocol used in multi-processor systems to indicate the state in which the data in the cache of a particular processor is. It stands of Modified, Exclusive, Shared and Invalid

    14.What is a Snooping cache?

    15.What are the components in a Microprocessor?

    16.What is ACBF(Hex) divided by 16?

    17.Convert 65(Hex) to Binary

    18.Convert a number to its two’s compliment and back

    19.The CPU is busy but you want to stop and do some other task. How do you do it?

  •  03-04-2008, 1:00 AM 751 in reply to 347

    Re: Computer architecture and design interview questions

    cHardware:

    1.What is pipelining?

               2.What are the five stages in a DLX pipeline?

                Instruction Fetch Stage
              Instruction Decode Stage
               Instruction Execution Stage
               Memory Stage
             Write Back

    3.For a pipeline with ‘n’ stages, what’s the ideal throughput? What prevents us from achieving this ideal throughput?

    4.What are the different hazards? How do you avoid them?

    Structure, Data and control ->Data hazards, RAW, WAW and WAR..many solutions...static scheduling, dynamic scheduling, forwarding, stall.....

    5.Instead of just 5-8 pipe stages why not have, say, a pipeline with 50 pipe stages?

    Think about latency

    6.What are Branch Prediction and Branch Target Buffers?

    7.How do you handle precise exceptions or interrupts?

    8.What is a cache?

    9.What’s the difference between Write-Through and Write-Back Caches? Explain advantages and disadvantages of each.

    10.Cache Size is 64KB, Block size is 32B and the cache is Two-Way Set Associative. For a 32-bit physical address, give the division between Block Offset, Index and Tag.

     

    Block offset depends on block size...32MB so 2^5 - 5 bits

    Index is based on equation, see any book - ans: 10 bits

    Tag is Physical address - index - block offset , 32-10-5

    11.What is Virtual Memory?

    12.What is Cache Coherency?

    13.What is MESI?

             MESI is a Cache Coherency protocol used in multi-processor systems to indicate the state in which the data in the cache of a particular processor is. It stands of Modified, Exclusive, Shared and Invalid

    14.What is a Snooping cache?

    15.What are the components in a Microprocessor?

    16.What is ACBF(Hex) divided by 16?

    17.Convert 65(Hex) to Binary

    18.Convert a number to its two’s compliment and back

    19.The CPU is busy but you want to stop and do some other task. How do you do it?

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