Computer Architecture and Networking

Computer Architecture and Networking DCN130

Project Assignment

Marks: 10

Due date: February 24, 2017 11:30 AM

Instructions: Submit this assignment in hard copy. Question number 5 can be

hand written. A 20% penalty per day will be applied for late submissions. In case

of failure to submit this assignment your work will be marked as INCOMPLETE.

Any work showing plagiarism will be marked as 0 and will be considered as an

offence.

Answer the following questions in detail.

Q1. You are given main memory consisting of 2x230 bytes.

Answer the following questions:

a) Convert this memory into kilobytes, Megabytes and Gigabytes.

b) How many bits are required to represent the address of this memory if 1 word =

4 bytes and your memory is word addressable?

Q2. What type of ROM is being used in modern computers, write in detail what

information is written on this ROM. How do we make modifications to it, describe

all important aspects of modification process in the context of BIOS.

Q3. Read the section on secondary memory and explain why RAM is random

access whereas a hard disk is direct access memory?

Q4. List and briefly describe the function of 64 bit and higher bit registers in x86

architecture.

Q5. Suppose you have a cache consisting of 2 lines with each line having 2 words

and a main memory of consisting of 32 words. Suppose processor generates an

address 01001, what will be the block number of this address and in which line it

will be placed? Also segment this address into word offset, line number and tag.

Illustrate your work. Word size is 1 byte.