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ELEC S333

More information: Course Guide

Computer and PC Design

22Z032928

Course Start Date	Course Level	Duration	Credits	Language	Fees ($) (including lab fees)	Future Semesters
01-Oct-2013	Higher	2 semesters	10	English	N/A	Apr 2015

Course Coordinator: Dr Kevin Hung, BSc (Queen's University); MPhil, PhD (CUHK); MIEEE; MIET; MCIE

Course Developer: Dr Frederick C Wong, Falcon Technovations, USA; Mr Tim K Woo, Falcon Technovations, USA

This course is an optional course for the BSc and BSc (Hons) in Computer Engineering.

This course is presented every 18 months. The next presentation will be in April 2015.

Advisory prerequisite(s)
You are advised to have already studied COMP S260 and ELEC S224, or have some background knowledge in computer architecture, operating systems and microprocessors.

Aims
This course aims to provide students with in-depth knowledge in computer architecture, PC design and operating systems. Students will also be exposed to a range of design techniques and performance measurement.

Contents
The course covers the following topics:

• Computer designs and performance

• Instruction set architecture

• Pipelining

• Parallelism

• Memory hierarchy and designs

• Peripheral and buses

• Networking

• Putting it all together
  

Case studies of various computers and PCs will be used as examples throughout the course.

Learning support
There will be ten tutorials and ten surgeries, each of two hours. Some of them will be conducted in a classroom.

Assessment
There will be four tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) and a final examination.

Online requirement
This course is supported by the Online Learning Environment (OLE). You can find the latest course information from the OLE. Through the OLE, you can communicate electronically with your tutor and the Course Coordinator as well as other students. To access the OLE, students will need to have access to the Internet. The use of the OLE is required for the study of this course. The surgeries will be video recorded and available for playback from the OLE.

Equipment
A computer system with Internet access is essential. The recommended configuration of the computer system is:

• Pentium IV 2.4 GHz CPU

• Display card and monitor

• 1 GB RAM

• Hard disk with 10 GB of free space

• Mouse, keyboard, printer

• Internet access
  

Software
You will need Microsoft XP and Internet Explorer 8 or above to access the course website, and Word Viewer or Microsoft Office to read the documents downloaded from the course website. The course will also refer you to online readings selected from a number of websites.

Set book(s)
There are no set books for this course.

Students with disabilities
Students with impaired sight might have difficulty with the use of a computer monitor. You are encouraged to seek advice from the Course Coordinator before enrolling in the course.