cpu
2 free lessons tagged cpu across Computer Science. Each one is a short sequence of focused steps with narration and a five-question quiz at the end — take them in any order, no signup required.
Superscalar and Out-of-Order Execution
Modern cores issue several instructions per cycle and execute them in whatever order their inputs become ready, while still appearing to run the program strictly in order. This lesson covers register renaming, the reorder buffer, the scheduler, and why the instruction window exists at all.
CPU Pipelines: Throughput, Hazards, and Stalls
A processor does not execute one instruction at a time. It overlaps them in a pipeline, which raises throughput without making any single instruction faster. This lesson covers pipeline stages, the three classes of hazard, forwarding, the load-use stall, and why a mispredicted branch is expensive.