Processor Design: Delve into the Architecture of Modern Processors

Question 1

In a pipelined processor, what technique is used to resolve data dependencies and prevent stalls?

Accepted Answer

Hazard detection and data forwarding

Answer

Branch prediction

Answer

Speculative execution

Answer

Register renaming

Question 2

What is the primary advantage of a superscalar processor?

Accepted Answer

Higher instruction throughput

Answer

Increased clock speed

Answer

Improved energy efficiency

Answer

Reduced die size

Question 3

What is the primary purpose of a register file in a processor?

Accepted Answer

To store frequently accessed data and intermediate results

Answer

To hold the program instructions

Answer

To track the status of the processor

Answer

To perform arithmetic and logical operations

Question 4

Which performance metric is used to measure the average number of instructions executed per clock cycle?

Accepted Answer

Instruction per cycle (IPC)

Answer

Clock speed

Answer

MIPS (millions of instructions per second)

Answer

FLOPS (floating-point operations per second)

Question 5

Which benefit is unique to a Harvard architecture?

Accepted Answer

Faster memory access

Answer

Simplified control logic

Answer

Lower power consumption

Answer

Reduced code size

Question 6

What is the primary role of a branch predictor in a processor?

Accepted Answer

To predict the direction of conditional branches

Answer

To reduce the latency of memory accesses

Answer

To handle exceptions and interrupts

Answer

To optimize the instruction fetch process

Question 7

Which technique improves the efficiency of instruction execution by executing instructions out of order?

Accepted Answer

Out-of-order execution

Answer

Loop unrolling

Answer

Cache prefetching

Answer

Register renaming

Question 8

What is the main advantage of a virtual memory system?

Accepted Answer

Expansion of the available address space

Answer

Management of memory access permissions

Answer

Enhancement of cache performance

Answer

Increased multitasking support

Question 9

In a superscalar processor, which technique is employed to exploit instruction-level parallelism?

Accepted Answer

Multiple execution units

Answer

Branch prediction

Answer

Register renaming

Answer

Data forwarding

Question 10

Which method is commonly used to enhance branch prediction accuracy in modern processors?

Accepted Answer

Branch target buffers

Answer

Loop unrolling

Answer

Speculative execution

Answer

Register allocation

Question 11

What is the primary purpose of a register file in a processor?

Accepted Answer

Storing temporary data

Answer

Providing inputs to the ALU

Answer

Holding the program counter

Answer

Performing arithmetic and logic operations

Question 12

What is the primary function of the control unit in a processor?

Accepted Answer

Decoding instructions

Answer

Managing data flow

Answer

Performing arithmetic and logic operations

Answer

Executing instructions

Question 13

Which primary advantage is offered by pipelined processor design?

Accepted Answer

Enhanced processor efficiency

Answer

Reduced memory latency

Answer

Faster register access

Answer

Improved multi-tasking capabilities

Question 14

Which of the following is not a challenge associated with multi-core processor architectures?

Accepted Answer

Simplified software parallelization

Answer

Increased power consumption

Answer

Cache coherency maintenance

Answer

Communication latency

Question 15

In a pipelined processor with 5 stages, which stage is responsible for instruction decoding and operand retrieval from the register file?

Accepted Answer

Instruction Decode

Answer

Instruction Fetch

Answer

Execution

Answer

Memory Access

Question 16

In a multi-core processor, what mechanism ensures consistent shared data across different cores?

Accepted Answer

Cache coherency protocol

Answer

Lock manager

Answer

Memory management unit

Answer

Bus arbitration

Question 17

Which processor design technique specifically targets data-level parallelism to boost performance?

Accepted Answer

Vector processing

Answer

Pipelining

Answer

Cache prefetching

Answer

Branch prediction

Question 18

Why are cache coherence protocols indispensable in a multiprocessor system with shared memory?

Accepted Answer

They guarantee data consistency across multiple caches.

Answer

They enhance cache performance.

Answer

They lessen memory latency.

Answer

They prevent deadlocks.

Question 19

Superscalar execution refers to:

Accepted Answer

Executing multiple instructions concurrently within a single clock cycle

Answer

Executing instructions in a speculative manner

Answer

Reordering instructions to improve performance

Answer

Branching to different parts of the program based on predictions

Question 20

What is the fundamental purpose of register renaming in processor design?

Accepted Answer

Eliminating data hazards and improving performance

Answer

Reducing the number of register reads and writes

Answer

Facilitating dynamic branch prediction

Answer

Minimizing the size of the instruction cache

Question 21

Which protocol is commonly used for maintaining cache coherence in multi-processor systems?

Accepted Answer

MESI protocol

Answer

Token-based protocol

Answer

Write-back protocol

Answer

Write-through protocol

Question 22

What is the primary advantage of implementing a virtual memory system?

Accepted Answer

Extending the address space beyond physical memory capacity

Answer

Providing enhanced security and isolation between processes

Answer

Reducing memory fragmentation and improving efficiency

Answer

Simplifying memory management and allocation

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT a technique employed to enhance branch prediction accuracy?

Accepted Answer

Loop unrolling

Answer

Static branch prediction

Answer

Dynamic branch prediction

Answer

Branch target buffering

Question 24

What is the primary function of a performance counter in a processor?

Accepted Answer

Monitoring system performance metrics

Answer

Debugging hardware malfunctions

Answer

Optimizing instruction scheduling

Answer

Managing power consumption

Question 25

What is the primary objective of speculative execution in processor design?

Accepted Answer

Reducing instruction execution latency

Answer

Improving branch prediction accuracy

Answer

Supporting out-of-order execution

Answer

Increasing processor utilization

Question 26

Which of the following is a primary advantage of pipelining in processor design?

Accepted Answer

Increased instruction throughput

Answer

Reduced power consumption

Answer

Enhanced clock speed

Answer

Improved instruction accuracy

Question 27

What is the primary purpose of branch prediction in superscalar execution?

Accepted Answer

To minimize stalls caused by branch instructions

Answer

To increase the number of instructions executed concurrently

Answer

To improve the precision of floating-point calculations

Answer

To reduce the complexity of the processor design

Question 28

What is the primary function of the register file in a processor?

Accepted Answer

Temporary data storage during instruction execution

Answer

Storing program instructions

Answer

Performing arithmetic and logical operations

Answer

Controlling data flow within the processor

Question 29

Which of the following factors does NOT influence the clock speed of a processor?

Accepted Answer

Compiler optimization techniques

Answer

Transistor size

Answer

Power supply voltage

Answer

Cache size

Question 30

What is the primary function of a memory management unit (MMU) in a processor?

Accepted Answer

Managing virtual memory

Answer

Protecting memory from unauthorized access

Answer

Accelerating floating-point calculations

Answer

Controlling thread execution

Question 31

What is the fundamental difference between RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) and CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computer) processors?

Accepted Answer

RISC processors have fewer, simpler instructions while CISC processors have more complex instructions.

Answer

RISC processors are easier to design and implement while CISC processors offer greater versatility.

Answer

RISC processors are typically used in embedded systems while CISC processors are used in high-performance computing.

Answer

RISC and CISC processors differ primarily in their instruction encoding schemes.

Question 32

Stage Not Included in the Instruction Pipeline: Identify the option that is NOT a recognized stage in the instruction pipeline.

Accepted Answer

Commit

Answer

Fetch

Answer

Decode

Answer

Execute

Question 33

Superscalar Execution Advantage: What is the primary benefit gained from employing a superscalar execution model?

Accepted Answer

Higher instruction throughput

Answer

Increased clock speed

Answer

Reduced memory access time

Answer

Improved power efficiency

Question 34

Hazard Detection in Pipelined Processors: What is the primary purpose of hazard detection in a pipelined processor environment?

Accepted Answer

Recognizing potential stalls

Answer

Resolving data dependencies

Answer

Optimizing cache utilization

Answer

Minimizing branch prediction errors

Question 35

Branch Prediction Accuracy Enhancement Technique: Which technique is employed to improve the accuracy of branch prediction?

Accepted Answer

Branch target buffering

Answer

Loop unrolling

Answer

Register renaming

Answer

Speculative execution

Question 36

Memory Type with Highest Access Time: Which type of memory exhibits the highest data access time among the given options?

Accepted Answer

Hard disk drive

Answer

Register

Answer

Cache

Answer

Main memory (DRAM)

Question 37

Virtual Memory System Primary Purpose: What is the overarching purpose of implementing a virtual memory system?

Accepted Answer

Extending physical memory capacity

Answer

Enhancing cache performance

Answer

Strengthening processor security

Answer

Simplifying memory management

Question 38

Load-Store Architecture Benefit: What is the primary advantage of adopting a load-store architecture model?

Accepted Answer

Improved memory consistency

Answer

Simplified instruction set

Answer

Enhanced processor performance

Answer

Reduced hardware complexity

Question 39

Which of the following is a **disadvantage** of pipelining in a processor?

Accepted Answer

Increased latency

Answer

Increased instruction throughput

Answer

Improved branch prediction accuracy

Answer

Higher clock speeds

Question 40

Superscalar execution involves executing multiple instructions:

Accepted Answer

Concurrently from the same instruction stream

Answer

Concurrently from different instruction streams

Answer

Sequentially from the same instruction stream

Answer

Sequentially from different instruction streams

Question 41

A multi-core processor consists of two or more:

Accepted Answer

Processing units on a single integrated circuit

Answer

Processing units on separate integrated circuits

Answer

Memory units on a single integrated circuit

Answer

Memory units on separate integrated circuits

Question 42

Pipelining can introduce a performance penalty known as:

Accepted Answer

Pipeline hazard

Answer

Cache miss

Answer

Memory leak

Answer

Data hazard

Question 43

A processor with a higher clock speed will always outperform one with a lower clock speed.

Accepted Answer

False

Answer

True

Question 44

Symmetric multi-threading (SMT) is a technique used to:

Accepted Answer

Execute multiple threads concurrently on a single processing core

Answer

Execute multiple threads concurrently on multiple processing cores

Answer

Increase the size of the processor cache

Answer

Reduce the power consumption of a processor

Question 45

A finite state machine (FSM) is a fundamental concept in processor design used for:

Accepted Answer

Modeling processor behavior

Answer

Optimizing compiler performance

Answer

Reducing instruction latency

Answer

Improving memory access speed

Question 46

Which of these is **not** a layer in the memory hierarchy of a computer system?

Accepted Answer

Instructions

Answer

Registers

Answer

Main memory

Answer

Hard disk drive