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John L. Hennessy
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Computer Organization and Design MIPS Edition: The Hardware/Software Interface (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Architecture and Design) 5th Edition

by David A. Patterson (Author), John L. Hennessy (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 435 ratings
See all formats and editions

Computer Organization and Design, Fifth Edition, is the latest update to the classic introduction to computer organization. The text now contains new examples and material highlighting the emergence of mobile computing and the cloud. It explores this generational change with updated content featuring tablet computers, cloud infrastructure, and the ARM (mobile computing devices) and x86 (cloud computing) architectures. The book uses a MIPS processor core to present the fundamentals of hardware technologies, assembly language, computer arithmetic, pipelining, memory hierarchies and I/Because an understanding of modern hardware is essential to achieving good performance and energy efficiency, this edition adds a new concrete example, Going Faster, used throughout the text to demonstrate extremely effective optimization techniques. There is also a new discussion of the Eight Great Ideas of computer architecture. Parallelism is examined in depth with examples and content highlighting parallel hardware and software topics. The book features the Intel Core i7, ARM Cortex A8 and NVIDIA Fermi GPU as real world examples, along with a full set of updated and improved exercises.

This new edition is an ideal resource for professional digital system designers, programmers, application developers, and system software developers. It will also be of interest to undergraduate students in Computer Science, Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering courses in Computer Organization, Computer Design, ranging from Sophomore required courses to Senior Electives.

  • Winner of a 2014 Texty Award from the Text and Academic Authors Association
  • Includes new examples, exercises, and material highlighting the emergence of mobile computing and the cloud
  • Covers parallelism in depth with examples and content highlighting parallel hardware and software topics
  • Features the Intel Core i7, ARM Cortex A8 and NVIDIA Fermi GPU as real world examples throughout the book
  • Adds a new concrete example, "Going Faster," to demonstrate how understanding hardware can inspire software optimizations that improve performance by 200 times
  • Discusses and highlights the "Eight Great Ideas" of computer architecture: Performance via Parallelism; Performance via Pipelining; Performance via Prediction; Design for Moore's Law; Hierarchy of Memories; Abstraction to Simplify Design; Make the Common Case Fast; and Dependability via Redundancy
  • Includes a full set of updated and improved exercises.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0124077269
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0124077263
  3. Edition
    5th
  4. Publisher
    Morgan Kaufmann
  5. Publication date
    October 10, 2013
  6. Part of series
    The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Architecture and Design
  7. Language
    English
  8. Dimensions
    7.4 x 1.3 x 9.1 inches
  9. Print length
    800 pages
  10. See all details
Next slide of product details
Amazon First Reads | Editors' picks at exclusive prices

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...the fundamental computer organization book, both as an introduction for readers with no experience in computer architecture topics, and as an up-to-date reference for computer architects." --Computing Reviews, July 22 2014

Review

The classic introduction to computer organization now updated for mobile computing and the cloud!

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Morgan Kaufmann; 5th edition (October 10, 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 800 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0124077269
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0124077263
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.04 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.4 x 1.3 x 9.1 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 435 ratings

About the authors

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  1. John L. Hennessy

    John L. Hennessy

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  2. John L. Hennessy

    John L. Hennessy

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    John Leroy Hennessy (born September 22, 1952) is an American computer scientist, academician, and businessman. Hennessy is one of the founders of MIPS Computer Systems Inc. as well as Atheros and is the tenth President of Stanford University. Marc Andreessen called him "the godfather of Silicon Valley".

    Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Eric Chan [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

    See more on the author's page
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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
435 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book pretty detailed and does a good job presenting the information. However, they say the ramblings of the author make understanding simple concepts difficult, and there are a lot of mistakes throughout the book. Opinions are mixed on the writing style, with some finding it well-written and others finding typos and grammatical errors. Readers also disagree on readability, with others saying it's great content wise and impossible to read the charts or tables.

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ContentWriting styleReadabilityComprehensibilityLength
63 customers mention "Content"47 positive16 negative

Customers find the book pretty detailed, good for school, and covers the topics well. They also say the index is spectacular and the pages are neat. They say the book starts with talking about real world concepts and then eases into the technical stuff. Readers also say it prepares them for their exams with clear writing, examples, and good explanations.

"...However, this textbook thoroughly prepared me for my exams, and I relied on this textbook more than I have any other text for any other class...." Read more

"There is not much more to add to what others have written. It's a great introductory-to-intermediate level book on computer architecture and the..." Read more

"...The writers seem to do a pretty good job of explaining everything for beginners (I can't speak from an experienced perspective)...." Read more

"...Another big issue is... there are appendices and chapters in the table of contents that are missing in the actual body of the book...." Read more

30 customers mention "Writing style"11 positive19 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing style of the book. Some find it well written, while others say it's full of typos and grammatical errors. They also say the information is not presented in the way they expected, and that the author writes things with abstraction.

"...the same passages over and over again because I had trouble understanding what the author meant...." Read more

"...The book is well written, and has many diagrams, tables, charts, and definitions, making it a very good book in my opinion...." Read more

"...As others have noted, there are a considerable number of typos throughout the book, and the binding and print quality could be better, all of which..." Read more

"...a wide-ranging and well organized introductory textbook, clearly written by real experts...." Read more

26 customers mention "Readability"11 positive15 negative

Customers are mixed about the readability of the book. Some mention that it's great content wise, while others say that it is poor, unreadable, and boring.

"Horrible book for learning this type of material...." Read more

"Excellent Entertaining computer book. I bought this for class but am happily reading it for my own enjoyment. It doesn't start off super technical...." Read more

"I have a problem with the content of the book...." Read more

"...The book is an easy read and it can be very interesting...." Read more

29 customers mention "Comprehensibility"3 positive26 negative

Customers find the book difficult to understand. They also mention that the ramblings of the author make simple concepts difficult, and the problems seem to jump in difficulty dramatically. Readers also mention there are a lot of mistakes throughout the book, and that the book is not set up well.

"...It was fairly simple to follow, although the subject matter is not simple...." Read more

"...example processors and system with descriptions that are difficult to understand without working with the devices themselves...." Read more

"...However, as I read through the book, there are many errors, typos, and inconsistencies in the book...." Read more

"...The problem sets aren't like a math book or something where you can do drills that lead you into having the ability to do the hardest problems...." Read more

4 customers mention "Length"0 positive4 negative

Customers find the book long and full of typos and grammatical errors. They also say the digital version is just one long manuscript.

"...Except I can't. Because the digital version is just one long manuscript...." Read more

"...Would not recommend this unless you like to tear your hair out. It's long, full of typos and grammatical errors, and the information is not..." Read more

"Used it for class. Helped me to understand the material well but it is lengthly." Read more

"This is a boring book, mostly term and definition. Chapters are very long, and the provided examples are not very helpful." Read more

Book missing pages
3 out of 5 stars

Book missing pages

While this is an amazing textbook on architecture, the book I received was missing multiple pages. The book was in TERRIBLE condition, and it was practically falling apart when I received it. the photo shows the book starting at page 23. (P1-22 are missing)
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Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Textbook, Solid Price
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2018
Verified Purchase
I've had a bit of a love/hate relationship with this textbook.
I'm currently at university, and I took a class in Computer Organization this semester. I was definitely unfamiliar with the low-level aspects of Computer Science, so needless to say I was a bit intimidated. However, this textbook thoroughly prepared me for my exams, and I relied on this textbook more than I have any other text for any other class. Not only did it prepare me, but I feel that I have learned more about Computer Science from this textbook than I have from any other.
I've seen some other reviews complain about typos, but I can usually overlook those. There are only two colors in the book (blue and black), but this is obviously to keep prices down (see below). Sometimes I found myself reading the same passages over and over again because I had trouble understanding what the author meant. I definitely get a sense that this edition was a bit rushed, as both the authors have demanding jobs outside of writing textbooks.
I also have a serious issue with the way I couldn't find ANY answers anywhere to the problems in the book. It seems like standard practice to have the odd or even-numbered solutions in the back of the book or online, but I could not locate any. That's really my only complaint about this text, all the other issues I can excuse in some way.
One of the most important points about this textbook is its price. You can easily pick this up for less than $40, which is pretty much a steal compared to some $100 or $200 textbooks. In light of the price, I can excuse the few areas where the cut corners to reduce printing prices.
12 people found this helpful
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Marko L.
5.0 out of 5 stars A valuable book that is redeeming despite its many typos.
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2016
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There is not much more to add to what others have written. It's a great introductory-to-intermediate level book on computer architecture and the hardware-software interface, rooting itself in the MIPS instruction set architecture to develop and exemplify its conceptual framework. As others have noted, there are a considerable number of typos throughout the book, and the binding and print quality could be better, all of which do combine to detract from the quality somewhat, but these imperfections do not ultimately diminish the value of the content, which is my primary emphasis when evaluating learning material.
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Mitch
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book For Beginner
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2016
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Got this as reference material for my Introduction to Computer Architecture and Organization course at university. Computer Architecture and Organization is a very, very interesting topic for those in electronics based engineering as well as computing fields as a whole, and this book attempts to delve into that very deep subject.

The book is well written, and has many diagrams, tables, charts, and definitions, making it a very good book in my opinion. It was fairly simple to follow, although the subject matter is not simple. The writers seem to do a pretty good job of explaining everything for beginners (I can't speak from an experienced perspective). While the book was not required for the course, I did use it from time to time to brush up on the topics covered in class in a bit of a different way than what I was getting from the lecture, in the hopes of better retention. I believe there are practice problems throughout the book (although I was never required and didn't look at them).

All in all, I think this book does as good of a job as it can with the subject matter, and conveys it well to beginners in the area. I would recommend this to anyone interested in the subject.
3 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars For my son
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2023
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It came in great shape, in the time needed too. I was very happy with the purchase. It is not marked up.
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Robert Grays
1.0 out of 5 stars This book is for those who have already studied it's contents and want a review.
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2016
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Horrible book for learning this type of material. The authors work as instructors at prestigious universities, and it shows in how the material is presented. Unless you have prior experience working with MIPS assembly language directly, avoid learning it using this book. The authors did not take any time to simplify the concepts presented in the chapter in a format for beginners to understand. You'll spend hours reading the same sections over just to understand how processor pipe-ling and parallel computing work on the circuit level. I few of the later sections in each chapter are dedicated to praising example processors and system with descriptions that are difficult to understand without working with the devices themselves. If your instructor requires this book, consider finding another class until this book is no longer used.

I just read it, got through the course, and traded the book back in to amazon. It's that bad.
2 people found this helpful
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Elizabeth-Agnes
3.0 out of 5 stars Decent textbook but need improvements...
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2016
Verified Purchase
This book is very useful for beginners who want to understand the software design of hardware as I am a computer science major. However, as I read through the book, there are many errors, typos, and inconsistencies in the book. As well, I think the book should provide more examples because one example is not enough especially if the user is dealing with multiple scenarios. The readability is good as font and size are easy on the eyes. One thing to be cautious is that a friend of mine bought this same new book from Amazon too, but her's page unravel from the book bindings as she kept flipping the book. I was very careful when I flipped the pages, so it was intact.
6 people found this helpful
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Zaid Al-Shayeb
5.0 out of 5 stars Good
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2023
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Good
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Jon B Woo
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Entertaining computer book
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2018
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Excellent Entertaining computer book. I bought this for class but am happily reading it for my own enjoyment. It doesn't start off super technical. It starts with talking about real world concepts and then eases into the technical stuff. Has a very good format for people who aren't computer science geniuses.
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Top reviews from other countries

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JM
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book
Reviewed in India on December 22, 2018
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Great book.
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Cliente Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Es un libro util para introducirse y profundizar en ensablador.
Reviewed in Spain on March 25, 2018
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Cumple con todo lo que recomendaron. Profundo y a la vez sencillo de aprender. Me va a servir en los proximos dos años.
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Client d'Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Rapide, sécurisé et efficace
Reviewed in France on July 20, 2017
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La bible de la programmation. Certe, c'est compliqué, mais on peut difficilement faire mieux dans ce domaine complexe. Pour tous les élèves en informatiques
One person found this helpful
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Bogdan
5.0 out of 5 stars Ottimo
Reviewed in Italy on June 5, 2017
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Ho avuto possibilità di leggere questo libro senza acquistarlo personalmente... ma durante lo studio di tale libro, me ne sono innamorato da come vengono spiegate in modo perfetto gli argomenti, rendendoli di facile comprensione! Ho dovuto acquistarlo per aggiungerlo alla mia collezione e finirlo!
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 25, 2017
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Very good for a person with little or no knowledge of computer architecture.
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