Superscalar Architecture MCQs

Superscalar architecture is characterized by what key feature?
a) Pipelined execution
b) Parallel instruction execution
c) Sequential instruction execution
d) Single instruction per cycle
Answer: b) Parallel instruction execution

What is the primary goal of a superscalar processor?
a) Decrease clock speed
b) Execute multiple instructions per clock cycle
c) Increase memory usage
d) Simplify processor design
Answer: b) Execute multiple instructions per clock cycle

Which type of dependency can hinder instruction parallelism in superscalar architectures?
a) Data dependency
b) Instruction fetch dependency
c) Memory dependency
d) Register dependency
Answer: a) Data dependency

How does a superscalar processor improve performance over scalar processors?
a) By executing one instruction per cycle
b) By fetching more data per clock cycle
c) By executing multiple instructions in parallel
d) By increasing memory cache
Answer: c) By executing multiple instructions in parallel

Which unit in superscalar processors is responsible for detecting instruction-level parallelism?
a) Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
b) Fetch Unit
c) Instruction Dispatch Unit
d) Decode Unit
Answer: c) Instruction Dispatch Unit

What is the primary challenge in superscalar processor design?
a) Fetching instructions
b) Decoding instructions
c) Ensuring instruction independence
d) Writing instructions to memory
Answer: c) Ensuring instruction independence

What is “out-of-order execution” in the context of superscalar processors?
a) Instructions are executed sequentially
b) Instructions are executed based on their priority
c) Instructions are executed based on availability of execution units
d) Instructions are fetched in a random order
Answer: c) Instructions are executed based on availability of execution units

Which mechanism helps in reducing pipeline stalls in superscalar architectures?
a) Cache memory
b) Data forwarding
c) Branch prediction
d) Instruction reordering
Answer: d) Instruction reordering

How does branch prediction assist in superscalar architecture?
a) Increases memory bandwidth
b) Minimizes pipeline flushes
c) Reduces execution speed
d) Prioritizes instruction order
Answer: b) Minimizes pipeline flushes

Which of the following is not a hazard in superscalar processors?
a) Data hazards
b) Control hazards
c) Structural hazards
d) Memory hazards
Answer: d) Memory hazards

In superscalar architecture, the number of functional units is typically:
a) Less than one
b) One
c) Multiple
d) None of the above
Answer: c) Multiple

What is “instruction-level parallelism” in superscalar processors?
a) Executing different threads in parallel
b) Executing instructions from different programs in parallel
c) Executing multiple instructions from a single program simultaneously
d) None of the above
Answer: c) Executing multiple instructions from a single program simultaneously

What role does the register renaming technique play in superscalar processors?
a) Increases memory bandwidth
b) Avoids data hazards caused by register reuse
c) Reduces power consumption
d) Improves cache memory performance
Answer: b) Avoids data hazards caused by register reuse

In superscalar processors, structural hazards occur due to:
a) Multiple instructions requiring the same hardware resource
b) Incorrect branch prediction
c) Misaligned memory access
d) Insufficient memory bandwidth
Answer: a) Multiple instructions requiring the same hardware resource

Which of the following helps in improving instruction throughput in superscalar architecture?
a) Pipeline flushing
b) Multiple instruction issue
c) Reduced clock speed
d) Sequential execution
Answer: b) Multiple instruction issue

What is the key feature of a Very Long Instruction Word (VLIW) architecture compared to superscalar?
a) Sequential execution
b) The compiler schedules instructions for parallel execution
c) Only one instruction is executed at a time
d) Higher memory bandwidth is required
Answer: b) The compiler schedules instructions for parallel execution

What is a disadvantage of superscalar processors?
a) Increased complexity in hardware
b) Lower instruction throughput
c) Slower clock cycles
d) Reduced parallelism
Answer: a) Increased complexity in hardware

What is the primary difference between superscalar and scalar processors?
a) Superscalar processors have more functional units
b) Scalar processors execute multiple instructions per cycle
c) Superscalar processors are limited to one instruction per cycle
d) Scalar processors have out-of-order execution
Answer: a) Superscalar processors have more functional units

Why is out-of-order execution important in superscalar processors?
a) To minimize the use of functional units
b) To reduce the complexity of hardware
c) To maximize instruction throughput
d) To decrease power consumption
Answer: c) To maximize instruction throughput

Which of the following techniques is used to overcome control hazards in superscalar processors?
a) Loop unrolling
b) Cache optimization
c) Branch prediction
d) Register renaming
Answer: c) Branch prediction

What is the role of a reorder buffer in superscalar architecture?
a) To ensure correct instruction sequence upon completion
b) To predict branches
c) To hold instructions for later execution
d) To allocate memory for data
Answer: a) To ensure correct instruction sequence upon completion

How does pipelining complement superscalar architectures?
a) It allows multiple instructions to be issued simultaneously
b) It limits the number of instructions in parallel
c) It executes instructions in the order they are fetched
d) It eliminates data hazards
Answer: a) It allows multiple instructions to be issued simultaneously

Which type of hazard occurs when two instructions that depend on the same data are executed out of order?
a) Data hazard
b) Control hazard
c) Structural hazard
d) None of the above
Answer: a) Data hazard

What is the purpose of multiple functional units in a superscalar processor?
a) To enhance power efficiency
b) To execute instructions in a sequential manner
c) To enable parallel execution of instructions
d) To reduce memory latency
Answer: c) To enable parallel execution of instructions

Superscalar processors often use speculative execution to:
a) Improve cache performance
b) Execute instructions that may not be needed
c) Minimize instruction fetch time
d) Reduce instruction decoding complexity
Answer: b) Execute instructions that may not be needed

What challenge does instruction reordering in superscalar processors address?
a) Register renaming
b) Hardware complexity
c) Memory bandwidth
d) Instruction dependencies
Answer: d) Instruction dependencies

In a superscalar processor, instruction dispatch involves:
a) Fetching instructions from memory
b) Sending instructions to the appropriate execution unit
c) Storing results in memory
d) Decoding instructions
Answer: b) Sending instructions to the appropriate execution unit

How does dynamic scheduling differ from static scheduling in superscalar processors?
a) Dynamic scheduling is performed by the compiler
b) Dynamic scheduling allows for out-of-order execution
c) Static scheduling requires runtime analysis
d) Static scheduling improves parallelism
Answer: b) Dynamic scheduling allows for out-of-order execution

What is the relationship between superscalar processors and instruction-level parallelism (ILP)?
a) Superscalar processors increase ILP by executing multiple instructions in parallel
b) ILP is only present in scalar processors
c) Superscalar processors reduce ILP by limiting parallelism
d) ILP is unrelated to superscalar architectures
Answer: a) Superscalar processors increase ILP by executing multiple instructions in parallel

What is the effect of branch misprediction in a superscalar processor?
a) Increased instruction throughput
b) Pipeline stalls or flushes
c) More parallelism
d) Reduced hardware complexity
Answer: b) Pipeline stalls or flushes

Superscalar processors can issue multiple instructions in one clock cycle based on:
a) Clock speed
b) Instruction window size
c) Execution unit availability
d) Cache size
Answer: c) Execution unit availability

Which type of execution is more common in superscalar architectures?
a) In-order execution
b) Out-of-order execution
c) Sequential execution
d) None of the above
Answer: b) Out-of-order execution

The instruction window in superscalar processors allows for:
a) Sequential execution of instructions
b) Reordering of instructions for parallel execution
c) Executing one instruction per cycle
d) Reducing memory accesses
Answer: b) Reordering of instructions for parallel execution

What is the primary factor that limits the scalability of superscalar processors?
a) Number of functional units
b) Instruction-level parallelism
c) Power consumption
d) Cache size
Answer: b) Instruction-level parallelism

Which hazard is most likely to occur due to resource contention in a superscalar processor?
a) Data hazard
b) Control hazard
c) Structural hazard
d) None of the above
Answer: c) Structural hazard

In superscalar processors, speculative execution requires:
a) Extra memory
b) Predicting which instructions to execute
c) Limiting instruction parallelism
d) Simplifying instruction dispatch
Answer: b) Predicting which instructions to execute

The primary advantage of superscalar processors over pipelined processors is:
a) Faster clock speeds
b) Executing multiple instructions per cycle
c) Reduced hardware complexity
d) Improved cache management
Answer: b) Executing multiple instructions per cycle

How do superscalar processors handle data hazards?
a) By stalling the pipeline
b) Using techniques like register renaming and data forwarding
c) By simplifying the instruction decode stage
d) Through instruction prefetching
Answer: b) Using techniques like register renaming and data forwarding

Which of the following instructions in a superscalar processor is most likely to cause a pipeline stall?
a) Integer addition
b) Floating-point division
c) Load from memory
d) Branch instruction
Answer: d) Branch instruction

The term “dispatch rate” in a superscalar processor refers to:
a) The number of instructions fetched per cycle
b) The number of instructions executed per cycle
c) The number of instructions sent to execution units per cycle
d) The number of instructions written to memory per cycle
Answer: c) The number of instructions sent to execution units per cycle

The complexity of control logic in superscalar processors increases primarily due to:
a) Fetching multiple instructions
b) Out-of-order execution and hazard resolution
c) Reducing memory latency
d) Power consumption concerns
Answer: b) Out-of-order execution and hazard resolution

Which of the following is a typical limitation in superscalar processor performance?
a) Low clock speed
b) Instruction dependencies
c) Limited cache size
d) High power consumption
Answer: b) Instruction dependencies

Which of the following helps in increasing the instruction throughput of superscalar processors?
a) Higher clock frequency
b) Multi-core architecture
c) Better branch prediction techniques
d) Sequential execution of instructions
Answer: c) Better branch prediction techniques

Why is a wider instruction fetch unit necessary in superscalar processors?
a) To increase the number of instructions that can be fetched in one cycle
b) To reduce power consumption
c) To simplify the instruction decode stage
d) To improve cache coherence
Answer: a) To increase the number of instructions that can be fetched in one cycle

Which of the following components is responsible for reordering instructions in superscalar processors?
a) Fetch Unit
b) Instruction Dispatch Unit
c) Reorder Buffer
d) Decode Unit
Answer: c) Reorder Buffer

Superscalar Architecture MCQs
By: Prof. Dr. Fazal Rehman Shamil | Last updated: September 20, 2024

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