---
title: "Driving factors for performance design"
subject: "Computer Organization and Architecture"
chapter: 1
key: "semester_5/computer_organization_and_architecture:perf-design-factors"
source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_5/computer_organization_and_architecture/perf-design-factors
site: BCT Engineering
---

# Driving factors for performance design

Computer Organization and Architecture · Chapter 1: Introduction

- Asked in: 2071 Shrawan, 4 marks
- Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14
- Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_5/computer_organization_and_architecture/perf-design-factors
- Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_5/computer_organization_and_architecture/chapter-1

## Question

What are the driving factors behind the need to design for performance?

## Short answer

Demanding desktop applications (multimedia, 3D), high-throughput server workloads, and large-scale scientific computing require high speed. The growing gap between processor and memory/I/O speeds, along with heat and power limits on clock rates, forces the use of pipelining, multiple cores, caches, and parallelism.

## Answer

Computer speed and capacity are growing fast, but software also needs more power. The main factors that force us to design for performance are:

1. **Desktop applications:** image processing, 3-D rendering, speech recognition, video conferencing and multimedia need very high processing speed.
2. **Server demand:** transaction processing, databases and large numbers of users need high throughput.
3. **Scientific and engineering work:** simulation, weather forecasting and modelling need huge computation.
4. **Growth in data:** large data volumes need fast storage and I/O.
5. **Mismatch of speeds:** processor speed has risen faster than memory and I/O speed, so organization must be designed to balance them.
6. **Technology limits:** clock speed is limited by heat and power, so designers use pipelining, multiple cores, caches and parallelism to gain performance.
7. **Cost and power:** mobile and embedded systems need good performance per watt.

## Check yourself

The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why.

1. Why must organization be designed to balance speeds?
   A. Memory has become much faster than processors
   B. I/O devices have no speed limits
   C. Processor speed has risen faster than memory and I/O speed
   D. Clock speed has no limits
   Answer: C. The mismatch causes the processor to wait. (Key point: Speed mismatch)

2. Why do designers use pipelining, multiple cores and caches?
   A. Clock speed is limited by heat and power
   B. Clock speed can rise without limit
   C. Software needs less power
   D. Cost is not a factor
   Answer: A. Since raising clock is limited, parallelism is used for gains. (Key point: Technology limit)

3. Which factor is linked to transaction processing and databases?
   A. Desktop video conferencing
   B. Scientific weather modelling
   C. Server demand for high throughput
   D. Mobile power limits
   Answer: C. Servers handle many users and need high throughput. (Key point: Server demand)

## Related in Computer Organization and Architecture

- [Performance balance and bus design elements](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fcomputer_organization_and_architecture%3Aperf-balance-bus-design) — Computer Organization and Architecture, chapter 1, asked 2×
- [Design goals and performance metrics](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fcomputer_organization_and_architecture%3Adesign-goals-metrics) — Computer Organization and Architecture, chapter 1

## Related in other subjects

- [Factors driving circuit reliability](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Finstrumentation_ii%3Areliability-factors) — Instrumentation II, chapter 7, asked 3×
- [Factors affecting thermal performance](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_6%2Fbuilding_technology%3Athermal-perf-factors) — Building Technology, chapter 1
- [Input/output interface unit design factors](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Finstrumentation_ii%3Aio-interface-unit-importance) — Instrumentation II, chapter 7
- [Need of analysis and design](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_1%2Fcomputer_programming%3Aanalysis-design-before-coding) — Computer Programming, chapter 2