Learning
Hardware & Computer Systems
What the machine is actually doing, from logic gates to GPU memory bandwidth.
Where to start
Nand2Tetris is the one to do if you only do one — building a computer from logic gates up to a working compiler changes how you read every other layer. If you are here because of AI hardware specifically, the accelerators group is the shortest route to understanding why memory bandwidth, not raw arithmetic, is usually the limit.
How computers work4
- Nand2TetrisCoreFree
Build a working computer from NAND gates upward, then a compiler for it. The single most clarifying course in this whole directory.
- CMU 15-213: Computer SystemsAdvancedFree
The course that teaches you what your code costs. Lectures and the famous labs are public.
- Ben EaterCoreFree
Builds a CPU on breadboards, on video, one wire at a time. Nothing else makes fetch-decode-execute this concrete.
- Computer Organization and Design — MIT 6.004AdvancedFree
Computation structures from transistors to pipelined processors, with full lecture material.
Accelerators and AI hardware4
- CUDA C++ Programming GuideAdvancedFree
The primary reference for GPU programming. Dense, and the memory-model chapters are the ones that matter.
- GPU PuzzlesAdvancedFree
Learn GPU programming by solving small kernels in the browser. The fastest path from "I use a GPU" to "I understand one".
- TritonAdvancedFree
Write GPU kernels in Python. The practical entry point to custom kernels now that PyTorch compiles through it.
- NVIDIA Developer BlogCoreFree
Where the accelerator detail is published, including the parts the keynote skips.
Choosing and testing hardware4
- Chips and CheeseAdvancedFree
Microarchitectural deep dives with original benchmarking. The closest thing to AnandTech’s analysis still being written.
- PhoronixCoreFree
Linux hardware benchmarking, published relentlessly. Where to check whether something works on Linux before buying it.
- PCPartPickerStart hereFree
Compatibility checking and live pricing for builds. Does the tedious part correctly.
- ServeTheHomeCoreFree
Server, storage and networking hardware tested properly, including the accelerator boards nobody else reviews.
About this list
12 resources, checked automatically every week so dead links do not sit here unnoticed. Nothing on this page is sponsored and none of these links pay us — which is the only reason a recommendation on it is worth anything. Every link goes to the original source, and we take nothing with you when you leave.