The textbook for this class is Computer Organization and Design, the Hardware/Software Interface, 5th edition, by David Patterson and John Hennessy. Patterson (past president of the Association for Computing Machinery) and Hennessy (president of Stanford University) are very big names in computer architecture, and they are excellent writers to boot. Read the book. It's worth your time.
Your grade in the course will be determined by your performance on three takehome exams and homework. Each of these four pieces will count for 25% of your grade.
Working with your classmates is generally a good thing. Sharing insights can be fun, and can enhance everybody's learning. The main danger of collaborating on course work is in allowing your collaborator to do all the work, and thus all the learning. If you want to work together on homework for this class, that's fine with me, but take care not to fall into collaboration's traps.
For homework assignments, you may work alone or with one other person. If you work with a partner, you may submit one copy of your work with both names on the paper or in the comments.
For takehome exams, you must work alone, using only the resources I explicitly allow.
If you have any doubts about what constitutes acceptable collaboration, let me know.