Processor Architecture

9 Key excerpts on "Processor Architecture"

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  eBook - ePub

  Computer Architecture

  Fundamentals and Principles of Computer Design, Second Edition

  • Joseph D. Dumas II(Author)
  • 2016(Publication Date)
  • CRC Press

    (Publisher)

  chapter one

  Introduction to computer architecture

  “Computer architecture” is not the use of computers to design buildings (although that is one of many useful applications of computers). Rather, computer architecture is the design of computer systems, including all of their major subsystems: the central processing unit (CPU), the memory system, and the input/output (I/O) system. In this introductory chapter, we take a brief look at the history of computers and consider some general topics applicable to the study of computer architectures. In subsequent chapters, we examine in more detail the function and design of specific parts of a typical modern computer system. If your goal is to be a designer of computer systems, this book provides an essential introduction to general design principles that can be expanded upon with more advanced study of particular topics. If (as is perhaps more likely) your career path involves programming, systems analysis or administration, technical management, or some other position in the computer or information technology field, this book provides you with the knowledge required to understand, compare, specify, select, and get the best performance out of computer systems for years to come. No one can be a true computer professional without at least a basic understanding of computer architecture concepts. So let’s get underway!

  1.1 What is computer architecture?

  Computer architecture is the design of computer systems, including all major subsystems, including the CPU and the memory and I/O systems. All of these parts play a major role in the operation and performance of the overall system, so we will spend some time studying each. CPU design starts with the design of the instruction set that the processor will execute and includes the design of the arithmetic and logic hardware that performs computations; the register set that holds operands for computations; the control unit that carries out the execution of instructions (using the other components to do the work); and the internal buses, or connections, that allow these components to communicate with each other. Memory system design uses a variety of components with differing characteristics to form an overall system (including main, or primary, memory and secondary memory) that is affordable while having sufficient storage capacity for the intended application and being fast enough to keep up with the CPU’s demand for instructions and data.

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  eBook - ePub

  Foundations of Computing

  Essential for Computing Studies, Profession And Entrance Examinations - 5th Edition

  • Pradeep K. Sinha, Priti Sinha(Authors)
  • 2022(Publication Date)
  • BPB Publications

    (Publisher)

  Chapter 4

  Computer Architecture

  This chapter provides an overview of computer system architecture. It first introduces the basic functional units of a computer system and then provides detail architectures of processor and memory. Subsequent chapters provide details of other units (secondary storage and I/O devices). This chapter also provides details of interconnection architectures used for interconnecting processor, memory, and I/O units. Finally, it also provides details of multiprocessor system architectures, which use multiple processors and memory units to form powerful computer systems.

  BASIC FUNCTIONS OF A COMPUTER

  All computer systems perform the following five basic functions for converting raw input data into useful information and presenting it to a user:

  1. Inputting. It is the process of entering data and instructions into a computer system.
  2. Storing. It is the process of saving data and instructions to make them readily available for initial or additional processing as and when required.
  3. Processing. Performing arithmetic operations (add, subtract, multiply, divide, etc.), or logical operations (comparisons like equal to, less than, greater than, etc.) on data to convert them into useful information is known as processing.
  4. Outputting. It is the process of producing useful information or results for a user, such as printed report or visual display.
  5. Controlling. Directing the manner and sequence in which the above operations are performed is known as controlling.

  BASIC COMPUTER ORGANIZATION

  Even though the size, shape, performance, reliability, and cost of computers have been changing over the last several years, the basic logical structure (based on stored program concept), as proposed by Von Neumann, has not changed.

  Figure 4.1

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  eBook - ePub

  Computer Systems Performance Evaluation and Prediction

  • Paul Fortier, Howard Michel(Authors)
  • 2003(Publication Date)
  • Digital Press

    (Publisher)

  2 Computer Data Processing Hardware Architecture This chapter defines the hardware and software components used in computer-based applications. Included here is the fundamental composition of computers (CPU, memory, I/O), secondary storage devices, other peripheral input and output devices, multiprocessing architectures, and networks. Our discussions are tailored to focus on the architecture and use of these components as they relate to computer management of persistent data. 2.1 Introduction A computer-based application resides on a computer system. The computer system provides the physical medium on which the application data are stored and the processing capacity to manipulate stored data. A processing unit of a computer system consists of five main elements: the memory, an arithmetic logic unit, an input unit, an output unit, and a control element. The memory unit stores both the data for programs and the instructions of a program that manipulates stored data. The program’s individual elements or instructions are fetched from the memory one at a time and are interpreted by the control unit. The control unit, depending on the interpretation of the instruction, determines what computer operation to perform next. If the instruction requires no additional data, the control indicates to the arithmetic logic unit what operation to perform and with what registers. (See Figure 2.1.) Figure 2.1 Basic processing unit of a computer. If the instruction requires additional data, the control unit passes the appropriate command to the memory (MAR, memory address register) to fetch a data item from memory (MDR, memory data register) and to place it in an appropriate register in the ALU (data register bank) (Figure 2.2). This continues until all required operands are in the appropriate registers of the ALU. Once all operands are in place, the control unit commands the ALU to perform the appropriate instruction—for example, multiplication, addition, or subtraction

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  eBook - ePub

  Computer and Network Technology

  BCS Level 4 Certificate in IT study guide

  • Gary Thornton, Carl Jones(Authors)
  • 2023(Publication Date)
  • BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT

    (Publisher)

  Chapter 2 – Processor Architecture

  Learning objectives and assessment criteria

  The learning objectives covered within this chapter are:

  • Understand different computer architectures.
  • Use low-level instructions and addressing modes to construct a simple program.
  • Appreciate the importance of the memory hierarchy of a computer system and its peripherals.
  • Use the internet to find information on the performance of computer systems and trends in computer systems.

  The assessment criteria addressed within this chapter are:

  • 2.2 Describe the concept of a stored program.
  • 2.3 Explain different instruction formats.
  • 2.4 Describe trends in processor technology.
  • 3.2 Explain the concept of multitasking.

  2.1 The concept of a stored program

  When you ask a computer to do something for you, even just pressing a single key on the keyboard, it follows a set of instructions. The software used carries out a fetch, decode, execute and store cycle. Originally proposed by mathematician, physicist, computer scientist and engineer John von Neumann, this is the basic operation (instructions set) cycle of a computer. It is now used by most modern computers and determines the architecture of their hardware.

  The fetch–execute cycle occurs when the computer retrieves a program instruction from its memory. It reads the instruction to understand what computation is required, then carries out the actions required to complete the instruction. Each instruction is stored as a set of binary values (think back to section 1.2 ) in the memory, which is located as close to the central processing unit (CPU) as possible.

  The cycle is a continuous action the CPU carries out to run the computer even if nothing appears to be happening. A typical cycle would comprise the steps outlined in figure 2.1 .

  Figure 2.1 The fetch–execute cycle

  ×

  Based on the fetch–execute cycle, a computer’s hardware is laid out to effectively provide support to this model. Instructions and program data are stored within the same memory, and an instruction must be read, calculated and the result written back to a memory address. Figure 2.2

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  eBook - ePub

  Modern Computer Architecture and Organization

  Learn x86, ARM, and RISC-V architectures and the design of smartphones, PCs, and cloud servers

  • Jim Ledin(Author)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Packt Publishing

    (Publisher)

  Chapter 1 : Introducing Computer Architecture

  The architecture of automated computing devices has evolved from mechanical systems constructed nearly two centuries ago to the broad array of modern electronic computing technologies we use directly and indirectly every day. Along the way, there have been stretches of incremental technological improvement interspersed with disruptive advances that have drastically altered the trajectory of the industry. These trends can be expected to continue into the future.

  In past decades, the 1980s, for example, students and technical professionals eager to learn about computing devices had a limited range of subject matter available for this purpose. If they had a computer of their own, it might have been an IBM PC or an Apple II. If they worked for an organization with a computing facility, they might have used an IBM mainframe or a Digital Equipment Corporation VAX minicomputer. These examples, and a limited number of similar systems, encompassed most people's exposure to computer systems of the time.

  Today, numerous specialized computing architectures exist to address widely varying user needs. We carry miniature computers in our pockets and purses that can place phone calls, record video, and function as full participants on the Internet. Personal computers remain popular in a format outwardly similar to the PCs of past decades. Today's PCs, however, are orders of magnitude more capable than the first generations of PCs in terms of computing power, memory size, disk space, graphics performance, and communication capability.

  Companies offering web services to hundreds of millions of users construct vast warehouses filled with thousands of closely coordinated computer systems capable of responding to a constant stream of requests with extraordinary speed and precision. Machine learning systems are trained through the analysis of enormous quantities of data to perform complex activities, such as driving automobiles.

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  eBook - ePub

  Memory, Microprocessor, and ASIC

  • Wai-Kai Chen(Author)
  • 2003(Publication Date)
  • CRC Press

    (Publisher)

  11 Architecture

  Daniel A.Connors

  University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign

  Wen-mei W.Hwu

  University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign

  11.1 Introduction 11.2 Types of Microprocessors 11.3 Major Components of a Microprocessor Central Processor • Memory Subsystem • System Interconnection 11.4 Instruction Set Architecture 11.5 Instruction-Level Parallelism Dynamic Instruction Execution • Predicated Execution • Speculative Execution 11.6 Industry Trends Computer Microprocessor Trends Embedded • Microprocessor Trends Microprocessor Market Trends

  11.1 Introduction

  The microprocessor industry is divided into the computer and embedded sectors. Both computer and embedded microprocessors share aspects of computer design, instruction set architecture, organization, and hardware. The term “computer architecture” is used to describe these fundamental aspects and, more directly, refers to the hardware components in a computer system and the flow of data and control information among them. In this chapter, various types of microprocessors will be described, fundamental architecture mechanisms relevant in the operation of all microprocessors will be presented, and microprocessor industry trends discussed.

  11.2 Types of Microprocessors

  Computer microprocessors are designed for use as the central processing units (CPU) of computer systems such as personal computers, workstations, servers, and supercomputers. Although microprocessors started as humble programmable controllers in the early 1970s, virtually all computer systems built in the 1990s use microprocessors as their central processing units. The dominating architecture in the computer microprocessor domain today is the Intel 32-bit architecture, also known as IA-32 or X86. Other high-profile architectures in the computer microprocessor domain include Compaq-Digital Alpha, HP PA-RISC, Sun Microsystems SPARC, IBM/Motorola PowerPC, and MIPS.

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  eBook - ePub

  IT Career JumpStart

  An Introduction to PC Hardware, Software, and Networking

  • Naomi J. Alpern, Joey Alpern, Randy Muller(Authors)
  • 2011(Publication Date)
  • Sybex

    (Publisher)

  Chapter 1 The Computer’s Brain: Processors and Memory

  • Processor performance
  • Processor types
  • History and evolution of Intel processors
  • Intel’s competition—AMD, multiprocessor computers
  • Physical memory
  • Bus architecture and bus types

  pro•cess v : to complete a series of actions

  Every computer consists of a microprocessor and memory. Without the two, the computer would not function. The microprocessor, commonly referred to as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the computer. Like the human brain, the CPU is responsible for managing the timing of each operation and carrying out the instructions or commands from an application or the operating system.

  The CPU uses memory as a place to store or retrieve information. Memory comes in several forms, such as random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). Memory provides a temporary location for storing information and contains more permanent system configuration information.

  Introduction to Processors

  The most central component to the computer is the processor. It is responsible for executing the instructions that are given to the computer. The processor determines the operating systems you can use, the software applications you can run on the computer, and the computer’s ability and performance. It is also typically one of the major factors in computer cost. Computers that contain newer and more powerful processors are more expensive than computers with less complex processors. This has led processor manufacturers to offer several different lines of processors for the home user, business workstation, and server markets.

  Processor Performance

  The goal of processor performance is to make applications run faster. Performance is commonly defined by how long it takes for a specific task to be executed. Traditionally, processor performance has been defined as how many instructions can be completed in each clock cycle, or instructions per clock (IPC), times the number of clock cycles. Thus, performance is measured as

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  eBook - ePub

  Aircraft Digital Electronic and Computer Systems

  • Mike Tooley(Author)
  • 2022(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Chapter 7 The CPU

  DOI: 10.1201/9781003215516-7

  The microprocessor central processing unit (CPU) forms the heart of any microprocessor or microcomputer system computer and, consequently, its operation is crucial to the entire system. The primary function of the microprocessor is that of fetching, decoding and executing instructions resident in memory. As such, it must be able to transfer data from external memory into its own internal registers and vice versa. Furthermore, it must operate predictably, distinguishing, for example, between an operation contained within an instruction and any accompanying addresses of read/write memory locations. In addition, various system housekeeping tasks need to be performed, including being able to suspend normal processing in order to respond to an external device that needs attention.

  7.1 Internal Architecture

  The main parts of a microprocessor CPU are:

  1. registers for temporary storage of addresses and data;
  2. an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) that is capable of performing arithmetic and logical operations;
  3. a unit that receives and decodes instructions;
  4. a means of controlling and timing operations within the system.

  Figure 7.1 shows the principal internal features of a typical 8-bit microprocessor as well as the data paths that link them together. Because this diagram is a little complex, we will briefly explain each of these features and what they do.

  Figure 7.1 Internal architecture of a basic 8-bit microprocessor CPU

  7.1.1 Accumulator

  The accumulator functions both as a source and as a destination register for many of the basic microprocessor operations. As a source register it contains the data that will be used in a particular operation, while as a destination register it will be used to hold the result of a particular operation. The accumulator (or A register

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  eBook - ePub

  Information Technology

  An Introduction for Today's Digital World

  • Richard Fox(Author)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Chapman and Hall/CRC

    (Publisher)

  2

  The CPU and Memory

  In this chapter, we begin to explore computer systems in detail. We examine the processing portion of the input, processing, output, and storage (IPOS) cycle. Processing involves both the processor and memory. The processor or central processing unit (CPU) executes (processes) program code. For efficiency, we store our program instructions and the data that the program operates on in memory. The CPU accesses memory continuously to execute the program. Unfortunately, our computers’ main memories, although large, tend to be slower than the processor and so to keep the processor running smoothly we provide computers with multiple memories of different sizes and speeds. These memories are collectively called the memory hierarchy. In this chapter, we explore both the CPU and the memory hierarchy and also introduce the pipeline to improve processor performance and ways to evaluate a computer’s performance. We conclude with an examination of the evolution of computer technology. The learning objectives of this chapter are to be able to:

  •  Explain the role of the central processing unit (CPU) •  Describe the components of the CPU in terms of their function, how they work, and what they communicate with •  Explain the use of the various buses •  Explain the types and roles of the various types of memory in the memory hierarchy •  Determine the efficiency of a computer based on the type and speed of CPU and type, size, and speed of the various components of the memory hierarchy •  Describe the evolution of computer technology and the impact of each type of technology

  2.1      AN OVERVIEW OF A COMPUTER SYSTEM

  Figure 2.1 illustrates the components of a typical computer system. We see three boxes that represent the main components of our computer: the CPU, memory, and input/output (I/O) system. Connecting these components together is a bus called the system bus. Each of these three components and the bus are all composed of lesser components. To understand the computer, we need to look at the CPU, memory, I/O, bus, and their component parts. In this section, we provide a brief overview defining the role of these four components. In Sections 2.2 and 2.3 , we explore the CPU in detail. We also look briefly at the bus in Section 2.2 . In Section 2.4 , we look at the various forms of computer memory and how these memories interact with each other and the CPU. Section 2.5 describes how we can make our computers more efficient along with ways of gauging efficiency. Section 2.6 concludes with a history of computer technology. We hold off discussing I/O devices until Chapter 3

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