CPU

1. How a CPU works

a. How data is processed
b. Data Processing Speed
c. Interaction with RAM

2. Types of CPU Packaging

a. Pre-PGA CPUs
b. PGA CPUs
c. SEC CPUs

3. History of CPU Features

a. 8086/8088 CPUs
b. 80286 CPUs
c. 80386 CPUs
d. 80486 CPUs
e. Pentium CPUs
f. Pentium Pro CPUs
g. Pentium II, III, and 4 CPUs

How microprocessor works

The entire working of a processor can be divided into two parts – the software part and the hardware part.
The modules – that the microprocessor is made of – carry out the work in a synchronized manner. This
synchronism is provided by an external Clock Generator, which generates clock signals for the CPU and
other peripherals. And these modules are made up of digital logical element blocks that carry out the
calculations.

Software
We know that the application programs are written in higher-level languages like C, C++, Visual Basic etc.
The microprocessor is not capable of decoding these languages directly and needs a translator to translate
the program code into machine-level language i.e. the binary language. This language is the native
language of the CPU and consists of a string of zeroes and ones for every instruction that the CPU
understands. But as we humans can’t remember all the series of codes for these instructions, an assembly
level language is used to give English like form – called Mnemonic form – to the instructions. For example,
the instruction for addition is given as ADD in assembly language whereas SUB is for subtraction these are
also called Operational Codes or Op-codes, which tell the processor what action is to be performed on the
data.

Hardware
All microprocessors irrespective of their manufacturing techniques have the same basic building blocks and
they are the digital logic circuits called logic gates., All these gates require a minimum of one transistor.
The output of these transistors can be either zero or one, and the output depends on various combinations of
inputs to these transistors. Hence they can perform various logical operations based on Boolean algebra
defined by Georgre Boole. The main Boolean operators are AND, OR, Not, NAND etc. But during the
manufacturing of the processor, discrete transistors are not used. Instead, all these are etched on a single
silicon wafer using extreme ultra violet light.

Main components
The different parts and their functions of a CPU are as follows (see the diagram: Functional blocks of a
CPU):
Core: This is the central part of the Cpu, which houses the execution unit where all the arithmetic logical
unit and registers to store the instructions and operational data.
Floating Point Unit: This is the part of the CPU that does all the floating – point (non-integer) operations.
This unit determines the number crunching strength of a CPU.

Microcode and Pre-fetch Unit: The microcode is basically a decoder that decodes the OIP-codes and tells
the CPU what operation to be performed. All processor in the 80X86 family have a ‘Pipelined’ architecture
that works on the First In First Out )FIFO) basis and they line up the instructions ahead of its execution, the
pre-fetching of the instructions before they are executed.

Branch Processing Unit: This unit predicts the outcome of a conditional branch instruction like a loop or a
jump- and determines which code will be executed next so that the pre-fetch unit can acquire the needed
data in advance.

Cache: Today every processor has a small amount of high speed SRAM memory on the chip used to store
the instruction and data. This memory is called the L1 (level 1) cache. Apart from L1 cache, the processor
today contains an L2 cache which is often specified by the manufacturers. It varies from 256KB to 512KB.

Bus and Bus Interface: Bus refers to the lines connecting the various internal blocks. When these lines are
connected to external devices like the main memory, they use a buffer – acting as an interface. Thus it’s
called bus interface.

Clock: It is the basic timing circuit of a computer system. It is generated by an external clock generator
chip and brings about synchronization between the various devices in the CPU and the peripheral devices.
The CPU basically goes through four stages when performing any operation on the data: Fetch, Decode,
Execute and Halt. In the Fetch mode the CPU gets the required instruction and the data in the register.
During the Decode cycle it decodes the loaded instruction using the microcode unit and loads the data to
the execution unit. In the Execution cycle, the CPU performs the required operation on the data and stores
the result in the register or the main memory. After this the CPU ‘halts’ and waits for the next fetch cycle.

Today every processor manufacturer provides a software utility to identify the processor type, its speed and
the various other multimedia extensions