Advanced Microprocessors: The Pentium Processors

Advanced Microprocessors 1
The Pentium Processors
The Pentium microprocessor signals an improvement to the architecture found in the

80486 microprocessor. The changes include an improved cache structure, a wider data bus
width, a faster numeric coprocessor, a dual integer processor, and branch prediction logic. The
cache has been reorganized to form two caches that are each 8K bytes in size, one for caching
data, and the other for instructions. The data bus width has been increased from 32 bits to 64
bits. The numeric coprocessor operates at about five times faster than the 80486 numeric
coprocessor. A dual-integer processor often allows two instructions per clock. Finally, the
branch prediction logic allows programs that branch to execute more efficiently.
Features of Pentium Processors:
 It is a highly integrated device containing about 1.2 million transistors.

 Wider Data Bus Width: The Pentium processors have a wider data bus width. The data bus
width has been increased from 32-bit to 64-bit to improve the data transfer rate.
 Faster Floating Point Unit: Faster algorithm provides up to ten times speed-up for common
operations including add, multiply and load.
 Improved Cache Structure: Pentium processors include separate code and data caches
integrated on-chip to meet performance goals.
 Dual Integer Processor: Pentium processor has integer processor. It allows execution of two
instructions per clock.
 Branch Prediction Logic: The Pentium uses the technique called branch prediction to check
whether a branch will be valid or invalid.
 Data Integrity and Error Detection: The Pentium processors have added significant data
integrity and error detection capability.
 Super Scalar Processor: Processors capable to parallel instruction execution of multiple
instructions are known as super scalar processors. The Pentium is capable, under special
circumstances of executing two integer or two floating point instructions simultaneously and
thus it support super scalar architecture.
The Pentium MMX version contained an additional MMX unit that speeds up multimedia and
3D applications. Processing multimedia data involved instructions operating on large volumes
of packetized data.
Salient Features of 80586 (Pentium)
A salient feature of Pentium is its superscalar, super pipelined architecture. It has two integer
pipelines U and V, where each one is a 4-stage pipeline. This enhances the speed of integer
arithmetic of Pentium to a large extent. Moreover, it has an on-chip floating-point unit, which
has increased the floating-point performance manifold compared to the floating- point
performances of 80386/486 processors.
Another feature of Pentium is that it contains two separate caches, viz. data cache and
instruction cache. In 80486 there was a single unified data/instruction cache.
The Intel CPU architecture up to 80486 issues only one instruction to the execution unit per
cycle. This obviously leads to a comparatively slow process of decoding and execution. For
enhancement of processor performance beyond one instruction per cycle, the computer
architects employ the technique of multiple instruction issue (MII). Thus a microprocessor
which is capable of issuing more thaw instruction per single processor cycle will be termed as
MII microprocessor. Obvious executing more than one instruction in a cycle, the
microprocessor must have more than execution channels.
Fig. 5 .1 Pentium CPU Architecture
Pentium II
Pentium II is also a 32-bit processor with 64-bit data bus and 36-bit address bus to
address up to 64GB of physical memory space. It is actually a Pentium pro processor with on-
chip MMX (Multi Media Extension). It is available with maximum internal ratings of 233 MHz
to 450 MHz.
The features of Pentium II processor are;
(i) Supports the INTEL architecture with dynamic execution.

(ii) Integrated primary (L1) 16-kb instruction cache and 16-kb write back data cache.
(iii) Integrated 256kb second level (L2) cache.
(iv) Fully compatible with previous microprocessors.
(v) Supports MMX technology.
(vi) Quick start and Deep sleep modes provide extremely low power dissipation.
(vii) Integrated math co-processor.
The Pentium III
The Pentium III microprocessor is an improved version of the Pentium II microprocessor.

Even though it is newer than the Pentium II, it is still based on the Pentium Pro architecture.
The salient architectural features are:
1. P-III CPU has been developed using 0.25 micron technology and includes over 9.5 million
transistors. It has three versions operating at 450 MHz, 500 MHz and 550 MHz which are
commercially available.
2. P-III incorporates multiple branch prediction algorithms.
3. Seventy new instructions have been added to Pentium III. These instructions are useful in
advanced imaging, speech processing and multimedia applications.
4. Dual independent bus architecture increases bandwidth.
5. P-III employs dynamic execution technology.
6. A 512Kbyte unified, non-blocking level 2 cache has been used.
7. Eight 64-bit wide Intel MMX registers along with a set of 57 instructions for multimedia
applications are available
Pentium IV
The most recent version of the Pentium Pro architecture microprocessor is the Pentium 4
microprocessor from Intel. The Pentium 4 was released initially in November 2000 with a speed
of 1.3 GHz.
It is currently available in speeds up to 2.0 GHz. There are two packages available for
this integrated microprocessor, the 423-pin PGA and the 478-pin FC- PGA2.
Both versions use the 1.8 micron technology for fabrication. As with earlier versions of
the Pentium, the Pentium 4 uses a 100-MHz memory bus speed.
Comparison between different Processors
Name Date Internal Reg: Clock Data Width Address Max: Memory
Speed Lines Space
8086 1974 16 Bit 2 MHZ 16 bits 20 Bit 1MB
80286 1982 16 Bit 6 MHZ 16 bits 24 Bit 16 MB
80386 1985 32 Bit 16 MHZ 32 bits 32 Bit 4 GB
80486 1989 32 Bit 25 MHZ 32 bits 32 Bit 4 GB
Pentium 1993 32 Bit 60 MHZ 32 bits, 64 32 Bit 4 GB

bit bus
Pentium 1997 32 Bit 233 MHZ 32 bits, 32 Bit 64 GB

II
64 bit bus
Pentium 1999 32 Bit 450 MHZ 32 bits , 64 32 Bit 64 GB

III bit bus
Pentium 2000 32 Bit 1.5 MHZ 32 bits, 64 32 Bit 64 GB

IV bit bus

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Advanced Microprocessors 1

The Pentium Processors

The Pentium microprocessor signals an improvement to the architecture found in the

 It is a highly integrated device containing about 1.2 million transistors.

Salient Features of 80586 (Pentium)

(i) Supports the INTEL architecture with dynamic execution.

The Pentium III

The Pentium III microprocessor is an improved version of the Pentium II microprocessor.

The salient architectural features are:

Comparison between different Processors

8086 1974 16 Bit 2 MHZ 16 bits 20 Bit 1MB

80286 1982 16 Bit 6 MHZ 16 bits 24 Bit 16 MB

80386 1985 32 Bit 16 MHZ 32 bits 32 Bit 4 GB

80486 1989 32 Bit 25 MHZ 32 bits 32 Bit 4 GB

Pentium 1993 32 Bit 60 MHZ 32 bits, 64 32 Bit 4 GB

Pentium 1997 32 Bit 233 MHZ 32 bits, 32 Bit 64 GB

Pentium 1999 32 Bit 450 MHZ 32 bits , 64 32 Bit 64 GB

Pentium 2000 32 Bit 1.5 MHZ 32 bits, 64 32 Bit 64 GB

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