Continuation

of
Primary System Components
C. Microprocessor
 IBM and IBM-compatible computers
manufactured today use a microprocessor chip
made by Intel or one of its competitors.
 Early CPUs by Intel were identified by model
numbers: 8088, 8086, 80286, 386, and 486.
 The next CPU introduced after the 486 was
named the Pentium, and all Intel CPUs after
that include Pentium in their name.
 Pentium comes from the word pente, the Greek
word for five. AMD and Cyrix won rights to use
the X86 chip names, but are not allowed to use
the word “Pentium” to name their CPUs.

2
C. CPU Rating
 Attributes which are used to rate CPUs:
1. CPU speed measured in megahertz: The first CPU
used in an IBM PC was the 8088, which worked at
about 4.77 MHz, or 4,770,000 clock beats per
second.
2. Efficiency of the programming code: Permanently
built into the CPU chip are programs that
accomplish fundamental operations, such as how
to compare or add two numbers. Less efficient
CPUs require more steps to perform these simple
operations than more efficient CPUs. These
groups of instructions are collectively called the
“instruction set.”

3
C. CPU Rating
3. Word size: Word size is the largest number of bits
the CPU can process in one operation. Word size
ranges from 16 bits (2 bytes) to 64 bits (8 bytes).
4. Data path: The data path, sometimes called the
external data path size, is the largest number of bits
that can be transported into the CPU. The size of the
data path is the same as the system bus size, or the
number of bits that can be transported along the
bus at one time. (The data path ranges from 8 bits
to 64 bits.) The word size need not be as large as
the data path size; some CPUs can receive more bits
than they can process at one time.

4
C. CPU Rating
5. Maximum number of memory addresses: A
computer case has room for a lot of
memory physically housed within the case,
but a CPU has only a fixed range of
addresses that it can assign to this physical
memory.
◦ How many memory addresses the CPU can assign
limits the amount of physical memory chips that
the computer can effectively use.
◦ The minimum number of memory addresses a
CPU can use is one megabyte (where each byte of
memory is assigned a single address).

5
C. CPU Rating
6. The amount of memory included with the CPU: Some
CPUs have storage for instructions and data built
inside the chip housing. This is called internal cache,
primary cache, level 1, or L1 cache.
7. Multiprocessing ability: Some microchips are really
two processors in one and can do more than one
thing at a time. Others are designed to work in
cooperation with other CPUs installed on the same
systemboard.
8. Special functionality: An example of this is special
purpose CPUs, such as the Pentium MMX CPU, which
is designed to manage multimedia devices
efficiently.

6
C. Microprocessor
 Below is the list of some early CPUs made by Intel
until the introduction of Pentium chips and their
clones, most chips were rated by the criteria
hereinafter:

7
C. Microprocessor
 Intel first manufactured the 80386DX with its 32-bit
path size, system-board. Manufacturers could
produce at a reasonable cost a systemboard with a
path size of only 16 bits, or 2 bytes.
 Manufacturers could not take advantage of the DX’s
32-bit path size and chose not to use the first
80386DX chips.
 A Pentium chip has two arithmetic logic units,
meaning that it can perform two calculations at the
same time; it is therefore a true multiprocessor.
 Pentiums have a 64-bit external path size and two
32-bit internal paths, one for each arithmetic logic
unit.

8
C. Comparing CPUs
 To compare the Pentium family of chips, and
other vendors, you need to understand
1. Bus speed,
2. Processor speed and Multiplier
3. Memory cache.
 Bus speed is the frequency or speed at which
data moves on a bus.
 Only the fastest bus connects directly to the

CPU. This bus goes by many names.

9
C. Comparing CPUs
 It’s called the system-board bus, or the
system bus, because it’s the main bus on the
systemboard connecting directly to the CPU,
or the Pentium bus because it connects
directly to the Pentium.
 It’s called the host bus because other buses

connect to it to get to the CPU, and it’s also

called the memory bus because it connects
the CPU to RAM.

10
C. Comparing CPUs
 Processor speed is the speed at which the CPU
is operating internally.
 If the CPU operates at 150 MHz internally, but

75 MHz externally, the processor speed is 150

MHz and the memory bus speed is 75 MHz. The
CPU is operating at twice the speed of the bus.
 This factor is called the multiplier. If you

multiply the memory bus speed by the

multiplier, you get the processor speed or the
speed of the CPU:
Processor Speed = Memory bus x multiplier

11
C. Comparing CPUs
 Memory cache is a small amount of RAM
(referred to as Static RAM (SRAM) that is much
faster than the rest of RAM, which is called
Dynamic RAM (DRAM) because it loses its
data rapidly and must be refreshed often.
 Refreshing RAM takes time, making DRAM

slower than SRAM, which does not need

refreshing because it can hold its data as
long as power is available.

12
C. Comparing CPUs
 Therefore, both programming code and data
can be stored temporarily in this faster static
RAM cache to speed up the CPU processing of
both.
 The size of the cache a CPU can support is a

measure of its Performance, especially during

intense calculations.
 A memory cache that is included on the CPU

microchip itself is called internal cache,

primary cache, Level 1, or L1 cache.

13
C. Comparing CPUs
 A cache outside of the CPU microchip is
called external cache, secondary cache, Level
2, or L2 cache. L2 caches are usually 128K,
256K, 512K, or 1 MB in size.
 In the past, all L2 cache was contained on the

systemboard, but beginning with the Pentium

Pro, some L2 cache has been included inside
the Pentium physical housing—not on the
CPU microchip like the L1 cache, but on a tiny
circuit board with the CPU chip, within the
same housing.

14
C. Comparing CPUs
 The bus between the processor and the L2
cache is called the backside bus or cache bus
and is not visible, because it is completely
contained inside the CPU housing.
 On the Pentium Pro and Pentium II, this cache

bus runs at half the speed of the processor.

 In contrast, the bus that connects the CPU to

memory outside the housing is called the

frontside bus and can be seen on the
systemboard. The frontside bus is the same
bus as the memory bus.

15
C. Types of Microprocessor

16
C. Types of Microprocessor

17
C. Classic Pentium
 The first Pentium chip was introduced in
March 1993, and has now become
affectionately known as the “Classic Pentium.”
Early problems with this first Pentium (which
Intel later resolved) could cause errors such
as incorrect calculations on spreadsheets.
The Classic Pentium is no longer
manufactured.

18
C. Pentium MMX
 The Pentium MMX (Multimedia Extension)
targets the home market. It speeds up
 graphical applications and performs well with

games and multimedia software.

19
C. Pentium Pro
 Intel recommends the Pentium Pro for 32-bit
applications that rely heavily on fast access to
large amounts of cache memory. It was the
first Pentium to offer Level 2 cache inside the
CPU housing as well as other features not
available on the Classic Pentium.
 The Pentium Pro is popular for computing-

intensive workstations and servers.

20
C. Pentium II
 The Pentium II is designed for graphics-
intensive workstations and servers, and works
well with 3-D graphic manipulation, CAD
(Computer-Aided Design), and Multimedia
presentations. The Pentium II is the first
Pentium to use a slot (Slot 1) instead of a
socket to connect to the systemboard.
 Intel chose to patent Slot 1, and in doing so,
forced its competitors to stay with the slower
socket technology as they developed equivalent
processors. The Pentium II can use the 100-
MHz memory bus with processor speeds up to
450 MHz.
21
C. Pentium II
 The Pentium II Xeon processor is a fast, high-
end Pentium II processor designed exclusively
for servers and powerful workstations. It can
support up to eight processors in one
computer and is recommended for use with
Windows NT, Windows 2000, and UNIX
operating systems.

22
C. Pentium III
 Pentium III uses either a slot or a socket and runs
with the 100-MHz or 133-MHz memory bus with
a processor speed up to 1 GHz. The Pentium III
introduced Intel’s new performance
enhancement called SSE, or Streaming SIMD
Extensions. (SIMD stands for Single Instruction,
Multiple Data, and is a method used by MMX to
speed up multimedia processing.) SSE is a new
instruction set designed to improve multimedia
processing even further. SSE will be an
improvement over MMX as soon as operating
systems and applications software are written to
use it.
23
C. Pentium III
 The Pentium III Xeon is a high-end Pentium III
processor that runs on the 133 MHz system
bus and is designed for mid range servers
and high-end workstations. It uses a 330-pin
slot called the SC330 (slot connector 330),
sometimes called Slot 2, and is contained
within a cartridge called a Single Edge
Contact Cartridge (SECC).

24
C. CPUs and RISC
 In addition to CPUs becoming faster and
using a wider data path, another trend in chip
design is the increased use of RISC (Reduced
Instruction Set Computer) technology.
 RISC chips are challenging the monopoly in

the chip market held by CISC (complex

instruction set computer) chips. (CISC is the
name given to traditional chip design.)
 The difference between the RISC and CISC

technologies is the number of instructions

(called the instruction set) contained directly
on the CPU chip itself.
25
C. CPUs and RISC
 With RISC technology, the CPU is limited to a
few instructions that can execute in a single
clock cycle.
 One advantage that RISC chips have over CISC

chips is that, because they have only a small

number of operating instructions to perform,
they can process much faster when few
complex calculations are required.
 This feature makes RISC chips ideal for video

or telecommunications applications. They are

also easier and cheaper to manufacture.

26
C. CPU Cooling Fans
 CPU generates so much heat, most computer
systems use a cooling fan to keep the
temperature below the Intel maximum
allowed limit of 185° F.
 Good CPU cooling fans can maintain the

temperature at 90 to 110° F.
 Use cooling fans to prevent system errors and

to prolong the life of the CPU.

 The ball-bearing cooling fans last longer than

other kinds.

27
C. CPU Cooling Fans
 Sometimes a cream-like thermal compound is
placed between the fan and the CPU. This
compound draws heat from the CPU and
passes it to the fan. The thermal compound
transmits heat better than air and makes the
connection between the fan and the CPU
airtight.
 The fan is equipped with a power connector

that connects to one of the power cables

coming from the power supply.

28
C. CPU Cooling Fans
 Some newer CPUs generate so much heat that
they need extra cooling. The chips might
have a heat sink attached to them and a large
fan attached on top of the sink or to the side
of the case, blowing over the heat sink.
 A heat sink is a clip-on device that mounts

on top of the CPU. Fingers or fins at the base

of the heat sink pull the heat away from the
CPU.

29
C. CPU Cooling Fans

30
C. CPU Sockets
 CPU sockets use either a PGA or SPGA design.
 Rows of pins are arranged on the socket

either in even rows (PGA) or staggered

(SPGA).

31
C. ZIF CPU Socket
 Current CPU sockets are called Zero Insertion
Force (ZIF) sockets and have a small lever on
the side of the socket that lifts the CPU up
and out of the socket.
 Push the lever down and the CPU moves into

its pin connectors with equal force over the

entire housing. The heat sink or fan clips to
the top of the CPU.
 ZIF allows easily removing and replacing of

CPU with another if necessary.

32
C. ZIF CPU Socket

33
C. CPU Voltage
 Different CPUs require different amounts of
voltage on the systemboard. Some CPUs
require one voltage amount for I/O
operations and a different amount for core
operations.
 CPU that requires two different voltages is

called dual voltage CPUs.

 CPU that requires one voltage is called single

voltage CPUs.
 A CPU voltage regulator controls the amount

of voltage on the systemboard. The voltage

type selections are made by jumper settings.
34
C. CPU Voltage

35
To be continued…