Microprocessors

1
Overview
 The brain or engine of the PC is the processor
(sometimes called microprocessor), or central
processing unit (CPU).
 The CPU performs the system’s calculating and
processing. The processor is often the most
expensive single component in the system
(although graphics card pricing now surpasses it
in some cases); in higher-end systems it can cost
up to four or more times more than the
motherboard it plugs into.
 Intel and AMD are the well know processor
manufacturers.

2
Processor Specifications
 Processors can be identified by two main
parameters: how wide they are and how
fast they are.
 The width of a processor is a little more
complicated to discuss because three main
specifications in a processor are expressed
in width. They are
■ Data I/O bus
■ Internal registers
■ Address bus
3
Data I/O Bus
 The processor bus discussed most often is the external data
bus—the bundle of wires (or pins) used to send and receive
data.
 The more signals that can be sent at the same time, the
more data can be transmitted in a specified interval and,
therefore, the faster (and wider) the bus.
 A wider data bus is like having a highway with more lanes,
which enables greater throughput.
 All modern processors from the original Pentium through the
latest Pentium 4, AMD Athlon, and even the Itanium have a
64-bit (8-byte) wide data bus. Therefore, they can transfer
64 bits of data at a time to and from the motherboard
chipset or system memory.
 Another ramification of the data bus in a chip is that the
width of the data bus also defines the size of a bank of
memory. So, a processor with a 32-bit data bus such as the
486, reads and writes memory 32 bits at a time. 4
 Because standard 72-pin single inline memory
modules (SIMMs) are only 32 bits wide, they
must be installed one at a time in most 486 class
systems—and two at a time in Pentium class
systems.
 Dual inline memory modules (DIMMs) are 64 bits
wide, so they are installed normally one at a time
in Pentium or newer systems.
 Rambus inline memory modules (RIMM) are
somewhat of an anomaly because they play by a
different set of rules. They are typically only 16 or
32 bits wide. Depending on the module type and
chipset, they are either used individually or in
pairs.
5
Address Bus
 The address bus is the set of wires that carries
the addressing information used to describe the
memory location to which the data is being sent
or from which the data is being retrieved.
 As with the data bus, each wire in an address bus
carries a single bit of information. This single bit
is a single digit in the address. The more wires
(digits) used in calculating these addresses, the
greater the total number of address locations.
 The size (or width) of the address bus indicates
the maximum amount of RAM a chip can address.
 For example, the 8086 and 8088 processors use
a 20-bit address bus that calculates as a
maximum of 220 or 1,048,576 bytes (1MB) of
address locations.
6
Processor Memory-Addressing
Capabilities
 The data bus and address bus are independent,
and chip designers can use whatever size they
want for each. Usually, however, chips with larger
data buses have larger address buses.

7
Internal Registers (Internal Data
Bus)
 The size of the internal registers indicates how much
information the processor can operate on at one time and how
it moves data around internally within the chip. This is
sometimes also referred to as the internal data bus.
 A register is a holding cell within the processor; for example,
the processor can add numbers in two different registers,
storing the result in a third register. The register size
determines the size of data on which the processor can
operate.
 The register size also describes the type of software or
commands and instructions a chip can run. That is, processors
with 32-bit internal registers can run 32-bit instructions that
are processing 32-bit chunks of data, but processors with 16-
bit registers can’t.
 Most advanced processors today—chips from the 386 to the
Pentium 4—use 32-bit internal registers and can therefore run
the same 32-bit operating systems and software.
 The new Itanium and AMD processors have 64-bit internal
registers, which require new operating systems and software8
to fully be utilized.
 Internal registers often are larger than the data bus, which
means the chip requires two cycles to fill a register before
the register can be operated on.
 For example, both the 386SX and 386DX have internal 32-
bit registers, but the 386SX must “inhale” twice
(figuratively) to fill them, whereas the 386DX can do the job
in one “breath.”
 The Pentium is an example of this type of design. All
Pentiums have a 64-bit data bus and 32-bit registers.
 But the Pentium is like two 32-bit chips in one. The 64-bit
data bus provides for very efficient filling of these multiple
registers. Multiple pipelines are called superscalar
architecture, which was introduced with the Pentium
processor.

9
Processor Speed Ratings
 A common misunderstanding about processors is their
different speed ratings.
 A computer system’s clock speed is measured as a
frequency, usually expressed as a number of cycles per
second.
 A typical computer system runs millions of these cycles per
second, so speed is measured in megahertz.
 How can two processors that run at the same clock rate
perform differently with one running “faster” than the
other? The answer is simple: efficiency.
 For example Pentium executes about twice as many
instructions in a given number of cycles as a 486.
Therefore, given the same clock speed, a Pentium is twice
as fast as a 486, and consequently a 133MHz 486 class
processor is not even as fast as a 75MHz Pentium!
10
FSB
 The processor bus (also called the front-side bus or FSB) is the
communication pathway between the CPU and motherboard chipset,
more specifically the North Bridge or Memory Controller Hub. This
bus runs at the full motherboard/RAM speed—typically between
66MHz and 400MHz in modern systems, depending on the particular
board and chipset design.
 This same bus also transfers data between the CPU and an external
(L2) memory cache on Pentium class systems.
 The FSB speed is the speed at which the CPU talks to the RAM.
Generally FSB speed should be equal to the RAM or motherboard
speed. But in most Pentium 4 systems, FSB > RAM speed, unless
you use RDRAM modules.
 The internal speed is very much greater than the FSB speed, (3 to 6
times). Hence, virtually all modern processors since the 486DX2 run
at some multiple of the motherboard speed.
 For example, a Pentium 4 2.53GHz chip runs at a multiple of 19/4
(4.75x) times the motherboard speed of 533MHz.
 You can set the motherboard speed and multiplier setting via
jumpers or other configuration mechanism (such as BIOS setup) on
the motherboard.
11
Bandwidth
 To determine the transfer rate for the processor bus, you
multiply the data width (64 bits for a Celeron/Pentium III/4
or Athlon/Duron) by the clock speed of the FSB.
 For example, if you are using a Pentium III 1.13GHz that
runs at a 133MHz motherboard speed, you have a
maximum instantaneous transfer rate of roughly
1,066MB/sec. You get this result by using the following
formula:

133.33MHz × 8 bytes (64 bits) = 1,066MB/sec

 With Socket 423/478 (Pentium 4 – 400MHz FSB), you get

400MHz × 8 bytes (64 bits) = 3,200MB/sec

12
Processor Socket and Slot Types
 Intel and AMD have created a set of socket and
slot designs for their processors. Each socket or
slot is designed to support a different range of
original and upgrade processors. The table below
shows the specifications of these sockets.
 Sockets 1, 2, 3, and 6 are 486 processor sockets.
 Sockets 4, 5, 7, and 8 are Pentium and Pentium
Pro processor sockets.
 Pentium II processors are slot-1 type. But
Pentium III processors are slot-1 as well as
socket 370 type.
 Pentium 4 processors are of socket 423 and 478.13
 Socket and Slot Types and Specifications
Chip Class Socket Pins Layout Voltage Supported Processors Introduced
Intel/ AMD 486 cla ss Socket 1 169 17x17 PGA 5V 486 SX/ SX2, DX/ DX2, DX4 OD Apr. '89
Socket 2 238 19x19 PGA 5V 486 SX/ SX2, DX/ DX2, DX4 OD, 486 Ma r. '92
Pentium OD
Socket 3 237 19x19 PGA 5V/ 3.3V 486 SX/ SX2, DX/ DX2, DX4, 486 Pentium Feb. '94
OD, AMD 5x86
Socket 6 235 19x19 PGA 3.3V 486 DX4, 486 Pentium OD Feb. '94
Intel/ AMD 586 Socket 4 273 21x21 PGA 5V Pentium 60/ 66, OD Ma r. '93
(Pentium) cla ss
Socket 5 320 37x37 SPGA 3.3V/ 3.5V Pentium 75-133, OD Ma r. '94
Socket 7 321 37x37 SPGA VRM Pentium 75-233+, MMX, OD, AMD K5/ K6, June '95
Cyrix M1/ II
Intel 686 (Pentium Socket 8 387 Dua l-pa ttern Auto VRM Pentium Pro, OD Nov. '95
II/ III) SPGA SPGA
cla ss Slot 1 (SC242) 242 Slot Auto VRM Pentium II/ III, Celeron SECC Ma y '97
Socket 370 370 37x37 SPGA Auto VRM Celeron/ Pentium III PPGA/ FC-PGA Nov. '98
Intel Pentium 4 cla ss Socket 423 423 39x39 SPGA Auto VRM Pentium 4 FC-PGA Nov. '00
Socket 478 478 26x26 mPGA Auto VRM Pentium 4/ Celeron FC-PGA2 Oct. '01
Socket T 775 30x33 LGA Auto VRM Pentium 4/ Celeron/ Pentium D/ Pentium June '04
(LGA775) Extreme Edition/ LGA775
AMD K7 cla ss Slot A 242 Slot Auto VRM AMD Athlon SECC June '99
Socket A (462) 462 37x37 SPGA Auto VRM AMD Athlon/ Athlon XP/ Duron PGA/ FC-PGA June '00
AMD K8 cla ss Socket 754 754 29x29 mPGA Auto VRM AMD Athlon 64 Sep. '03
Socket 939 939 31x31 mPGA Auto VRM AMD Athlon 64 v.2 June '04
Socket 940 940 31x31 mPGA Auto VRM AMD Athlon 64FX, Opteron Apr.14'03
15
 Intel Processor and Motherboard Speeds
Motherboard
CPU Type CPU Speed (MHz) CPU Clock Multiplier Speed (MHz)
Pentium 75 1.5x 50
Pentium 60,90,120,180 1x, 1.5x, 2x, 2,5x, 3,x 60
Pentium 66, 100, 133, 166, 200, 233, 266 1x, 1.5x, 2x, 2.5x, 3x, 3.5x, 4x
Pentium Pro 166, 200 2.5x, 3x 66
Pentium II 233, 266, 300, 333, 366 3.5x, 4x, 4.5x, 5x, 5.5x 66
Pentium II 350, 400, 450 3.5x, 4x, 4,5x 100
Celeron 266, 300, 333, 366, 400, 433, 4x, 4.5x, 5x, 5.5x, 6x, 6.5x, 7x, 7.5x, 8x, 66
466, 500, 533, 566, 600, 633, 8.5x, 9x, 9.5x, 10x, 10.5x, 11x, 11.5x
667, 700, 733, 766
Pentium III 450, 500, 550, 600, 650, 700, 4.5x, 5x, 5.5x, 6x, 6.5x, 7x, 7.5x, 8x, 8.5x, 100
750, 800, 850, 900, 950, 1000, 9x, 9.5x, 10x, 11x, 12x, 13x, 14x
1100, 1200, 1300, 1400
Celeron 800, 850, 900, 950, 1000, 1100, 8x, 8.5x, 9x, 9.5x, 10x, 11x, 12x, 13x, 14x 100
1200, 1300, 1400
Pentium III 533, 600, 667, 733, 800, 866, 4x, 4.5x, 5x, 5.5x, 6x, 6.5x, 7x, 7.5x, 8x, 133
933, 1000, 1066, 1133, 1200, 8.5x, 9x, 9.5x, 10x, 10.5x
1266, 1333, 1400
Pentium 4 1300, 1400, 1500, 1600, 1700, 3.25x, 3.5x, 3.75x, 4x, 4.25x, 4.5x, 4.75x, 5x, 400
1800, 1900, 2000, 2200, 2400, 5.5x, 6x,
2500, 2600
Celeron 1700 4.25x 400
Pentium 4 2400, 2600, 2800, 3000, 3200, 3x, 3.25x, 3.5x, 3.75x, 4x, 4.25x, 4.5x, 4.75x 800
3600, 3400, 3800
16
Pentium 4 EE 3460, 3730 3.25x, 3.5x 1066
Pentium D 2800, 3000, 3200 3.5x, 3.75x, 4x 800
Processor Ranges Summary
 Pentium 75-266 MHz
 Pentium Pro 166 & 200 MHz
 Pentium II 233-450 MHz
 Pentium III 450-1400 MHz
 Pentium 4 1300-3800 MHz
 Itanium 733-1666 MHz
 Celeron 266-1700 MHz

17
Processor Features
 SMM (Power Management) - This circuitry enables
processors to conserve energy use and lengthen battery life.
 MMX Technology – multimedia (graphics & sound)
enhancement
 SSE, SSE2, and SSE3 - includes 70 new instructions for
graphics and sound processing over what MMX provided.
 Dual Independent Bus Architecture (DIB) - Having two
(dual) independent data I/O buses enables the processor to
access data from either of its buses simultaneously and in
parallel, rather than in a singular sequential manner (as in a
single-bus system).
 Hyper-Threading Technology (HT) - allows a single
processor to handle two independent sets of instructions at the
same time.
 Dual-core Technology - HT Technology is designed to
simulate two processors in a single physical unit. A dual-core
processor, as the name implies, contains two processor cores18

in a single processor package.

19
20
21
Installing the Processor
 Most socket processors are inserted on the
motherboard with ZIF (zero insertion
force) technique.
 Installing a slot processor is obvious.
 Processor speed ratings are configured on
the motherboard by
 Jumpers
 BIOS
 PnP

22
 Processor Upgrades
 Intel designed in the capability to upgrade by designing standard
sockets that would take a variety of processors. Thus, if you have a
motherboard with Socket 3, you can put virtually any 486 processor in
it; if you have a Socket 7 motherboard, it should be capable of
accepting virtually any Pentium processor (or Socket 7-based third-
party processor).
 To maximize your motherboard, you can almost always upgrade to the
fastest processor your particular board will support. Because of the
varieties of processor sockets and slots—not to mention voltages,
speeds, and other potential areas of incompatibility—you should
consult with your motherboard manufacturer to see whether a higher-
speed processor will work in your board.
 For example, if your motherboard uses Socket 370, you might be able
to upgrade to the fastest 1.4GHz version of the Pentium III. Before
purchasing a new CPU, you should verify that the motherboard has
proper bus speed, voltage settings, and ROM BIOS support for the new
chip.
 Upgrading the processor can, in some cases, double the performance
of a system. However, if you already have the fastest processor that
will fit a particular socket, you need to consider other alternatives. In
that case, you really should look into a complete motherboard change, 23
which would let you upgrade to a newer CPU at the same time.
Things to match with the MB
 The following processor parameters should
lie in the range of the motherboard’s
specification when upgrading.
 Socket / Slot Type
 Internal Clock Speed
 External Clock Speed (FSB)
 L2 Cache Memory

24
Processor Troubleshooting
Techniques
 Processors are normally very reliable. Most PC problems are
with other devices, but if you suspect the processor, there are
some steps you can take to troubleshoot it.
 The easiest thing to do is to replace the microprocessor with a
known-good spare. If the problem goes away, the original
processor is defective. If the problem persists, the problem is
likely elsewhere.
 If during the POST the processor is not identified correctly,
your motherboard settings might be incorrect or your BIOS
might need to be updated. Check that the motherboard is
jumpered or configured correctly for your processor, and
make sure you have the latest BIOS for your motherboard.
 If the system seems to run erratically after it warms up, try
setting the processor to a lower speed setting. If the problem
goes away, the processor might be defective or overclocked.
 Many hardware problems are really software problems in
disguise. Be sure you have the latest BIOS for your
motherboard, as well as the latest drivers for all your
peripherals. 25
26
Review
1. What do the three width of a processor tell you about the
processor?
2. Given 1400 Pentium III and 1300 Pentium 4, which
processor is faster?
3. Know the difference between socket and slot processors.
4. What is the importance of heat sink and fan?
5. What is the difference between HT and Dual core
technologies?
6. What is ZIF? How is it important?
7. Given 2.8Ghz P4 with 800MHz FSB and 3.0Ghz P4 with
533Mhz FSB, which processor would you buy?
8. If your friend says she has 400Mhz processor, to which
Intel model(s) can it belong?
9. Know the different FSB speeds the Pentium 4 processor
(the current processor) has.
10. Be comfortable with matching socket numbers with
processor models and vice versa. 27