http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/ This section contains information about microprocessor and microcontroller architecture, semiconductor electronics, digital logic, stored program computers, functional block diagrams, assembly language programming, execution cycles, and much more. en-us Thu, 26 May 2022 09:18:38 GMT http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/75002001.asp There are two types of serial communication, I2C and SPI. I2C supports multiple masters on the bus. Which causes significant overhead in the protocol. SPI supports only a single master and is a much simpler protocol. That is what makes SPI faster. Mon, 11 Dec 2023 10:08:56 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/75002101.asp The I2C bus is used for communications between individual integrated circuits located on the same PCB. The I2C protocol supports multi-master, multi-slave communication, which means you can add a lot of functionality to your design. Sun, 10 Dec 2023 11:20:03 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/75002201.asp Timing is an essential function for generating signals with precisely determined duration, or for counting external events. For this reason, a timer subsystem is present in all microcontroller implementations. Sat, 09 Dec 2023 05:41:59 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/75002401.asp Analog-to-digital conversion (or A/D conversion), is an electronic process that converts a continuously variable signal into a digital signal (expressed as a string of 1s and 0s). Thu, 07 Dec 2023 08:33:04 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/75002501.asp Digital to analog conversion (DAC) is the process by which a digital signal (expressed as a string of 1s and 0s) are converted to an analog signal (a continuously varying voltage). Wed, 06 Dec 2023 08:56:33 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/75002601.asp In some situations it is required that some program parameters such as configuration settings be keept after the system is powered off. This is made possible by including a EEPROM internally to the microcontroller. Wed, 06 Dec 2023 08:55:55 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/75002701.asp An Asynchronous Serial Interface sends data one bit at a time, as apposed to a parallel interface which send one byte or one word at a time, and asynchronous means it sends them when its ready, without reference to a clock signal. Mon, 04 Dec 2023 09:40:03 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/75002901.asp The most common way for microcontrollers to interact with the outside world is the The digital I/O lines. Sat, 02 Dec 2023 10:25:10 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/75010001.asp In some cases it is possible that the internal resources of a microcontroller are insufficient. The solution to these situations is to add external components by creating an expanded microcontroller structure. Thu, 30 Nov 2023 07:35:57 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/75010101.asp Events related to peripheral interfaces are asynchronous to the program running on the CPU. The interrupt mechanism allows an external event to temporarily put the normal execution of the microcontroller on hold and force the execution of a specific subroutine. Wed, 29 Nov 2023 07:31:01 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/75010201.asp Registers are special small memory locations where the microcontroller can write data to or read data from. Special function registers help point to main memory locations, indicate the result of a mathematical operation, hold parts of an instruction or indicate the status of some operation or hardware feature. Some registers are general purpose and may be used by the programmer at their own discretion. Tue, 28 Nov 2023 07:34:25 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/75010301.asp a microcontroller is a set of resources. Each resource is identified by one or more addresses in an address space. The memory map is a graphic representation of how the resources are associated with addresses. Mon, 27 Nov 2023 07:02:36 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/75010401.asp The fundamental microcontroller architectures are Von Neumann and Harvard. Sun, 26 Nov 2023 11:14:46 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76070502.asp One method of memory management is to break physical memory into fixed size blocks and break logical memory into same sized blocks called pages. The physical location of pages is tracked by a page table. Thu, 26 May 2022 09:18:38 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76080201.asp In a paged environment sharing of memory among processes provides numerous benefits including sharing non-self-modifying reentrant code and interprocess communication. Thu, 28 Apr 2022 07:10:30 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76080301.asp Memory protection in a paged environment is accomplished by protection bits associated with each frame. For example read-write, read-only or execute-only bit, and valid-invalid bit. Normally, these bits are kept in the page table. Wed, 27 Apr 2022 08:50:26 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76080601.asp Paging is a memory management scheme that involves breaking physical memory into fixed-sized blocks and breaking logical memory into blocks of the same size called pages. When a process is to be executed, its pages are loaded into any available memory blocks. Sun, 24 Apr 2022 12:05:56 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76080801.asp Paging is a memory management scheme that permits a process's physical address space to be noncontiguous. Fri, 22 Apr 2022 06:40:06 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76081402.asp Operating System Memory Allocation is the process of assigning blocks of main memory to various running processes and to move processes back and forward between the main memory and disk. Sat, 16 Apr 2022 10:07:22 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76090501.asp In order to execute, it is not necessary for an entire program to be in physical memory. With dynamic loading, a routine is not loaded until it is called. Sat, 26 Mar 2022 07:43:30 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76090601.asp Computers use logical and physical addresses to access memory locatiuons. The CPU generates logical addresses. At run-time the Memory Management Unit (MMU) maps logical addresses to physical addresses. Fri, 25 Mar 2022 08:09:26 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76090701.asp For a program to run on a CPU it must be brought from files in long-term, non-volatile storage to main memory. Addresses in the source program must be mapped to addresses in main memory. Thu, 24 Mar 2022 06:53:20 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76090801.asp The CPU can be shared by a set of processes. Using CPU scheduling, we can improve the utilization of the CPU and the speed of the computer's response. To realize this increase in performance, multiple processes must be kept in memory. Wed, 23 Mar 2022 06:28:46 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76091302.asp In a real-time systems, is one whose operation depends on timing. A task must be serviced within a specific time interval. The tasks and their execution times must all be known. Fri, 18 Mar 2022 10:06:37 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76091401.asp Processor Affinity refers to a process's tendency to continue running on the processor on which it is currently running. When a process executes on a CPU, that process's cache is populated with its most recently accessed data, if a process is moved to a different CPU, that second processor's cache must be populated with that data. Thu, 17 Mar 2022 05:43:14 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76091601.asp On Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP) systems it is important to keep the workload balanced among all processors. There are two approaches to accomplish this, push migration and pull migration. Tue, 15 Mar 2022 13:29:01 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76091901.asp Here, we discuss several concerns in multiprocessor scheduling in the context of Multicore, Multithreaded core, NUMA (Non-uniform memory access), and Heterogeneous multiprocessing architectures. Sat, 12 Mar 2022 10:16:54 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76092101.asp With many CPU scheduling algorithms, all processes are placed in a single queue, and the scheduler selects the process to run. In practice, it is often easier to have separate queues for each priority, and the scheduler simply selects the process in the highest-priority queue. Thu, 10 Mar 2022 08:09:05 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76092901.asp CPU Scheduling deals with the problem of deciding which of the processes in the ready queue is to be alocated the CPU. There are many different CPU scheduling algorithms. In this article we describe round-robin CPU scheduling. Wed, 02 Mar 2022 06:46:52 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76100702.asp CPU Scheduling deals with the problem of deciding which of the processes in the ready queue is to be alocated the CPU. There are many different CPU scheduling algorithms. In this article we describe priority CPU scheduling. Mon, 21 Feb 2022 08:34:45 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76101001.asp CPU Scheduling deals with the problem of deciding which of the processes in the ready queue is to be alocated the CPU. There are many different CPU scheduling algorithms. In this article we describe shortest-job-first scheduling. Fri, 18 Feb 2022 06:08:52 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76101102.asp CPU Scheduling deals with the problem of deciding which of the processes in the ready queue is to be alocated the CPU. There are many different CPU scheduling algorithms. In this article we describe first-come, first-served scheduling. Thu, 17 Feb 2022 07:50:33 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76101402.asp CPU scheduling is the basis of multiprogrammed operating systems. By switching the CPU among processes, the operating system can make the computer more productive. Mon, 14 Feb 2022 07:27:06 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76102201.asp Operating system designers must write scheduling algorithms that use multiple processing cores and application programmers, mustmodify existing programs and design new programs that are multithreaded. Sun, 06 Feb 2022 07:21:31 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/76102501.asp A recent trend in system design is to place multiple computing cores on a single chip. Each core appears as a separate processor to the operating system. We call these multicore or multiprocessor systems. Thu, 03 Feb 2022 07:23:03 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/77012002.asp A process generally has a complete, set of private resources, each process has its own memory space. Threads exist within a process, every process has at least one. Threads share the process's resources, including memory and open files. Wed, 10 Nov 2021 14:46:28 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/77012701.asp The objective of multiprogramming is to have some process running at all times, to maximize CPU utilization. To meet these objectives, the process scheduler selects a process from a queue for execution on the CPU. Wed, 03 Nov 2021 09:13:45 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/77020001.asp An Operating System Process is a program in execution. It includes the value in the program counter and in the processors registers. A process also includes a stack, data section, and a heap. Although two processes may be associated with the same program, they are considered two separate execution sequences. Sun, 31 Oct 2021 09:06:31 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/77020201.asp An Operating System Process is a program in execution. It includes the value in the program counter and in the processors registers. A process also includes a stack, data section, and a heap. Fri, 29 Oct 2021 09:39:06 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/77022402.asp An operating system consists of two parts, the kernel space which operates in privileged mode, and the user space which operates in unprivileged mode. Thu, 07 Oct 2021 09:29:51 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/77022601.asp Some operating system functions like resource allocation, accounting, protection and security exist not for helping the user, but rather for ensuring the efficient operation of the system itself. Tue, 05 Oct 2021 09:55:15 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/77022701.asp An operating system provides an environment for the execution of programs. It provides certain services to programs and to the users of those programs. These operating system services are provided for the convenience of the programmer, to make the programming task easier. Mon, 04 Oct 2021 10:44:05 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/77031402.asp Android os is similar to Apple ios in that it is a layered stack of software that provides a rich set of frameworks for developing mobile applications. At the bottom of this software stack is the Linux kernal. Thu, 16 Sep 2021 09:00:59 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/77032001.asp The procedure of starting a computer by loading the kernel is known as booting the system. On most computer systems, a small piece of code known as the bootstrap program or bootstrap loader locates the kernel loads it into main memory, and starts its execution. Sat, 11 Sep 2021 06:02:09 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/77032201.asp An array is a simple data structure in which each element can be accessed directly. But what about storing an item whose size may vary? And what about removing an item if the relative positions of the remaining items must be preserved? In such situations other data structures may be needed. Wed, 08 Sep 2021 14:37:08 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/77032401.asp The operating system abstracts from the physical properties of its storage devices to define a logical storage unit, the file. The operating system maps files onto physical media and accesses these files via the storage devices. Mon, 06 Sep 2021 10:02:19 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/77032602.asp Computers must keep several programs in memory, creating a need for memory management. Many different memory-management schemes are used. The operating system Keeps track of which parts of memory are currently being used, and moves data into out of memory, and allocates and deallocates memory as required. Sat, 04 Sep 2021 08:27:59 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/77032701.asp A program is not a process. A program is a file containing a list of instructions stored on disk. A process is an active entity with a program counter specifying the next instruction to execute and a set of resources. A program becomes a process when an executable file is loaded into memory. Fri, 03 Sep 2021 09:20:56 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/77040701.asp Basic computer architecture refers to the structure of a computer system and comprises its hardware, firmware, and software. Hardware consists of the physical components in computer architecture. The main hardware components of the computer architecture include the CPU, memory, and bus. Tue, 24 Aug 2021 10:15:39 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/77041501.asp NoC (Network on a Chip) is a method of placing a much larger number of processors on a multi-core chip. Much like a regular network, NoC has multiple point-to-point data links that are interconnected by routing switches. Mon, 16 Aug 2021 09:53:24 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/77050601.asp So you have a Raspberry Pi, or you're thinking of getting one, and you want to know how to get started and how to become a master user of one. Sun, 25 Jul 2021 11:32:12 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/77100101.asp 16 registers r0 - r15 are accessable in the ARM Cortex-A72 user mode. In addition part of the CPSR (Current Program Status Register) is accessable. That part is the APSR (Application Program Status Register) which contains conditional status bits. Sat, 27 Feb 2021 08:57:52 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/77100501.asp One of the easiest ways to learn assembly language programming is on the Raspberry Pi 400. The Raspberry Pi 400 is a complete personal computer built into a compact keyboard. Wed, 24 Feb 2021 08:04:48 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/79072202.asp logic family refers to the way the semiconductors are designed to create gates. The first highly popular logic family, available in 1964, was TTL (Transistor-Transistor Logic). Thu, 09 May 2019 14:03:23 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/79080501.asp The oscilloscope is an instrument that displays digital signals on a line graph with time on the horizontal axis and voltage on the vertical axis. It will be difficult to do digital logic design without the use of an oscilloscope. Thu, 25 Apr 2019 10:31:18 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/79090801.asp All the advanced features of the most powerful computers, such as mulicore and parallel processing are done with digital logic. In this article I explain the fundamental concept of digital logic in simple and clear language so that anyone can understand it. Sat, 23 Mar 2019 12:32:44 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/80001201.asp An interrupt is a signal to the processor indicating an event has occurred that needs immediate attention. When an interrupt occurs, the processors normal path of execution is interrupted in order to run a routine to service the interrupt requester. Wed, 19 Dec 2018 09:03:01 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/80062801.asp Hard drive technology has continuously improved over the decades, that includes higher storage capacity performance. Part of this improvement has been higher access speeds, but most of the higher storage capacity has been the result of changes in the bit recording methods. Sat, 02 Jun 2018 13:13:01 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/80081301.asp The process of integrated circuit design can be divided into stages: system design, logic design, circuit design, layout design, fabrication and testing. Tue, 17 Apr 2018 15:14:52 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/80081401.asp The main advantage of Silicone on Insulator (SOI) technology is that they enable the manufacture of smaller devices. The manufacturing process optimizes the efficiency of transistors and allows chips to be packed close together, resulting in a greater yield per wafer. Mon, 16 Apr 2018 07:34:58 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/80081501.asp A silicon wafer is a thin, circular disc used in the manufacture of integrated circuits and semiconductors. The silicon wafer manufacturing process is interesting. Sun, 15 Apr 2018 14:11:42 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/80091702.asp This article's main target is to teach the electronics language to readers that are not familiar with electronics by using a group of rules and simple equations that describe the behavior of every electronic component and the relationship between the components in the circuit. http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/81001101.asp To determine the resistance value of a color-coded resistor, select the colors matching each band from the drop-down lists. Wed, 20 Dec 2017 10:18:04 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/81051201.asp Stack, heap, and queue are ways that elements are stored in memory. Stack elements are added to the top of the stack, and removed from the top of the stack. The mnemonic LIFO is used to describe a stack (Last-In-First-Out). With a queue, the first one in is the first one out. The mnemonic FIFO is used to describe a queue. A heap is an area of memory where elements can be stored and removed in any order. Wed, 19 Jul 2017 21:25:19 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/81051901.asp In the real world, gates don't transfer logic levels instantaneously. The time it takes for electrons and holes to move through the semiconductor material (called propagation delay) in CMOS are less than 100 ps (pico seconds), but there are other delays caused by resistance, capacitance, and inductance. Wed, 12 Jul 2017 14:45:58 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/81080801.asp A simplified overview of the Windows operating system architecture divides it into user-mode and kernel-mode components. Sat, 22 Apr 2017 13:59:54 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/81081302.asp The Windows operating system uses many confusing terms. This article explains the meaning of the terms: Services, Functions, Routines, Processes, Threads, and Jobs. Mon, 17 Apr 2017 14:47:27 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/81081502.asp Computer hobbyists has been building their own desktop computers since the mid 1980's, but I know of no laptop kits, until now. The Pi-Top is a kit that lets you build your own laptop. Sat, 15 Apr 2017 20:24:48 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/81112001.asp In an AC circuit capacitors exhibit a property similar to resistance called reactance and cause a phase shift between votage and current. The vector sum of resistance and reactance in an AC circuit is called impedance. Wed, 11 Jan 2017 14:50:11 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/82000702.asp An inductor is constructed with a coil of wire. When connected to a voltage source, an inductor resists a change in current flow as it stores energy in its magnetic field, and it can return that energy to the circuit if desired. Mon, 26 Dec 2016 18:07:48 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/82001601.asp A capacitor is a component that can be used to store an electrical charge. A capacitor can be used to create a timer. This time delay can be used to smooth a changing current flow in a circuit, or it can be used to absorb spikes and prevent false triggering of other components. Thu, 15 Dec 2016 22:09:44 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/82011101.asp There are five types of circuits; open, short, series, parallel, and series-parallel. Using Ohm's law, along with the reciprocal formula to calculate the equivalent resistance of resistors in parallel, you can calculate the voltage or current in any part of a circuit. Wed, 09 Nov 2016 14:09:43 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/82012502.asp To understand computer architecture, it is necessary for you to have a basic understanding of electronics. This article explains how all the amazing things that can be done with electronics are the result of one simple thing - electric charge. Sat, 05 Nov 2016 17:02:50 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/82032102.asp An oscilloscope is an instrument used to display the waveform of electronic signals. It draws a graph of the voltage as a function of time. A digital oscilloscope can also store waveforms and perform mathematical analysis of the waveform. Sat, 10 Sep 2016 19:48:27 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/82070901.asp A digital system uses discrete logic levels, 0 and 1, while the real world is a continuous range such as a voltage from 0 to 5. To make design easier, engineers view the system in the abstract. Sun, 22 May 2016 15:34:44 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/82091901.asp If you are a US user of the Raspberry Pi, you will discover that when you type, the characters displayed do not match our keyboard. When you type [shift][#] instead you get the British pound symbol. This is because Raspbian (and NOOBS) defaults to UK keyboard settings. Sat, 12 Mar 2016 16:02:19 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/82100301.asp Boolean algebra is a system of mathematics in which the values of the variables can take on only one of two values, either 0 or 1. Similar to regular algebra, Boolean algebra can be used to simplify a mathematical expression. Since computer logic is also a system in which the values of the inputs and outputs can take on only one of two values, Boolean algebra can be used to simplify logic circuits. Fri, 26 Feb 2016 17:28:15 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/82110201.asp AMD released the first Phenom processor in 2007. Unlike Intel's Core 2 Quad processors, which are a multi-chip module (MCM) design, AMD's Phenom processors had all cores on the same silicon die. Fri, 29 Jan 2016 18:41:33 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/82111101.asp The Raspberry Pi is a tiny bare-bones computer motherboard. You can easily make it into a Linux PC by connecting your own keyboard, mouse, and display. Wed, 20 Jan 2016 17:05:02 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/82112201.asp Assembly language involves using instructions that are mnemonics called opcodes, along with values and/or addresses in hexadecimal notation. To make learning as easy as possible, we'll first learn how to program a simple microprocessor, the 6502. Sat, 09 Jan 2016 17:53:32 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/83010001.asp The benefit of the open source Arduino Microcontroller Development Platform is that the software is free and the hardware is cheap. This makes it one of the cheapest platforms on which to develop prototypes. Mon, 30 Nov 2015 16:31:14 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/85041601.asp A microarchitecture describes the physical features, functions, and the technology level of the processes used to manufacture the core of a microprocessor. This article describes the microarchitectures used by AMD. Sat, 15 Aug 2015 18:24:39 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/85042401.asp A microcontroller is an IC that contains a microprocessor as well as RAM, ROM and general I/O ports. Engineers design microcontrollers into specific-purpose devices such as microwave ovens, cars, washing machines, refridgerators, and even space probes. Fri, 07 Aug 2015 15:55:34 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/85042601.asp Floating-point numbers allow you to use the very large, and very small, numbers commonly found in scientific calculations. A binary floating-point number consists of three parts, the sign bit, the mantissa and the exponent. Wed, 05 Aug 2015 16:33:46 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/85050101.asp If you view a computer as an input-processing-output machine, you can use a keyboard or removable storage device as the input, a program as the processing, but what can you use to retrieve the output? One way to acquire the output, be it text or graphics, is with a video display. Thu, 30 Jul 2015 14:21:12 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/85070501.asp In the early days of computers, memory chips were small capacity, scarce, and expensive. Because of this a memory management scheme called paging was invented. Tue, 26 May 2015 21:17:26 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/85070901.asp Every program being executed and every piece of data being manipulated must be copied from a storage device, such as a magnetic disk, into main memory. It's important to understand the basic types of memory. Fri, 22 May 2015 14:28:33 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/85080401.asp All the circuitry in the microprocessor, in fact all the circuitry on the motherboard require a clock signal for operation. The clock signal is the heartbeat of the system. Without a clock signal, the microprocessor and the computer are dead. Sun, 26 Apr 2015 17:53:43 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/86011102.asp A microprocessors is a circuit that reads and execute program instructions called opcodes. A decoder is a circuit that converts an opcode into signals tused to control the circuitry of the microprocessor to enable it to perform the instruction. Wed, 19 Nov 2014 21:30:35 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/86011201.asp To a large extent the operation of a microprocessor involves loading, transferring, and manipulating the contents of registers. In this article you learn about the functions, and purposes of the register set of the Intel 8086 microprocessor. Tue, 18 Nov 2014 17:21:31 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/86021001.asp In early computers, all data transfers required the processor to read and write single words from memory until the entire transfer is complete. With DMA, the DMA controller takes control of the system buses to move data between the device and main memory. Tue, 21 Oct 2014 21:51:39 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/86021701.asp Because the chipset dictates the bus speed, type and amount of memory, and the type and number of I/O ports, much of a computer's performance is determined by its chipset. Tue, 14 Oct 2014 19:51:48 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/86032701.asp Over the development time of the computer, several different designs of packaging for the CPU chip die have been used. Each type of packaging has its advantages and disadvantages. This article reviews some common packages that might still be in use. Wed, 03 Sep 2014 17:42:52 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/86040301.asp One of the primary functions performed by a computer is mathematics. This article describes some of the logic circuits used to create the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) of a microprocessor. Thu, 28 Aug 2014 15:28:05 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/86041001.asp The Pentium P5 processor was introduced in 1993 was the first superscalar processor. It featured two integer pipelines and a pipelined floating-point unit. This article describes other innovations introduced in the P5. Thu, 21 Aug 2014 21:13:42 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/86041102.asp Computers perform all of their amazing work with only two voltage levels, one representing binary 0, the other representing binary 1. This article describes how to perform binary addition and subtraction. Wed, 20 Aug 2014 17:54:24 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/86072301.asp A 16-bit bus can transfer 16 binary bits simultainiously. This requires 16 separate metal traces on a PC board. We also need traces for control signals. The whole group of traces is referred to as a bus. Thu, 08 May 2014 14:34:46 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/86080001.asp The Fetch, Decode, Execute cycle is paramount to the functioning of a microprocessor. In this article I'll describe the Fetch, Decode, Execute cycle simplified to its bare-bones in a highly simplified fictitious microprocessor. Wed, 30 Apr 2014 16:19:18 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/86081501.asp Depending upon the language used, program code my be difficult for humans to read and understand. However, one type of programming that is very easy to understand is flow charting. Tue, 15 Apr 2014 21:02:41 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/86081601.asp A computers memory and peripheral ports connect through two highly integrated chips called simply the chipset. The chipset consists of a northbridge chip and a southbridge chip. Mon, 14 Apr 2014 18:34:43 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/86081901.asp The oxygen is removed from silica by heating it with carbon. A tiny seed of silicon is then dipped into molten silicon. As the tiny crystal is slowly lifted out of the crucible silicon crystallizes around it. Fri, 11 Apr 2014 14:39:16 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/86091901.asp Almost every computer system ever made is based on the stored program architecture designed in 1945 design by the mathematician John Von Neumann. He described a system where data and instructions would be stored in memory. Wed, 12 Mar 2014 21:15:07 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/86092101.asp The entire field of computer technology relies on transistors. This article describes how transistors are constructed and how modern MOSFETs are combined to make digital logic circuits. Mon, 10 Mar 2014 18:43:19 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/89060802.asp Core i3 is an entry-level 2-core processor using the 32nm Westmere micro-architecture. With a Thermal Design Power (TDP) of 73 watts, the i3-530 is a cool-running chip that doesn't gobble loads of electricity, so those looking for a power-efficient, quiet machine will be happy with it. Wed, 22 Jun 2011 16:57:29 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/89071502.asp Phenom II is AMD's family of 45 nm multi-core processors and is the successor to the original Phenom. In the Phenom II, the shared L3 cache increased from 2MB to 6MB. The chip has an integrated, dual-channel memory controller that supports DDR3 RAM, and 4000MHz HyperTransport technology. Mon, 16 May 2011 20:04:16 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/89072204.asp "Sandy Bridge" is Intel's code name for a new cpu core microarchitecture. It introduces a few new or improved features. The memory controller, the PCI Express controller, and video circuitry are all located within the processor die and the new ring architecture uses a Last Level Cache between the CPU and graphics cores. Mon, 09 May 2011 19:08:16 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/89081001.asp Since 2005 AMD has used the Athlon name for their processors. This changed in 2007 when they released their new processor called Phenom. So we must ask the question; what is the difference between the Athlon and the Phenom? Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:00:00 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/90032101.asp What happens when the CPU (Central Processor Unit) is busy doing something, like defragmenting the hard disk, and you press a key on the keyboard? An interrupt (IRQ) is a connection between a hardware device and the CPU. A hardware device uses it's assigned IRQ line to signal or interrupt the CPU when it needs attention. Tue, 04 Nov 2014 18:12:29 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/91051402.asp Computers today, even that PC on your desk are unbelievably complex. You can't understand computers without an understanding of the basics. In this article I explain basic computer architecture in simple, basic terms. Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:21:39 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/91052901.asp After the processor accesses a location in memory, there's a high probability that the next location in memory that it will access is in the same area of memory. So to make the computer run faster, a a smaller, faster memory called a cache is placed between main memory and the processor. Thu, 2 Jul 2009 15:57:28 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/91080801.asp Core i7 is a family of Intel quad core processors, that is, they have four processors on a single silicon chip. All four processor cores and all memory caches, including a 64K L1 cache, a 256K L2 cache, and a shared L3 cache are located on one chip. The memory is also located on the same chip. Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:06:06 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/93072202.asp The Athlon 64 X2 is the first dual-core CPU manufactured by AMD. It is essentially two Athlon 64 cores on one die joined together with additional control logic. The cores share one dual-channel memory controller. The benefit of dual-core processors is their ability to process more software threads at the same time. However, many programs are written with only one thread. Tue, 18 Dec 2007 15:25:37 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/93072701.asp AMD's Athlon 64 processor, released in September 2003, was their first 64-bit processor targeted for the workstation market to compete with Intel's Pentium 4. AMD's first 64-bit processor was the Opteron, released earlier in April that same year, targeted for the server market to compete with Intel's Xeon processor. Tue, 18 Dec 2007 15:25:37 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/93081203.asp The Sempron replaced the Duron as AMD's budget processor. The socket A Sempron is basically an Athlon XP with half the cache. The socket 754 Sempron is a cut down version of the Athlon 64 processor with half the cache. Tue, 18 Dec 2007 15:25:37 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/93111501.asp Intel's Core 2 processors, released in July of 2006, are based on the Core microarchitecture, a dual core design using a 65nm manufacturing process to put 291 million transistors on a 143 square mm die. Each core has its own 64KB L1 cache. The two cores share an L2 cache that can be either 2MB or 4MB. Tue, 18 Dec 2007 15:25:37 GMT http://bucarotechelp.com/computers/architecture/94000402.asp The Celeron processor is a budget processor offering moderate performance at an affordable price. The Celeron processor is suitable for use in notebook and desktop computers running home-office applications and providing access to the Internet. Tue, 18 Dec 2007 15:25:37 GMT