The Microprocessors

The Microprocessors
The world’s first microprocessor, the Intel 4004, was a 4-bit microprocessor–programmable
controller on a chip. It addressed a mere 4096, 4-bit-wide memory locations. (A bit is a binary
digit with a value of one or zero. A 4-bit-wide memory location is often called a nibble.)
The 4004 instruction set contained only 45 instructions. It was fabricated with the then-current
state-of the-art P-channel MOSFET technology that only allowed it to execute instructions at the
slow rate of 50 KIPs (kilo-instructions per second). This was slow when compared to the
100,000 instructions executed per second by the 30-ton ENIAC computer in 1946. The main
difference was that the 4004 weighed much less than an ounce. At first, applications abounded for
this device. The 4-bit microprocessor debuted in early video game systems and small
microprocessor-based control systems. One such early video game, a shuffleboard game, was
produced by Bailey. The main problems with this early microprocessor were its speed, word
- The 4040 operated at a
higher speed, although it lacked
improvements in word width and
memory size. Other companies,
particularly Texas Instruments (TMS-
1000), also produced 4-bit
microprocessors. The 4-bit
microprocessor still survives in low-
end applications such as microwave
ovens and small control
systems and is still available from
some microprocessor manufacturers.
Most calculators are still
based on 4-bit microprocessors that
process 4-bit BCD (binary-coded
decimal) codes.
Later in 1971, realizing that the microprocessor was a commercially viable product, Intel
Corporation released the 8008—an extended 8-bit version of the 4004 microprocessor. The 8008
addressed an expanded memory size (16K bytes) and contained additional instructions (a total of
48) that provided an opportunity for its application in more advanced systems. (A byte is
generally an 8-bit-wide binary number and a K is 1024. Often, memory size is specified in K
bytes.)

What Was Special about the 8080?

Not only could the 8080 address more memory and execute additional instructions, but it
executed them 10 times faster than the 8008. An addition that took 20 μs (50,000 instructions per
second) on an 8008-based system required only 2.0 μs (500,000 instructions per second) on an
8080-based system.
What Was Special about the 8080?
Not only could the 8080 address more memory and execute additional instructions,
but it executed them 10 times faster than the 8008. An addition that took 20 μs
(50,000 instructions per second) on an 8008-based system required only 2.0 μs
(500,000 instructions per second) on an 8080-based system. Also, the 8080 was
compatible with TTL (transistor-transistor logic), whereas the 8008 was not directly
compatible. This made interfacing
much easier and less expensive. The 8080 also addressed four times more memory
(64K bytes) than the 8008 (l6K bytes). These improvements are responsible for
ushering in the era of the 8080 and the continuing saga of the microprocessor.
The 8085 Microprocessor.
In 1977, Intel introduced an updated version of the 8080 and 8085. The 8085 was to
be the last 8-bit. Although only slightly more advanced than an 8080, the 8085
executed software at an even higher speed. An addition that took 2.0 μs (500,000
instructions per second on the 8080) required only 1.3 μs (769,230 instructions per
second) on the 8085. The main advantages of the 8085 were its internal clock
generator, internal system controller, and higher clock frequency. This higher level
of component integration reduced the 8085’s cost and increased its usefulness. Intel
has managed to sell well over 100 million copies of the 8085, its most successful 8-
bit, general-purpose microprocessor. the 8085 is also manufactured by many other
companies, there are over 200 million of these microprocessors in existence.
Applications that contain the 8085 will likely continue to be popular. Another company that sold
500 million 8-bit microprocessors is Zilog Corporation, which produced the Z-80 microprocessor.
The Z-80 is machine language compatible with the 8085, which means that there are over 700
million microprocessors that execute 8085/Z-80 compatible code!

The Modern Microprocessor

In 1978, Intel released the 8086 microprocessor; a year or so later, it released the 8088. Both
devices are 16-bit microprocessors, which executed instructions in as little as 400 ns (2.5 MIPs, or
2.5 millions of instructions per second). This represented a major improvement over the
execution speed of the 8085. In addition, the 8086 and 8088 addressed 1M byte of memory, which
was 16 times more memory than the 8085.
(A 1M-byte memory contains 1024K byte-sized memory locations or 1,048,576
bytes.) This higher execution speed and larger memory size allowed the 8086 and
8088 to replace smaller minicomputers in many applications. One other feature
found in the 8086/8088 was a small 4- or 6-byte instruction cache or queue that
prefetched a few instructions before they were executed. The queue sped the
operation of many sequences of instructions and proved to be the basis for the much
larger instruction caches found in modem microprocessors.
The increased memory size and additional instructions in the 8086 and 8088 have
led to many sophisticated applications for microprocessors. Improvements to the
instruction set included multiply and divide instructions, which were missing on
earlier microprocessors.
In addition, the number of instructions increased from 45 on the 4004, to 246 on the
8085, to well over 20,000 variations on the 8086 and 8088 microprocessors. Note
that these microprocessors are called CISC (complex instruction set computers)
because of the number and complexity of instructions. The additional instructions
eased the task of developing efficient and sophisticated applications, even though
the number of instructions are at first overwhelming and time consuming to learn..
The 80286 Microprocessor.
The 80286 microprocessor (also a 16-bit architecture microprocessor) was almost
identical to the 8086 and 8088, except it addressed a 16M-byte memory system
instead of a 1M-byte system. The instruction set of the 80286 was almost identical
to the 8086 and 8088, except for a few additional instructions that managed the
extra 15M bytes of memory. The clock speed of the 80286 was increased, so it
executed some instructions in as little as 250 ns (4.0 MIPs) with the original release
8.0 MHz version. Some changes also occurred to the internal execution of the
instructions, which led to an eightfold increase in speed for many instructions when
compared to 8086/8088 instructions.
The 32-Bit Microprocessor.
Applications began to demand faster microprocessor speeds, more memory, and wider data paths.
This led to the arrival of the 80386 in 1986 by Intel represented a major overhaul of the 16-bit
8086–80286 architecture. The 80386 was Intel’s first practical 32-bit that contained a 32-bit data
bus and a 32-bit memory address Through these 32-bit buses, the 80386 addressed up to 4G bytes
of memory. (1G of memory contains 1024M, or 1,073,741,824 locations.) The 80386 was
available in a few modified versions such as the 80386SX, which addressed 16M bytes of
memory through a 16-bit data and 24-bit address bus, and the 80386SL/80386SLC, which
addressed 32M bytes of memory through a 16-bit data and 25-bit address bus.. In 1995, Intel
released the 80386EX microprocessor. Which is called an embedded PC because it contains all
the components of the AT class personal computer on a single integrated circuit. The 80386EX
also contains 24 lines for input/output data, a 26-bit address bus, a 16-bit data bus.
The 80486 Microprocessor.
In 1989, Intel released the 80486 micro, which incorporated an 80386-like microprocessor, an
80387-like numeric coprocessor, and an 8K-byte cache memory system into one integrated
package. Although the 80486 microprocessor was not radically different from the 80386, it did
include one substantial change. The internal structure of the 80486 was modified from the 80386
so that about half of its instructions executed in one clock instead of two clocks. Because the
80486 was available in a 50 MHz version, about half of the instructions executed in 25 ns (50
MIPs). The average speed improvement for a typical mix of instructions was about 50% over the
80386 that operated at the same clock speed. Later versions of the 80486 executed instructions at
even higher speeds with a 66 MHz double-clocked version (80486DX2). The double-clocked 66
MHz version executed instructions at the rate of 66 MHz, with memory transfers executing at the
rate of 33 MHz. (This is why it was called a double-clocked microprocessor.)
The Pentium Microprocessor.
The Pentium, introduced in 1993, was similar to the 80386 and 80486. This was originally labeled
the P5 or 80586, but Intel decided not to use a number because it appeared to be impossible to
copyright a number. The two introductory versions of the Pentium operated with a clocking
frequency of 60 MHz and 66 MHz, and a speed of 110 MIPs, with a higher-frequency 100 MHz
one and one-half clocked version that operated at 150 MIPs. The double-clocked Pentium,
operating at 120 MHz and 133 MHz, was also available, as were higher-speed versions. (The
fastest version produced by Intel is the 233 MHz Pentium) Another difference was that the cache
size was increased to 16K bytes from the 8K cache found in the basic version.
Pentium Pro Processor.
formerly named the P6 microprocessor. Its contains 21 million transistors, integer units, as well as
a floating-point unit to increase the performance of most software
. The basic clock frequency was 150 MHz and 166 MHz in the initial offering made available in
late 1995. the internal 16K level-one (L1) cache (8K for data and 8K for instructions) the Pentium
Pro processor also contains a 256K level-two (L2) cache. It uses three execution engines, so it can
execute up to three instructions at a time, which can conflict and still execute in parallel. This
represents a change from the Pentium, which executes two instructions simultaneously as long as
they do not conflict. The Pentium Pro microprocessor has been optimized to efficiently execute
32-bit code; for this reason, it was often bundled with Windows NT rather than with normal
versions of Windows 95. Intel launched the Pentium Pro processor for the server market. Still
another change is that the Pentium Pro can address either a 4G-byte memory system or a 64G-
byte memory system. The Pentium Pro has a 36-bit address bus if configured for a 64G memory
system.
The general specifications of the processors
If we take two consecutive processors from the same company, we will find that
one of them is superior to the other.
1. Ultra-grade structure
One-five-step streaming: fetching the instruction, the instruction encryption, the
address generation, the execution, the rewrite. It releases the flow therapy and
starts with another instruction. As for the Pentium processor, there are two
independent streaming processing lines called U and V, which means that when
one of the instructions is processed in one of the two lines, the following
instruction can pass on the other, but the instructions cannot be implemented
completely parallel to the possibility of relying on each other's results. The Pentium
processor contains special circuits to implement these instructions, and the
instructions are not related to each other, it is possible to implement two
instructions in one hour cycle.
2- The processor's cache: The Pentium processor contains an internal cache with a
capacity of 16KB, divided into two separate sections, each section has a capacity of
8KB, one for the data and the other for the code. When using the internal cache, in
which a copy of the instructions and data needed for its work, the processor needs
much less hour cycles than it needs to deal with the RAM.
3- bit data bus
the pentium processor has a 64-bit data lane to deal with the outside world, and
this enables it to transfer a 64-bit amount of data at every hour's pulse (i.e., double
the processor). 80486). It also has a Burst Transfer with a data testing unit that
leads to an increase in performance from 2-3 times than in the 80486 processor.
4- Expect to branch
Another implicit is dedicated to keeping the branch instructions and their
addresses in the program, and therefore there is no need to re-read them from
external memory when used again.
5- Better performance in treating the floating comma.
Some of the internal units in the Pentium processor are connected to a data
corridor with a width of 256 bits. It also has a 32-bit address corridor, as in its
predecessors. Pentium can work up to 200 MHz. Table 1-1 shows the main
specifications of the most popular Intel processors. Intel has developed the
Pentium processor to Pentium Pro, then MMX technology, Pentium II, Pentium III,
and finally Pentium III, and these processors differ from their predecessors by
several things, but are generally faster than them.