Cocu Iulia Veronica Unit 3 – The Processor

Unit 3
The Processor

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 Cocu Iulia Veronica Unit 3 – The Processor

5 A CPU or processor is an electronic circuit that can execute computer programs,

which are actually sets of instructions. This term has been in use in the computer industry
at least since the early 1960s. The form, design and implementation of CPUs have
changed dramatically since the earliest examples but their fundamental operation remains
much the same.
10 Early CPUs were custom-designed as a part of a larger, sometimes one-of-a-kind,
computer. However, this costly method of designing custom CPUs for a particular
application has largely given way to the development of mass-produced processors that
are made for one or many purposes. This standardisation trend generally began in the era
of discrete transistor mainframes and minicomputers and has rapidly accelerated with the
15popularization of the IC. Transistorized CPUs no longer had to be built out of bulky,
unreliable, and fragile switching elements like vacuum tubes and electrical relays. With
this improvement more complex and reliable CPUs were built onto one or several printed
circuit boards containing discrete components. During this period, a method of
manufacturing many transistors in a compact space gained popularity. The IC allowed a
20large number of transistors to be manufactured on a single semiconductor-based die, or
“chip”. At first only very basic non-specialised digital circuits such as NOR gates were
miniaturised into ICs. CPUs based upon these “building block” ICs, are generally
referred to as SSI devices. To build an entire CPU out of SSI ICs required thousands of
individual chips, but still consumed much less space and power than earlier discrete
25transistor designs. As microelectronic technology advanced, an increasing number of
transistors were placed on ICs, thus decreasing the quantity of individual ICs needed for a
complete CPU. MSI and LSI ICs increased transistor counts to hundreds, and even
thousands.
In 1964, IBM introduced its System/360 computer architecture which was used in
30a series of computers that could run the same program with different speed and
performance.
There are four steps that nearly all CPUs use in their operation: fetch, decode,
execute and writeback.
The first step, fetch, involves retrieving an instruction (which is represented by a
35number or a sequence of numbers) from program memory. The location in program
memory is determined by a PC, which stores a number that identifies the current position
in the program. After an instruction is fetched, the PC is incremented by the length of the
instruction word in terms of memory units. Often the instruction to be fetched must be
retrieved from relatively slow memory, causing the CPU to stall while waiting for the
40instruction to be returned.
In the decode step, the instruction is broken up into parts that have significance to
other portions of the CPU. The way in which the numerical instruction value is
interpreted is defined by the CPUs ISA. More often than not, one group of numbers in the
instruction, called the opcode, indicates which operation to perform. The remaining parts
45of the number usually provide information required for that instruction, such as operands
for an addition operation. Such operands may be given as a constant value (called an
immediate value), or as a place to locate a value: a register or a memory address, as
determined by some addressing mode.
After the fetch and decode steps, the execute step is performed. During this step,
50various portions of the CPU are connected so they can perform the desired operation. If,

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 5Cocu Iulia Veronica Unit 3 – The Processor

for instance, an addition operation was requested, an ALU will be connected to a set of
inputs and a set of outputs. If the addition operation produces a result too large for the
CPU to handle, an arithmetic overflow flag in a flags register may also be set.
The final step, writeback, simply “writes back” the results of the execute step to
55some form of memory. Very often the results are written to some internal CPU register for
quick access by subsequent instructions. Some types of instructions manipulate the
program counter rather than directly produce result data. These are generally called
“jumps” and facilitate behaviour like loops, conditional program execution (through the
use of a conditional jump), and functions in programs.
60 After the execution of the instruction and writeback of the resulting data, the
entire process repeats, with the next instruction cycle normally fetching the next-in
sequence instruction because of the incremented value in the program counter.

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Cocu Iulia Veronica Unit 3 – The Processor

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 Cocu Iulia Veronica Unit 3 – The Processor

65I.
a) Give synonyms for the following words from the text:

To execute (a program) (l. 1); actually (l. 2); dramatically (l.4); costly (l. 7); discrete (l.
10); basic (l. 17); entire (l. 19); fetch (l. 27); incremented (l. 32); to stall (l. 34); to handle
70(l. 48); subsequent (l. 51)

b) What do the following abbreviations stand for?

CPU; IC; SSI; MSI; LSI; PC; ALU; ISA; CU

75
II. Read the text and fill in the blanks with the appropriate word or
phrase:

The Central Processing Unit (CPU for short) or processor is the very heart of any
80computer system. Microprocessors (or microchips) represent millions of electronic
circuits etched on a single tiny piece of silicon. Whatever its size, a processor always
implements the same architecture. Basically it consists of three main parts: the Arithmetic
and Logic Unit (ALU), the Control Unit (CU) and Main Memory. The ALU, as its name
implies, performs all of the calculations on the data. The CU synchronizes all operations
85carried out by the computer via a clock-oscillator, a program counter, an index register
and a stack pointer. Main Memory is used to store the data before and after processing,
and is not to be confused with backing store or auxiliary memory which is a permanent
storage medium onto which data can be recorded or from which it can be retrieved. These
units are linked by buses which convey the data to different locations in the computer
90system, both internally and externally. There are three main types of buses: the data bus,
the address bus and the control bus. The data racing through these buses is buffered, i.e.
stored temporarily in areas called buffers, before it is inputted or outputted before and
after being processed. Such temporary storage areas are required to avoid “bottleneck”
problems because all of the components in a computer system don’t work at the same

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 Cocu Iulia Veronica Unit 3 – The Processor

95speed. Think of the kind of problems you might encounter with components having
different frequency cycles, a 2 GHz processor and a 667MHz device, for instance.

1. A microprocessor is often referred to as a …………………

2. Millions of circuits can be ……………… on a wafer of …………………
1003. The ALU carries out arithmetic and logical …………………
4. The purpose of Main Memory is to ……………… the data before and after its
processing.
5. The CU ……………… all of the operations carried out by the computer.
6. The purpose of the buses is to ……………… the data to different locations in a
105computer system.
7. Temporary storage areas between the various components of a computer architecture
are called …………………
8. ………………… means 667 millions cycles per second.

110
III. Match the following words (1 – 11) with their appropriate definitions
(A – K):

1. shift register 2. general-purpose register 3. address register 4. index

115register 5. accumulator 6. direct addressing 7. indirect addressing 8.
indexed addressing 9. carry 10. status flag 11. stack

A. CPU storage register which contains the data word that is to be processed
B. Digit resulting from an addition result being greater than the number base
120C. Register storing all the bits of an address which is then to be processed as a single unit
D. Register that can store data items of all kinds
E. Address register that is added to a reference address to provide the location to be
addressed
F. Indicator of the state or result of an operation

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 Cocu Iulia Veronica Unit 3 – The Processor

125G. Way of addressing a memory location where the destination address is obtained by
adding an offset word to a start address
H. Way of addressing a memory location where the address given in the instruction is the
one to be used
I. Temporary storage where data items or tasks are added or retrieved
130J. A register in which all bits can be shifted one or more positions to the left or to the right
K. Way of addressing data where the memory location to be addressed is contained in
another address.

135IV. Fill in the blanks in the text below:

Integer Range

The way a CPU represents 1) …………… is a design choice that affects the most
140basic ways in which the device functions. Some early digital computers used an electrical
model of the common 2) …………… (base ten) numeral system to represent numbers
internally. A few other computers have used more exotic numeral systems like 3)
…………… (base three). Nearly all modern CPUs represent numbers in 4) ……………
form, with each 5) …………… being represented by some two-valued physical quantity
145such as a "high" or "low" voltage.
Related to number representation is the size and precision of numbers that a CPU
can represent. In the case of a binary CPU, a bit 6) …………… to one significant place
in the numbers a CPU deals with. The number of bits (or numeral places) a CPU uses to
represent numbers is often called "word size", "bit width", "data path width", or "integer
150precision" when dealing with strictly 7) …………… numbers (as opposed to 8)
…………… point). This number differs between architectures, and often within different
parts of the very same CPU. For example, an 8-bit CPU deals with a 9) …………… of
numbers that can be represented by eight binary digits (each digit having two possible 10)
……………), that is, 28 or 256 discrete numbers. In fact, integer size sets a hardware
155limit on the range of integers the software run by the CPU can utilize.

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 15Cocu Iulia Veronica Unit 3 – The Processor

Integer range can also affect the number of locations in memory the CPU can 11)
……………. For example, if a binary CPU uses 32 bits to represent a memory address,
and each memory address represents one octet (8 bits), the maximum quantity of memory
that CPU can address is 232 octets, or 4 GiB. This is a very simple view of CPU address
160space, and many designs use more complex addressing methods like paging in order to
locate more memory than their integer range would allow with a flat address space.
Higher levels of integer range 12) …………… more structures to deal with the
additional digits, and therefore more complexity, size, power usage, and general expense.
It is not at all uncommon, therefore, to see 4- or 8-bit microcontrollers used in modern
165applications, even though CPUs with much higher range (such as 16, 32, 64, even 128-
bit) are 13) ……………. The simpler microcontrollers are usually cheaper, use less
power, and therefore dissipate less heat, all of which can be major design considerations
for electronic 14) ……………. However, in higher-end applications, the benefits afforded
by the extra range (most often the additional address space) are more significant and
170often affect design choices. To gain some of the advantages afforded by both lower and
higher bit lengths, many CPUs are designed with different bit widths for different
portions of the device. For example, the IBM System/370 used a CPU that was primarily
32 bit, but it used 128-bit precision inside its floating point units to facilitate greater 15)
…………… and range in floating point numbers. Many later CPU designs use similar
175mixed bit width, especially when the processor is meant for general-purpose usage where
a reasonable balance of integer and floating point capability is required.

V. Translate the following text into Romanian:

180
Intel Core i7-965 Extreme Edition
The bottom line: Thanks to an expensive new motherboard requirement, Intel's
new Core i7 desktop processors will remain enthusiast and professional-level parts until
more affordable complementary hardware comes out later next year. Speed never comes
185cheap, however, and if you're willing to spend for it now, you'll find yourself in
possession of the fastest CPU on the market.

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 Cocu Iulia Veronica Unit 3 – The Processor

Core i7 has enough architecture changes to require a brand new connection design
between the chip and the motherboard. This is no small change, because Intel has stuck
with the LGA775 (land grid array) chip socket since the days of Pentium 4. The new
190socket design, LGA1366, will not accept any older Intel CPUs, nor will Core i7 work on
any older motherboards.
Faster memory access
The reason for this platform shift has to do in part with a fundamental design
change in Intel's CPU architecture. As has long been rumored, Intel has finally adopted
195an integrated memory controller into its Core i7 CPUs. What this means is that instead of
the CPU communicating with a separate controller on the motherboard before it can talk
to the system memory, Core i7 can save a step, and essentially receive data from the
system RAM directly.
A potential complication here is that the new memory controller has three
200channels to the RAM. That means that unlike most desktop setups, which involve two or
four memory sticks, Core i7 systems will want memory sticks in multiples of three.
Hence why Intel shipped our test system with only 3GB of RAM (we got creative with a
2x1GB, 1x2GB RAM configuration, for 4GB total for testing), and why in high-end PCs
that use the new X58 platform, 3GB, 6GB, and 12GB configurations will be common.
205X58 will also only support DDR3 RAM, whose prices have thankfully come down over
the past year.
Four cores, sometimes eight
If you've followed Intel's chips designs over the years, the term "Hyperthreading"
shouldn't be unfamiliar. This technology lets Intel simulate more processing threads on
210top of its old dual-core Pentium 4 chips. It abandoned that strategy with the Core 2
family, but Intel has resurrected it with Core i7, and it's why you'll see eight processing
threads when you bring up Windows' system performance screen. Few day-to-day
programs will benefit from Hyperthreading, and it's more of a situational benefit for
processing reliability and the scant few applications that can actually support so many
215threads. Core i7 will eventually hit eight native cores on a single CPU, or 16 processing
streams with Hyperthreading, but Intel has not made it clear when that will happen. It

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 Cocu Iulia Veronica Unit 3 – The Processor

may be worth the wait, if you know you'll need that much parallelism, but few consumers
will.
We tested both SLI and Crossfire setups on our Core i7 test bed and found both
220worked without trouble, requiring nothing more than installing the hardware and
appropriate graphics-driver software as you would normally. As for their performance,
AMD has issued a series of so-called "hot-fix" drivers to improve compatibility and
frame rates of its cards with various PC games, which suggests that its software still
needs to work out a few kinks on X58. Nvidia has not been shy to point out this fact (its
225beta drivers have worked fine), but we also find it telling that all three of the high-priced
Core i7 gaming desktops we're currently reviewing come with multicard AMD
configurations.
A quicker path
Finally, the last major change with Core i7 is the introduction of what Intel's
230calling the QuickPath Interconnect (QPI). Essentially this is the Intel version of AMD's
HyperTransport interface between the CPU and the chipset. The major impact of the QPI
for consumers is that Intel uses different QPI ratings to distinguish the Core i7-965
Extreme Edition from the non-Extreme Core i7 chips. Rated by Gigatransfers per second
(Gigatransfers, or GT, refers to a million transfers of data), the Extreme Edition comes in
235at 6.4GT/sec, where the non-Extreme versions handle only 4.8GT/sec. In addition to that
speed advantage, Intel also ships the Extreme version with an unlocked clock multiplier,
which means it can be overclocked. The standard Core i7's will have to remain at their
shipping speeds.

240
VI. Translate the following text into English:

AMD vs. Intel - momente istorice

Ca de obicei, remediul AMD constă în scăderea preţurilor la vârfurile de linie, pe
245care întotdeauna pare să le lanseze la preţuri aberante (şi, după cum se dovedeşte ulterior,
nejustificate). De asemenea, AMD pare să bată pasul pe loc în evoluţia tehnologică.
Adică părea, până la lansarea platformei Spider.

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 Cocu Iulia Veronica Unit 3 – The Processor

De ce "platformă"? Pentru că vorbim de o triadă unitară procesor (AMD Phenom

9000) - subsistem video (ATI Radeon HD3800) - chipset (AMD 7-Series: 770 si 790X şi
250790FX), în variante.
Cum e posibil? Simplu, prin achiziţionarea ATI. Ce aduce nou? Procesoare quad-
core - Intel le produce deja demult; super-scalabilitate subsistem video, adică CrossFireX
permiţând instalarea a patru plăci video în acelaşi sistem - câţi dintre voi aveţi acum
măcar două plăci video în SLI sau CrossFire? Poate cel mai important aport adus de
255Spider este integrarea tehnologiilor din procesor, placa video şi placa de bază. Dacă
Spider este intr-adevăr o platformă unitară, succesul pe termen lung poate fi garantat.
Oricum, e pentru prima oară în istorie când un singur producător face toate aceste
componente.
De viitor? Foarte posibil. Dacă nVidia nu va fi lăsată deoparte (nVidia e acum
260concurent al AMD pe segmentul plăci grafice). Şi dacă preţurile la Phenom scad. Oricum,
un lucru mi se pare destul de clar: AMD n-a creat nimic nou. A compus, din piese
disparate şi în urma unei achiziţii majore (ATI), un tot unitar şi, poate, monopolist. De
vreme ce nu vorbim de o revoluţie (în tehnologie şi preţuri), Spider are şanse egale de a fi
un fiasco sau un succes. Timpul ne va edifica.
265Părerea noastră
Pentru segmentul high-end, ţineţi-vă de Intel (şi nVidia). Asta din partea unuia
care "pilotează" un sistem AMD + ATI. Pentru segmentele inferioare, AMD are soluţii
ieftine şi performante. Lupta preţurilor ar putea face din AMD, via Spider, o opţiune
valabilă şi pentru (high)middle-range, high-end.

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 Cocu Iulia Veronica Unit 3 – The Processor

270 GRAMMAR SPOTLIGHT

Phrasal Verbs

A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and an adverb, a verb and a

275preposition, or a verb, an adverb, and a preposition. Phrasal verbs work semantically
as an element, that is, they have their own sense, which is very often an alteration of
the real sense of the verb. Still, the sense could change totally. For example:

e.g.: She came across his cousin at the gym. (She met his cousin at the gym.)
280
In this example, we combined the verb to come with the preposition across to
signify that she out of the blue met his cousin at the gym. Even though the sense is
very different from the sense of come, you can perceive that their combination
effortlessly makes you think of somebody bumping into somebody else, or two things
285obstructing each other in any manner.
Note that from time to time, the sense changes totally depending on whether the
phrasal verb takes an object or not. As an example:

e.g.: Mary came across very well in the interview. (Mary made a good impact on
290them.)

In this example, across is used as an adverb, not a preposition, and as the

phrasal verb doesn’t take an object, the sense varies.
Lastly, there are some grammar rules you must learn about phrasal verbs. One
295of them controls the arrangement of the particles in the phrase. Let’s check them:
Separable phrasal verbs could stay joined excluding when a pronoun is the
object. In this case, the pronoun must go between the verb and the particle. Like this:

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 25Cocu Iulia Veronica Unit 3 – The Processor

e.g.: Mike gave up that stupid career = Mike gave that stupid career up = Mike
300gave it up (OK)
But you cannot state Mike gave up it. (Incorrect)

Inseparable phrasal verbs always remain joined, no matter if you utilize a

noun, a noun phrase, or a pronoun as an object:
305
He was looking after his daughter = He was looking after her (OK)
He was looking his daughter after (Incorrect)
He was looking her after (Incorrect)

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 Cocu Iulia Veronica Unit 3 – The Processor

EXERCISES
310

Match the phrasal verb with the sentence that would most appropriately
contain that verb. Pay attention to the tense:
to catch on to pore over to jot down to turn down to make of to set about
to hook on to jump at to make up for to get behind send out shut down boot
315up wind up type in log on show off go down switch off back up run out of

1. I can ……………….. no sense ……………….. this artificial neural network.

2. The personal computer industry is ……………….. ……………….. the concept of
multimedia.
3203. Terri was able to ……………….. ……………….. almost everything the teacher was
saying.
4. He tries to ……………….. ……………….. all the explanations about peripherals.
5. Dana ……………….. ……………….. with her studies.
6. Professor Thomas ……………….. ……………….. lecturing on standard input
325devices.
7. Harry spent some time ……………….. ……………….. the difference between a
mouse and a trackball.
8. David was astonished when he was ……………….. ……………….. for the network
administrator’s position.
3309. He promised to ……………….. ……………….. ……………….. the bad marks he ha
got so far in computer science.
10. Why do you always ……………….. ……………….. conclusions?
11. They ……………….. ……………….. a mailshot to all their existing customers.
12. Be extremely careful about accepting programs or other files during on-line chat
335sessions: this seems to be one of the more common means that people ………………..
……………….. with virus or Trojan horse problems.

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 Cocu Iulia Veronica Unit 3 – The Processor

13. A young computer wiz is usually both curious and eager to ………………..
……………….. his expertise by pointing out the flaws in the computer safeguards
erected by others.
34014. You must ……………….. ……………….. copies of your files on a different drive,
folder, or a medium to protect it against the destruction or loss of the original files in case
of a hardware or a system failure.
15. To ……………….. ……………….. a computer is to load an operating system into
the computer’s main memory or random access memory.
34516. She is a very good typist. She ……………….. ……………….. approximately 100
characters per minute.
17. Because he forgot to ……………….. ……………….. his wi-fi card, he
……………….. ……………….. ……………….. battery on his laptop very quickly.
18. The resources cannot be accessed unless you ……………….. ……………….. with a
350super user account.
19. Printer sales have ……………….. ……………….. in the last few months as
compared to those of multifunctionals’.
20. In order to ……………….. ……………….. a server, intricate procedures must be
followed.

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