BASICS OF COMPUTER

BASICS OF COMPUTER
MICRO PROCESSOR
HOW MICROPROCESSORS WORK CMOS 7S "COPPER CHIP" ON A STACK OF PENNIES
The computer you are using to read this page uses a microprocessor to do its work. The microprocessor is the heart of any normal computer, whether it is a desktop machine, a server or a laptop. The microprocessor you are using might be a Pentium, a K6, a PowerPC, a Sparc or any of the many other brands and types of microprocessors, but they all do approximately the same thing in approximately the same way. If you have ever wondered what the microprocessor in your computer is doing, or if you have ever wondered about the differences between types of microprocessors, then read on. In this article, you will learn how fairly simple digital logic techniques allow a computer to do its job, whether its playing a game or spell checking a document!

HISTORY OF MICROPROCESSOR
A microprocessor -- also known as a CPU or Central Processing Unit -- is a complete computation engine that is fabricated on a single chip. The first microprocessor was the Intel 4004, introduced in 1971. The 4004 were not very powerful -- all it could do was add and subtract, and it could only do that 4 bits at a time. But it was amazing that everything was on one chip. Prior to the 4004, engineers built computers either from collections of chips or from discrete components (transistors wired one at a time). The 4004 powered one of the first portable electronic calculators. The first microprocessor to make it into a home computer was the Intel 8080, a complete 8-bit computer on one chip, introduced in 1974. The first microprocessor to make a real splash in the market was the Intel 8088, introduced in 1979 and incorporated into the IBM PC (which first appeared around 1982). If you are familiar with the PC market and its history, you know that the PC market moved from the 8088 to the 80286 to the 80386 to the 80486 to the Pentium to the Pentium II to the Pentium III to the Pentium 4. Intel makes all of these microprocessors and all of them are improvements on the basic design of the 8088. The Pentium 4 can execute any piece of code that ran on the original 8088, but it does it about 5,000 times faster!

INTEL 4004 CHIP

INTEL 8080 CHIP

MICROPROCESSOR PROGRESSION: INTEL

The following table helps you to understand the differences between the different processors that Intel has introduced over the years.
Name 8080 8088 80286 80386 80486 Pentium Pentium II Pentium III Date Transistors Microns Clock speed Data width MIPS 1974 1979 1982 1985 1989 1993 1997 1999 6,000 29,000 134,000 275,000 1,200,000 3,100,000 7,500,000 9,500,000 6 3 1.5 1.5 1 0.8 0.35 0.25 2 MHz 5 MHz 6 MHz 16 MHz 25 MHz 60 MHz 233 MHz 450 MHz 8 bits 16 bits 8-bit bus 16 bits 32 bits 32 bits 32 bits 64-bit bus 32 bits 64-bit bus 32 bits 0456-430048) 0.64 0.33 1 5 20 100 ~300 ~510

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64-bit bus Pentium 4 2000 42,000,000 0.18 0.09 1.5 GHz 3.6 GHz 32 bits ~1,700 64-bit bus 32 bits ~7,000 64-bit bus

Pentium 4 "Prescott" 2004 125,000,000

INFORMATION ABOUT THIS TABLE:

The date is the year that the processor was first introduced. Many processors are re-introduced at higher clock speeds for many years after the original release date.

Transistors are the number of transistors on the chip. You can see that the number of transistors on a single chip has risen steadily over the years. Microns are the width, in microns, of the smallest wire on the chip. For comparison, a human hair is 100 microns thick. As the feature size on the chip goes down, the number of transistors rises. Clock speed is the maximum rate that the chip can be clocked at. Clock speed will make more sense in the next section. Data Width is the width of the ALU. An 8-bit ALU can add/subtract/multiply/etc. two 8-bit numbers, while a 32-bit ALU can manipulate 32-bit numbers. An 8-bit ALU would have to execute four instructions to add two 32-bit numbers, while a 32-bit ALU can do it in one instruction. In many cases, the external data bus is the same width as the ALU, but not always. The 8088 had a 16-bit ALU and an 8-bit bus, while the modern Pentiums fetch data 64 bits at a time for their 32-bit ALUs. MIPS stand for "millions of instructions per second" and is a rough measure of the performance of a CPU. Modern CPUs can do so many different things that MIPS ratings lose a lot of their meaning, but you can get a general sense of the relative power of the CPUs from this column.

From this table you can see that, in general, there is a relationship between clock speed and MIPS. The maximum clock speed is a function of the manufacturing process and delays within the chip. There is also a relationship between the number of transistors and MIPS. For example, the 8088 clocked at 5 MHz but only executed at 0.33 MIPS (about one instruction per 15 clock cycles). Modern processors can often execute at a rate of two instructions per clock cycle. That improvement is directly related to the number of transistors on the chip and will make more faster the processing speed.

WHAT'S A CHIP?
A chip is also called an integrated circuit. Generally it is a small, thin piece of silicon onto which the transistors making up the microprocessor have been etched. A chip might be as large as an inch on a side and can contain tens of millions of transistors. Simpler processors might consist of a few thousand transistors etched onto a chip just a few millimeters square.

INSIDE A MICROPROCESSOR
To understand how a microprocessor works, it is helpful to look inside and learn about the logic used to create one. In the process you can also learn about assembly language -- the native language of a microprocessor -- and many of the things that engineers can do to boost the speed of a processor. A microprocessor executes a collection of machine instructions that tell the processor what to do. Based on the instructions, a microprocessor does three basic things: Using its ALU (Arithmetic/Logic Unit), a microprocessor can perform mathematical operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Modern microprocessors contain Intel Pentium 4 processor complete floating-point processors that can perform extremely sophisticated operations on large floating-point numbers. A microprocessor can move data from one memory location to another. A microprocessor can make decisions and jump to a new set of instructions based on those decisions.
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There may be very sophisticated things that a microprocessor does, but those are its three basic activities. The following diagram shows an extremely simple microprocessor capable of doing those three things: This is about as simple as a microprocessor gets. This microprocessor has: An address bus (that may be 8, 16 or 32 bits wide) that sends an address to memory A data bus (that may be 8, 16 or 32 bits wide) that can send data to memory or receive data from memory An RD (read) and WR (write) line to tell the memory whether it wants to set or get the addressed location A clock line that lets a clock pulse sequence the processor A reset line that resets the program counter to zero (or whatever) and restarts execution Let's assume that both the address and data buses are 8 bits wide in this example. Here are the components of this simple microprocessor: Registers A, B and C are simply latches made out of flip-flops. (See the section on "edgetriggered latches" in How Boolean Logic Works for details.) The address latch is just like registers A, B and C. The program counter is a latch with the extra ability to increment by 1 when told to do so, and also to reset to zero when told to do so. The ALU could be as simple as an 8-bit adder (see the section on adders in How Boolean Logic Works for details), or it might be able to add, subtract, multiply and divide 8-bit values. Let's assume the latter here. The test register is a special latch that can hold values from comparisons performed in the ALU. An ALU can normally compare two numbers and determine if they are equal, if one is greater than the other, etc. The test register can also normally hold a carry bit from the last stage of the adder. It stores these values in flip-flops and then the instruction decoder can use the values to make decisions. There are six boxes marked "3-State" in the diagram. These are tri-state buffers. A tri-state buffer can pass a 1, a 0 or it can essentially disconnect its output (imagine a switch that totally disconnects the output line from the wire that the output is heading toward). A tri-state buffer allows multiple outputs to connect to a wire, but only one of them to actually drive a 1 or a 0 onto the line. The instruction register and instruction decoder are responsible for controlling all of the other components. Although they are not shown in this diagram, there would be control lines from the instruction decoder that would: Tell the A register to latch the value currently on the data bus Tell the B register to latch the value currently on the data bus Tell the C register to latch the value currently output by the ALU Tell the program counter register to latch the value currently on the data bus Tell the address register to latch the value currently on the data bus Tell the instruction register to latch the value currently on the data bus Tell the program counter to increment Tell the program counter to reset to zero Activate any of the six tri-state buffers (six separate lines) Tell the ALU what operation to perform Tell the test register to latch the ALU's test bits Activate the RD line Activate the WR line Coming into the instruction decoder are the bits from the test register and the clock line, as well as the bits from the instruction register.

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MICROPROCESSOR INSTRUCTIONS: DECODING

The instruction decoder needs to turn each of the opcodes into a set of signals that drive the different components inside the microprocessor. Let's take the ADD instruction as an example and look at what it needs to do: 1. During the first clock cycle, we need to actually load the instruction. Therefore the instruction decoder needs to: Activate the tri-state buffer for the program counter Activate the RD line Activate the data-in tri-state buffer Latch the instruction into the instruction register 2. During the second clock cycle, the ADD instruction is decoded. It needs to do very little: Set the operation of the ALU to addition Latch the output of the ALU into the C register 3. During the third clock cycle, the program counter is incremented (in theory this could be overlapped into the second clock cycle). Every instruction can be broken down as a set of sequenced operations like these that manipulate the components of the microprocessor in the proper order. Some instructions, like this ADD instruction, might take two or three clock cycles. Others might take five or six clock cycles.

MICROPROCESSOR PERFORMANCE
The number of transistors available has a huge effect on the performance of a processor. As seen earlier, a typical instruction in a processor like an 8088 took 15 clock cycles to execute. Because of the design of the multiplier, it took approximately 80 cycles just to do one 16-bit multiplication on the 8088. With more transistors, much more powerful multipliers capable of single-cycle speeds become possible. More transistors also allow for a technology called pipelining. In a pipelined architecture, instruction execution overlaps. So even though it might take five clock cycles to execute each instruction, there can be five instructions in various stages of execution simultaneously. That way it looks like one instruction completes every clock cycle. Many modern processors have multiple instruction decoders, each with its own pipeline. This allows for multiple instruction streams, which means that more than one instruction can complete during each clock cycle. This technique can be quite complex to implement, so it takes lots of transistors.

MICROPROCESSOR TRENDS
The trend in processor design has primarily been toward full 32-bit ALUs with fast floating point processors built in and pipelined execution with multiple instruction streams. The newest thing in processor design is 64-bit ALUs, and people are expected to have these processors in their home PCs in the next decade. There has also been a tendency toward special instructions (like the MMX instructions) that make certain operations particularly efficient, and the addition of hardware virtual memory support and L1 caching on the processor chip. All of these trends push up the transistor count, leading to the multi-million transistor powerhouses available today. These processors can execute about one billion instructions per second!

64-BIT PROCESSORS
Sixty-four-bit processors have been with us since 1992, and in the 21st century they have started to become mainstream. Both Intel and AMD have introduced 64-bit chips, and the Mac G5 sports a 64-bit processor. Sixty-four-bit processors have 64-bit ALUs, 64-bit registers, 64-bit buses and so on. One reason why the world needs 64-bit processors is because of their enlarged address spaces. Thirty-two-bit chips are often constrained to a maximum of 2 GB or 4 GB of RAM access. That sounds like a lot, given that most home computers currently use only 256 MB to 512 MB of RAM. However, a 4-GB limit can be a severe problem for server machines and machines running large databases. Even home machines will start bumping up against
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the 2 GB or 4 GB limit pretty soon if current trends continue. A 64-bit chip has none of these constraints because a 64-bit RAM address space is essentially infinite for the foreseeable future -2^64 bytes of RAM is something on the order of a quadrillion gigabytes of RAM. With a 64-bit address bus and wide, high-speed data buses on the motherboard, 64-bit machines also offer faster I/O (input/output) speeds to things like hard disk drives and video cards. These features can greatly increase system performance. Servers can definitely benefit from 64 bits, but what about normal users? Beyond the RAM solution, it is not clear that a 64-bit chip offers "normal users" any real, tangible benefits at the moment. They can process data (very complex data features lots of real numbers) faster. People doing video editing and people doing photographic editing on very large images benefit from this kind of computing power. High-end games will also benefit, once they are re-coded to take advantage of 64-bit features. But the average user who is reading e-mail, browsing the Web and editing Word documents is not really using the processor in that way. In addition, operating systems like Windows XP have not yet been upgraded to handle 64-bit CPUs. Because of the lack of tangible benefits, it will be 2010 or so before we see 64-bit machines on every desktop.

RAM AND ROM

The previous section talked about the address and data buses, as well as the RD and WR lines. These buses and lines connect either to RAM or ROM -- generally both. In our sample microprocessor, we have an address bus 8 bits wide and a data bus 8 bits wide. That means that the microprocessor can address (28) 256 bytes of memory, and it can read or write 8 bits of the memory at a time. Let's assume that this simple microprocessor has 128 bytes of ROM starting at address 0 and 128 bytes of RAM starting at address 128.

ROM CHIP
ROM stands for read-only memory. A ROM chip is programmed with a permanent collection of pre-set bytes. The address bus tells the ROM chip which byte to get and place on the data bus. When the RD line changes state, the ROM chip presents the selected byte onto the data bus.

RAM CHIP
RAM stands for random-access memory. RAM contains bytes of information, and the microprocessor can read or write to those bytes depending on whether the RD or WR line is signaled. One problem with today's RAM chips is that they forget everything once the power goes off. That is why the computer needs ROM. By the way, nearly all computers contain some amount of ROM (it is possible to create a simple computer that contains no RAM -- many micro controllers do this by placing a handful of RAM bytes on the processor chip itself -- but generally impossible to create one that contains no ROM). On a PC, the ROM is called the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System). When the microprocessor starts, it begins executing instructions it finds in the BIOS. The BIOS instructions do things like test the hardware in the machine, and then it goes to the hard disk to fetch the boot sector (see How Hard Disks Work for details). This boot sector is another small program, and the BIOS stores it in RAM after reading it off the disk. The microprocessor then begins executing the boot sector's instructions from RAM. The boot sector program will tell the microprocessor to fetch something else from the hard disk into RAM, which the microprocessor then executes, and so on. This is how the microprocessor loads and executes the entire operating system.

HOW RAM WORKS

Random access memory (RAM) is the best known form of computer memory. RAM is considered "random access" because you can access any memory cell directly if you know the row and column that intersect at that cell. The opposite of RAM is serial access memory (SAM). SAM stores data as a series of memory cells that can only be accessed sequentially (like a cassette tape). If the data is not in the current location, each memory cell is checked until the needed data is found.
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SAM works very well for memory buffers, where the data is normally stored in the order in which it will be used (a good example is the texture buffer memory on a video card). RAM data, on the other hand, can be accessed in any order.

RAM BASICS
Similar to a microprocessor, a memory chip is an integrated circuit (IC) made of millions of transistors and capacitors. In the most common form of computer memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a transistor and a capacitor are paired to create a memory cell, which represents a single bit of data. The capacitor holds the bit of information -- a 0 or a 1. The transistor acts as a switch that lets the control circuitry on the memory chip read the capacitor or change its state. A capacitor is like a small bucket that is able to store electrons. To store a 1 in the memory cell, the bucket is filled with electrons. To store a 0, it is emptied. The problem with the capacitor's bucket is that it has a leak. In a matter of a few milliseconds a full bucket becomes empty. Therefore, for dynamic memory to work, either the CPU or the memory controller has to come along and recharge all of the capacitors holding a 1 before they discharge. To do this, the memory controller reads the memory and then writes it right back. This refresh operation happens automatically thousands of times per second. This refresh operation is where dynamic RAM gets its name. Dynamic RAM has to be dynamically refreshed all of the time or it forgets what it is holding. The downside of all of this refreshing is that it takes time and slows down the memory. Memory cells are etched onto a silicon wafer in an array of columns (bitlines) and rows (wordlines). The intersection of a bitline and wordline constitutes the address of the memory cell. DRAM works by sending a charge through the appropriate column (CAS) to activate the transistor at each bit in the column. When writing, the row lines contain the state the capacitor should take on. When reading, the sense-amplifier determines the level of charge in the capacitor. If it is more than 50 percent, it reads it as a 1; otherwise it reads it as a 0. The counter tracks the refresh sequence based on which rows have been accessed in what order. The length of time necessary to do all this is so short that it is expressed in nanoseconds (billionths of a second). A memory chip rating of 70ns means that it takes 70 nanoseconds to completely read and recharge each cell. Memory cells alone would be worthless without some way to get information in and out of them. So the memory cells have a whole support infrastructure of other specialized circuits. These circuits perform functions such as: Identifying each row and column (row address select and column address select) Keeping track of the refresh sequence (counter) Reading and restoring the signal from a cell (sense amplifier) Telling a cell whether it should take a charge or not (write enable) Other functions of the memory controller include a series of tasks that include identifying the type, speed and amount of memory and checking for errors. Static RAM uses a completely different technology. In static RAM, a form of flip-flop holds each bit of memory. A flip-flop for a memory cell takes four or six transistors along with some wiring, but never has to be refreshed. This makes static RAM significantly faster than dynamic RAM. However, because it has more parts, a static memory cell takes up a lot more space on a chip than a dynamic memory cell. Therefore, you get less memory per chip, and that makes static RAM a lot more expensive. So static RAM is fast and expensive, and dynamic RAM is less expensive and slower. So static RAM is used to create the CPU's speed-sensitive cache, while dynamic RAM forms the larger system RAM space.

MEMORY MODULES
Memory chips in desktop computers originally used a pin configuration called dual inline package (DIP). This pin configuration could be soldered into holes on the computer's motherboard or plugged into a socket that was soldered on the motherboard. This method worked fine when computers typically operated on a couple of megabytes or less of RAM, but as the need for memory grew, the number of chips needing space on the motherboard increased. The solution was to place the memory chips, along with all of the support components, on a separate printed circuit board (PCB) that could then be plugged into a special connector (memory bank) on the motherboard. Most of these chips use a small outline J-lead (SOJ) pin configuration, but quite a few manufacturers use the thin small outline package (TSOP) configuration as well.
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The key difference between these newer pin types and the original DIP configuration is that SOJ and TSOP chips are surface-mounted to the PCB. In other words, the pins are soldered directly to the surface of the board, not inserted in holes or sockets. Memory chips are normally only available as part of a card called a module. You've probably seen memory listed as 8x32 or 4x16. These numbers represent the number of the chips multiplied by the capacity of each individual chip, which is measured in megabits (Mb), or one million bits. Take the result and divide it by eight to get the number of megabytes on that module. For example, 4x32 means that the module has four 32-megabit chips. Multiply 4 by 32 and you get 128 megabits. Since we know that a byte has 8 bits, we need to divide our result of 128 by 8. Our result is 16 megabytes! The type of board and connector used for RAM in desktop computers has evolved over the past few years. The first types were proprietary, meaning that different computer manufacturers developed memory boards that would only work with their specific systems. Then came SIMM, which stands for single in-line memory module. This memory board used a 30-pin connector and was about 3.5 x .75 inches in size (about 9 x 2 cm). In most computers, you had to install SIMMs in pairs of equal capacity and speed. This is because the width of the bus is more than a single SIMM. For example, you would install two 8-megabyte (MB) SIMMs to get 16 From the top: SIMM, DIMM and SODIMM memory modules megabytes total RAM. Each SIMM could send 8 bits of data at one time, while the system bus could handle 16 bits at a time. Later SIMM boards, slightly larger at 4.25 x 1 inch (about 11 x 2.5 cm), used a 72-pin connector for increased bandwidth and allowed for up to 256 MB of RAM. As processors grew in speed and bandwidth capability, the industry adopted a new standard in dual in-line memory module (DIMM). With a whopping 168-pin or 184-pin connector and a size of 5.4 x 1 inch (about 14 x 2.5 cm), DIMMs range in capacity from 8 MB to 1 GB per module and can be installed singly instead of in pairs. Most PC memory modules and the modules for the Mac G5 systems operate at 2.5 volts, while older Mac G4 systems typically use 3.3 volts. Another standard, Rambus in-line memory module (RIMM), is comparable in size and pin configuration to DIMM but uses a special memory bus to greatly increase speed. Many brands of notebook computers use proprietary memory modules, but several manufacturers use RAM based on the small outline dual in-line memory module (SODIMM) configuration. SODIMM cards are small, about 2 x 1 inch (5 x 2.5 cm), and have 144 or 200 pins. Capacity ranges from 16 MB to 1 GB per module. To conserve space, the Apple iMac desktop computer uses SODIMMs instead of the traditional DIMMs. Sub-notebook computers use even smaller DIMMs, known as MicroDIMMs, which have either 144 pins or 172 pins.

ERROR CHECKING
Most memory available today is highly reliable. Most systems simply have the memory controller check for errors at start-up and rely on that. Memory chips with built-in error-checking typically use a method known as parity to check for errors. Parity chips have an extra bit for every 8 bits of data. The way parity works is simple. Let's look at even parity first. When the 8 bits in a byte receive data, the chip adds up the total number of 1s. If the total number of 1s is odd, the parity bit is set to 1. If the total is even, the parity bit is set to 0. When the data is read back out of the bits, the total is added up again and compared to the parity bit. If the total is odd and the parity bit is 1, then the data is assumed to be valid and is sent to the CPU. But if the total is odd and the parity bit is 0, the chip knows that there is an error somewhere in the 8 bits and dumps the data. Odd parity works the same way, but the parity bit is set to 1 when the total number of 1s in the byte are even. The problem with parity is that it discovers errors but does nothing to correct them. If a byte of data does not match its parity bit, then the data are discarded and the system tries again. Computers in critical positions need a higher level of fault tolerance. High-end servers often have a form of error-checking known as error-correction code (ECC). Like parity, ECC uses additional bits to monitor the data in each byte. The difference is that ECC uses several bits for error checking -- how many depends on the width of the bus -- instead of one. ECC memory uses a special
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algorithm not only to detect single bit errors, but actually correct them as well. ECC memory will also detect instances when more than one bit of data in a byte fails. Such failures are very rare, and they are not correctable, even with ECC. The majority of computers sold today use nonparity memory chips. These chips do not provide any type of built-in error checking, but instead rely on the memory controller for error detection.

COMMON RAM TYPES

SRAM
Static random access memory uses multiple transistors, typically four to six, for each memory cell but doesn't have a capacitor in each cell. It is used primarily for cache.

DRAM
Dynamic random access memory has memory cells with a paired transistor and capacitor requiring constant refreshing.

FPM DRAM
Fast page mode dynamic random access memory was the original form of DRAM. It waits through the entire process of locating a bit of data by column and row and then reading the bit before it starts on the next bit. Maximum transfer rate to L2 cache is approximately 176 MBps.

EDO DRAM
Extended data-out dynamic random access memory does not wait for all of the processing of the first bit before continuing to the next one. As soon as the address of the first bit is located, EDO DRAM begins looking for the next bit. It is about five percent faster than FPM. Maximum transfer rate to L2 cache is approximately 264 MBps.

SDRAM
Synchronous dynamic random access memory takes advantage of the burst mode concept to greatly improve performance. It does this by staying on the row containing the requested bit and moving rapidly through the columns, reading each bit as it goes. The idea is that most of the time the data needed by the CPU will be in sequence. SDRAM is about five percent faster than EDO RAM and is the most common form in desktops today. Maximum transfer rate to L2 cache is approximately 528 MBps.

DDR SDRAM
Double data rate synchronous dynamic RAM is just like SDRAM except that is has higher bandwidth, meaning greater speed. Maximum transfer rate to L2 cache is approximately 1,064 MBps (for DDR SDRAM 133 MHZ).

RDRAM
Rambus dynamic random access memory is a radical departure from the previous DRAM architecture. Designed by Rambus, RDRAM uses a Rambus in-line memory module (RIMM), which is similar in size and pin configuration to a standard DIMM. What makes RDRAM so different is its use of a special high-speed data bus called the Rambus channel. RDRAM memory chips work in parallel to achieve a data rate of 800 MHz, or 1,600 MBps. Since they operate at such high speeds, they generate much more heat than other types of chips. To help dissipate the excess heat Rambus chips are fitted with a heat spreader, which looks like a long thin wafer. Just like there are smaller versions of DIMMs, there are also SO-RIMMs, designed for notebook computers.

CREDIT CARD MEMORY

Credit card memory is a proprietary self-contained DRAM memory module that plugs into a special slot for use in notebook computers.

PCMCIA MEMORY CARD

Another self-contained DRAM module for notebooks, cards of this type are not proprietary and should work with any notebook computer whose system bus matches the memory card's configuration.

CMOS RAM
CMOS RAM is a term for the small amount of memory used by your computer and some other devices to remember things like hard disk settings. This memory uses a small battery to provide it with the power it needs to maintain the memory contents.

VRAM
VideoRAM, also known as multiport dynamic random access memory (MPDRAM), is a type of RAM used specifically for video adapters or 3-D accelerators. The "multiport" part comes from the fact that VRAM normally has two independent access ports instead of one, allowing the CPU and graphics processor to access the RAM simultaneously. VRAM is located on the graphics card and comes in a variety of formats, many of which are proprietary. The amount of VRAM is a determining factor in the resolution and color depth of the display. VRAM is also used to hold
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graphics-specific information such as 3-D geometry data and texture maps. True multiport VRAM tends to be expensive, so today, many graphics cards use SGRAM (synchronous graphics RAM) instead. Performance is nearly the same, but SGRAM is cheaper.

HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED?

If your system responds slowly or accesses the hard drive constantly, then you need to add more RAM. If you are running Windows XP, Microsoft recommends 128MB as the minimum RAM requirement. At 64MB, you may experience frequent application problems. For optimal performance with standard desktop applications, 256MB is recommended. If you are running Windows 95/98, you need a bare minimum of 32 MB, and your computer will work much better with 64 MB. Windows NT/2000 needs at least 64 MB, and it will take everything you can throw at it, so you'll probably want 128 MB or more. Linux works happily on a system with only 4 MB of RAM. If you plan to add X-Windows or do much serious work, however, you'll probably want 64 MB. Mac OS X systems should have a minimum of 128 MB, or for optimal performance, 512 MB. The amount of RAM listed for each system above is estimated for normal usage -- accessing the Internet, word processing, standard home/office applications and light entertainment. If you do computer-aided design (CAD), 3-D modeling/animation or heavy data processing, or if you are a serious gamer, then you will most likely need more RAM. You may also need more RAM if your computer acts as a server of some sort (Web pages, database, application, FTP or network). Another question is how much VRAM you want on your video card. Almost all cards that you can buy today have at least 16 MB of RAM. This is normally enough to operate in a typical office environment. You should probably invest in a 32-MB or better graphics card if you want to do any of the following: Play realistic games Capture and edit video Create 3-D graphics Work in a high-resolution, full-color environment Design full-color illustrations When shopping for video cards, remember that your monitor and computer must be capable of supporting the card you choose.

HOW TO INSTALL RAM

Most of the time, installing RAM is a very simple and straightforward procedure. The key is to do your research. Here's what you need to know: How much RAM you have How much RAM you wish to add Form factor RAM type Tools needed In the previous section, we discussed how much RAM is needed in most situations. RAM is usually sold in multiples of 16 megabytes: 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1084 (which is the same as 1GB). This means that if you currently have a system with 64 MB RAM and you want at least 100 MB RAM total, then you will probably need to add another 64 MB module. Once you know how much RAM you want, check to see what form factor (card type) you need to buy. You can find this in the manual that came with your computer, or you can contact the manufacturer. An important thing to realize is that your options will depend on the design of your computer. Most computers sold today for normal home/office use have DIMM slots. High-end systems are moving to RIMM technology, which will eventually take over in standard desktop computers as well. Since DIMM and RIMM slots look a lot alike, be very careful to make sure you know which type your computer uses. Putting the wrong type of card in a slot can cause damage to your system and ruin the card. You will also need to know what type of RAM is required. Some computers require very specific types of RAM to operate. For example, your computer may only work with 60ns-70ns parity EDO RAM. Most computers are not quite that restrictive, but they do have limitations. For optimal performance, the RAM you add to your computer must also match the existing RAM in speed, parity and type. The most common type available today is SDRAM. Additionally, some computers support Dual Channel RAM configuration either as an option or as a requirement. Dual Channel means that RAM modules are installed in matched pairs, so if there is a 512MB RAM card installed, there is another 512 MB card installed next to it. When Dual Channel is an optional configuration, installing RAM in matched pairs speeds up the performance
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10 BASICS OF COMPUTER of certain applications. When it's a requirement, as in computers with the Mac G5 chip(s), the computer will not function properly without matched pairs of RAM chips.

BEFORE YOU OPEN YOUR COMPUTER, Check to make sure you won't be voiding the warranty. Some manufacturers seal the case and request that the customer have an authorized technician install RAM. If you're set to open the case, turn off and unplug the computer. Ground yourself by using an anti-static pad or wrist strap to discharge any static electricity. Depending on your computer, you may need a screwdriver or nutdriver to open the case. Many systems sold today come in tool-less cases that use thumbscrews or a simple latch. The actual installation of the memory module does not normally require any tools. RAM is installed in a series of slots on the motherboard known as the memory bank. The memory module is notched at one end so you won't be able to insert it in the wrong direction. For SIMMs and some DIMMs, you install the module by placing it in the slot at approximately a 45-degree angle. Then push it forward until it is perpendicular to the motherboard To install more RAM, look for memory modules on your computer's and the small metal clips at each motherboard. At the left is a Macintosh G4 and on the right is a PC. end snap into place. If the clips do not catch properly, check to make sure the notch is at the right end and the card is firmly seated. Many DIMMs do not have metal clips; they rely on friction to hold them in place. Again, just make sure the module is firmly seated in the slot. Once the module is installed, close the case, plug the computer back in and power it up. When the computer starts the POST, it should automatically recognize the memory. That's all there is to it!

Motherboards
The motherboard has been an integral part of most personal computers for more than 20 years. Think of a motherboard as a scale model of a futuristic city with many modular plug-in buildings, each using power from a common electrical system. Multiple-lane highways of various widths transport data between the buildings. The motherboard is the data and power infrastructure for the entire computer. Motherboards (also called mainboards) are actually a carryover from architecture used for years in mainframe computers. Various circuit cards performing various functions all plug into many similar sockets on a common circuit board. Each circuit card performs a unique function in the computer and gets its power from the socket. Due to improvements in circuitry and packaging, motherboards have essentially stayed the same size or shrunk while their functionality has skyrocketed. In this section you will learn how the motherboard operates and what its many sockets and connectors do.

BACKGROUND
The original IBM PC contained the original PC motherboard. In this design, which premiered in 1982, the motherboard itself was a large printed circuit card that contained the 8088 microprocessor, the BIOS, sockets for the CPU's RAM and a collection of slots that auxiliary cards could plug into. If you wanted to add a floppy disk drive or a parallel port or a joystick, you bought a separate card and plugged it into one of the slots. This approach was pioneered in the mass market by the Apple II machine. By making it easy to add cards, Apple and IBM accomplished two huge things: They made it easy to add new features to the machine over time. They opened the computer to creative opportunities for third-party vendors.

AUTHOR: MUSADDIQ AHMED RAZA, RAZA COMPUTERS PHALIA (

0456-430048)

BASICS OF COMPUTER

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Different motherboards of different vintages typically have different form factors. The form factor is essentially the size, shape and design of the actual motherboard. There are more than a half-dozen form factors for motherboards. The motherboard, by enabling pluggable components, allows users to personalize a computer system depending on their applications and needs.

ON THE MOTHERBOARD
A motherboard is a multi-layered printed circuit board. Copper circuit paths called traces that resemble a complicated roadmap carry signals and voltages across the motherboard. Layered fabrication techniques are used so that some layers of a board can carry data for the BIOS, processor and memory buses while other layers carry voltage and ground returns without the paths short-circuiting at intersections. The insulated layers are manufactured into one complete, complex sandwich. Chips and sockets are soldered onto the motherboard.

EXAMPLES
The MSI 694D Pro AR supports dual Pentium microprocessors, has five PCI slots and a communications network riser (CNR) slot. The board supports 133 MHz bus speeds and ultra-direct memory access100 (UDMA). There are four USB ports and onboard audio in the ATX form factor board. The Abit KT-7A supports Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) processors and has the KT-133A chipset. The card slots on the Abit KT-7A, from bottom to top in the image below, shows that ISA has one slot, PCI has six slots and AGP has one slot. A special fan cools the chipset.

MSI 694D Pro AR Dual Flip Chip Socket 370 motherboard

AUTHOR: MUSADDIQ AHMED RAZA, RAZA COMPUTERS PHALIA (

0456-430048)

12 BASICS OF COMPUTER A partial view of the TechRam S3ProM motherboard shows slots: From bottom to top, ISA has one slot, PCI has two slots, audio modem riser (AMR) has one slot, and AGP has one slot. The BIOS chip is common to many motherboards.

DATA BUS WIDTH

Modern Pentium class motherboards have a data bus with 64 bits. That is the width of the data highway that goes in and out of the processor. The Pentium processors, however, do use 32-bit registers to handle 32-bit instructions. Bus speeds and widths have increased due to faster processors and the needs of multimedia applications. Typical bus names and widths are: Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) - 8 or 16 bits Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) - 8 or16 bits Microchannel Architecture (MCA) - 16 or 32 bits VESA Local Bus (VLB) - 32 bits Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) - 32 or 64 bits Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP ) - 32 bits

Abit KT-7A AMD Processor Motherboard

CHIPSETS
Chipsets provide the support for the processor chip on the motherboard. The Intel 440BX is the dominant chipset in the non-Apple personal computers. The chipset is the heart of the computer since it controls and determines how fast and which type of processor, memory, and slots are used. Another chip on the motherboard is called the Super I/O controller. Its main function is to control the floppy disk drive, keyboard, mouse, serial and printer ports. Recent motherboard designs include additional chips to support USB, sound card, video adapter, computer host and network adapter. These chips save the cost of an adapter slot.

TechRam S3ProM Motherboard

FANS

BIOS Chip 0456-430048)

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Speeds, temperatures, density, faster chipset designs and component count have driven the need for circuit cooling via miniature electric fans. These fans mount inside the actual computer case. Heat sinks act like a car radiator, providing additional surface area to help cool a component. Replaceable fan/heat-sink assemblies are often used to help dissipate the considerable amount of heat on modern processor chips. The assembly conducts heat away from the chip by convection, using a layer of thermal grease between the two mating metal surfaces. Fans often have a third wire used for monitoring the speed of the fan.

AUTHOR: MUSADDIQ AHMED RAZA, RAZA COMPUTERS PHALIA (

0456-430048)