Computer Sciences and Information Technology
Microprocessor Milestones
Directions
As much as it can be useful to speculate where processor and memory improvements will go in the future, it can be just as important to see the improvement in microprocessor designs up until today. Research to review the designers of microprocessors and identify 5 microprocessors that were significant milestones within the microprocessor history. Explain why they are unique and what makes them to be significant improvements over their predecessors. Focus on the switch between sequential to parallel processing changes in microprocessors. Present your findings in a 2-page (approximately 500 word) essay. Include a bibliography that includes at least 2 resources used to support your argument.
A great place to begin your research are the following resources:
“Great Microprocessors of the Past and Present (V 13.4.0)” by The CPUShack. This site covers many designs of microprocessors that are unique and stand out.
“CPU DB: Recording Microprocessor History” by Communications of the ACM. This article shows a recording of microprocessor history for the past 40 years.
“The Long Road to 64 Bits” by Mashey. This article discusses the development of computers, examining the chronology of transitions in the computer industry from 32-bit and 64-bit microprocessor systems.
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Microprocessor Milestones
The understanding of the past designs of microprocessors is important in projecting future growth. The research focuses on the improvements made in terms of memory and processor. Additionally, the research presents several processors that had an impact in microprocessor history. The outline of the outstanding features that made them unique and the improvements are also outlined.
The designers of the microprocessors were Bill Mensch of the Western Design Canter, Chuck Peddle, Steve Chessin, among others. The five processors that made a significant milestone include the Intel 4004, TMS 1000, the Intel 8080, the Intel 8051 and the 6809 Microprocessor (Cpushack. (2005).
The features such as the number of bits for processing data, the physical scaling, circuit, and pipelining, as well as the microarchitecture and software used. For instance, the Intel 4004 processed data in 4 bits and had instructions of 8 bits long (Queue.acm.org, 2020). The physical scaling of the microprocessors indicates the chip complexity, power as well as voltage over a given time. The rate of features of scaling has been changing, for instance, from the 90nm generation to 130nm process generation.
Circuits and Pipelining is another unique feature embedded in the early microprocessors. The features are related to scale frequency with gate speed. The architectural decisions influenced the logical depth, processor pipeline, and the number of stages. The less development of the processor frequencies occurred in 2000 (Queue.acm.org, 2020). The voltage and frequency scaling varied from one processor to another. The scaling led to the improvement of the microprocessors.
The microarchitecture and the software enhanced the uniqueness of the microprocessors. The improvements in the technologies which involved methods of scaling transistors were also integrated. The introduction of features showed significant improvements in the performance of software or microarchitecture in relation to the old microprocessors such as the Intel 8080 (Cpushack, 2005). The number of transistors changed significantly with the utilization of technology scaling. The high speed and advanced processors were created. The number of the transistors was increased, and the transistors were supposed to be designed to conserve energy.
The subsequent microprocessors had improved features as compared to processors. For instance, the Zilog z-80 was an enhanced version of the Intel 8080. The microprocessor used 8-bit data as well as the 16 bit addressing that had more than 80 instructions. On the other hand, the features that were improved included the stack registers, bus address, and the bit registers. The initial processors operated on a sequential processing approach whereby they could only complete one task using a single processor. On the other hand, the parallel processors were mostly utilized in the advanced processors to complete multiple tasks by using two or more processors (Mashey, 2009). For example, the Intel 4004 has a serial bit for reducing the connections between chips and operated on the parallel design as well as the high clock rate for compensation. Additionally, the 6502 series utilized the single clock cycle for generating the timings used in the four execution stages.
In conclusion, the initial microprocessors had limited in capacity in terms of the number of bits, the frequency, among other features. The improvements were made in the advanced microprocessors by utilizing the current technologies. The number of bits was increased as well as the ability to consume less amount of energy. However, most of the microprocessors relied on the 8-bit levels and 16-bit instructions.
References
Cpushack. (2005). Great Microprocessors of the Past and Present (V 13.4.0). Retrieved from http://www.cpushack.com/CPU/cpu.html
Mashey, J. (2009, January 1). The Long Road to 64 Bits. Retrieved from https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2009/1/15667-the-long-road-to-64-bits/fulltext
Queue.acm.org. (2020). CPU DB: Recording Microprocessor History. Retrieved from https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=2181798
