Microprocessors advancement generations - Research Paper Example

of the of the 29 October Introduction Microprocessors or processors are the core components of any information system contributing to the goals of an organization. The microprocessor or processor “interprets and carries out, or processes, instructions and data contained in the software” ("Processor." 387-387).the microprocessor evolved from the creation of transistors in to integrated circuits. Moreover, the integration of these components is vast in this current age of information technology, where every now and then, computing devices are expanding their usage beyond imagination and finds a new product to take their place. Today, microprocessors are comprised of over millions of transistors that are integrated to a small chip that can be easily located on the fingertips (Betker, Fernando and Whalen 29). However, the factor that makes these microprocessors better from the other is the speed on which it operates. Microprocessor clock speed is measured in Mega Hertz (MHz), Giga Hertz (GHz) and TeraFLOPS. Microprocessors Advancement Generations The first general purpose microprocessor, composed on a single chip was launched in 1971. The microprocessor was capable to operate on an eight-bit architecture along with the implementation capacity of four bits. Moreover, the microprocessor includes 2300 transistors with a capability to perform less than 0.1 million instructions per second (MIPS). After the invention of the first general purpose microprocessor, 8008 right bit microprocessor was invented. The microprocessor was built on 3500 transistors as compared to the general-purpose microprocessor with 2300 transistors. Moreover, in the same year, first computer named as Micral was launched that was considered the first computer with a microprocessor. The computer was purposefully built for laboratory instrumentation and was sold in Europe with large figures. After the invention of the first computer based on microprocessor, the first generation of microprocessor based computers started in 1978. The first generation was started by the introduction of Intel 16 bit 8086 microprocessor hitting the market with vast difference in capabilities and opportunities for further development. The Intel 16 bit 8086 was built on 16 bit architecture with 0.5 million instructions per second. Moreover, a language was also introduced for operating the system named as assembly language. The processor was built on 29000 transistors along with features including memory protection and floating point co processor. Moreover, in 1981, IBM a company for manufacturing commuting devices launched the latest version of Intel’s 8086. The microprocessor was named as 8088. The second generation was triggered by a significant improvement in the architecture of microprocessors as Motorola launched the first 32-bit microprocessor named as Motorola 68000. The processor was equipped with general-purpose registers supporting less than 1 million instructions per second. Motorola 68000 was used with Apple Mac, Silicon graphics and Apollo systems. The third generation was started by the first commercial microprocessor named as MIPS2000 based on Reduced Instructions Set Computing (RISC). Moreover, the processor supported instructions and data cache simultaneously. As compared to the previous processor supporting less than one MIPS, MIPS 2000 was capable of providing five to eight MIPS. The total transistors that were embedded on the processor were 125,000 thousand. The fourth generation of microprocessors was started by the introduction of 64-bit architecture. The processor supporting the 64-bit architecture was MIPS 4000. As compared to the third generation microprocessor i.e. MIPS 2000, MIPS 4000 capability was unmatched. Instead of installing the caches separately on the motherboard of the computer, it was integrated in the microprocessor. The features for integrated cache are on chip and off chip i.e. as a secondary cache. Moreover, floating point was also integrated on the chip. The microprocessor is capable to support more than 50 MIPS. Cheaper, Faster and Small in Size The prominent factors that leaded the computer revolution were the stored program concepts as every generation of computer systems has adhered to the concept and utilizing microprocessors for storing data and applications. This is because programs that are stored in the memory can easily be replaced and consequently the same hardware can perform a variety of tasks. Moreover, the invention of transistors contributed information technology massively as these transistors were much smaller to be integrated on circuits as compared to large vacuum tubes (Patterson 86). Cores Instead of Transistors Three engineers named as Robert Noyce, employed in Fairchild Semicondutor, Andy Grove and Gordon Moore, employed in Intel Corporation were assigned to construct and develop new inventions for silicon based chips. In the year 1971, engineers employed in Intel Corporation successfully embedded central processing unit, memory, input and output controls in to the microprocessor (Fifty Years of Microprocessor Technology Advancements). Since then, the microprocessors were following the same architecture i.e. of a single core. In order to amplify the clock speeds of the microprocessor, there were certain challenges. The most prominent challenge was to augment the microprocessor’s performance along with reduction of heat. This can only be achieved by introducing two or more cores that can be called as multi core processor architecture (Fifty Years of Microprocessor Technology Advancements). Moreover, researchers also concluded that by increasing multiple cores on a single chip, significantly augments the performance of the computing device with an excess of minimal increase in heat (Fifty Years of Microprocessor Technology Advancements). Minimizing the Size of x86 Platform The core objective for the researchers and developers is to shrink the size of the microprocessor, as currently new mini laptops are introduced and cell phones with small processors embedded on the circuits, there is a requirement of shrinking the size of microprocessors. However, there are numerous barriers for making the microprocessor small, Todd Mowry, computing science professor teaching at Carnegie Mellon University and an Intel research consultant, stated that Intel has invested a massive amount for this purpose. He further explained about the barriers as the heat issue was at the top of the list. In order to make the microprocessor more efficient, adding cores to the chip is the best option (Anthes 32). Likewise, instead of increasing the clock speed of the processor, adding more cores on the processor as Mowry says "In the research community now, the focus is not so much on how do we build one good core as much as on how do we harness lots of cores” (Anthes 32). Today, the prominent feature that a multi core processor shares is called a ‘software transactional memory’. This type of memory eliminates the risk of shared data corruption by keeping the threads in parallel. Software transactional memory follows an algorithmic method. However, the support for this method can be integrated to the x86-based microprocessor. Moreover, by introducing multi core processors, software development has also been modified in terms of software development architecture usability. Developers must adhere to the multi core architecture, in order to utilize it efficiently (Anthes 32). In the upcoming five to seven years, the core count will increase to low hundreds per microprocessor. Each core will support multi-threading capability, consequently increase the handling of the total number of multi threading tasks in thousands. However, these 1000 threads will be useless for an average business user, or home user (Anthes 32) . Work Cited "Processor." Network Dictionary (2007): 387-. Print. Patterson, David A. "Microprocessors in 2020." Scientific American Special Issue 8.1 (1997): 86. Print. Betker, Michael R., John S. Fernando, and Shaun P. Whalen. "The History of the Microprocessor." Bell Labs Technical Journal 2.4 (1997): 29. Print. "Fifty Years of Microprocessor Technology Advancements: 1965 ..." http://www.mbipr.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 June 2011 . Anthes, Gary. "What's Next FOR THE X86?" Computerworld 42.25 (2008): 32. Print. Read More