This topic was written because an ignoramus admitted he was ignorant to how processors function. So I have taken it upon myself to explain the basics of processors to the best of my knowledge.

My hope is that we all become enlightened.

In March 1971, Intel released a product that would revolutionize the world as we know it. They released the Intel 4004. A CPU that went on to bring computing into homes and signalled the start of the PC boom of the 80s. This CPU was fitted with 2300 transistors and could execute 46,250 to 92,500 instructions per second. This CPU is a 4-bit CPU. In comparison, the Core i9 has billions of transistors and can perform 80 billion instructions in a second.

In this part, we’re going to talk about binary as a machine language, transistors and their significance, data, instruction and some simple basic CPU terms. Lets begin.


In digital electronics, everything is represented in binary. Binary is a system of counting in twos (or two numbers) which are 1 and 0. So in binary, 1=01, 2=10, 3=11, 4=100, 5=101, 6=110, 7=111 etc. These two numbers (1 & 0) represents dual (2) states e.g. 1 (on) and 0 (off) or 1 (up) and 0 (down). At it’s most basic state, each 1 or 0 is called a BIT.

A transistor is a semi-conductor that can be used to switch on or switch off electrical signals in a circuit. A bit is transmitted as a voltage level. So if inside a CPU, a transistor allows 10V for example to flow past a junction, it is regarded as a 1, if it allows no current to pass, it is regarded as a 0. When these states (1 and 0) are combined, the CPU generates data.

When 8 states or bits are added together, you get a byte. That is 10011011 = 1byte. A byte can represent 256 states ranging from 0-256, -128 to 127, it can also represent alphabets, colours, pictures or sound. Older CPUs were built with 4bit, 8bit(1byte) or 16bit(2bytes). When multiple bytes are joined together, you get a word. You can have a 32bit word, 64 bit word or even a 128bit word. The native word size with which a CPU is built forms part of its architecture.

10011101010101011000101011010110=32bit word. A 32 bit word can represent 4,294,967,295 states of data.

Now lets go back to our Intel 4004. Intel 4004 was a 4bit CPU so this means that when data passes through it, it passes in 4bits. The same applies to 8bit, 16bit, 32bit and 64bit CPUs. The architecture for smartphones currently is the 64bit by ARM.

The most important bits of CPU data are instructions. Instructions are elemental operations such as math commands that a CPU executes. They are unique bits of data that guide CPU operations e.g add, move data, fetch data, subtract, go etc. These commands are used in writing code. The entire list of instruction that a CPU supports is called an instruction set.

Each instruction has a binary representation (machine language) and a human readable presentation (assembly language). In other words, a CPU can also be said to be an instruction processing machine. The instruction set that a CPU comes with makes up its programming. A CPU works in three phases (fetch – decode – execute) that means, it collects the data from the ROM (storage), runs it through its instruction set, executes the commands and outputs the data. The process by which a CPU does fetch – decode – execute is called a CLOCK CYCLE, and the speed by which it completes on clock cycle is called a CLOCK SPEED.

Hopefully we can look at ALU and Logic gates as well as RAM function in the next topic.

Pic 1. An Intel 4004 4bit CPU showing how data passes through it.

Pic 2. An instruction set with assembly language and it's binary language

Pic 3. CPU and RAM

Op well-done, nice article. Front page material

Ignorant transsion marketers should come and read this.

nice article, keep it coming

Karex81:
Op well-done, nice article. Front page material

Ignorant transsion marketers should come and read this.

Thanks bro.

FP for where. Abeg leave am here jare. If it's not a snake, it's not making FP.

ajailer:
nice article, keep it coming

Thank you.

Lalasticlala, this is the time to prove yourself.
is it a thread that enlightens or a thread that gossip about rape?
make Nairaland what it used to be back in 2010-2014

Lalasticlala,myndd44 and Seun una no go see this thread
If it Henryneo,henry007 and that other one called misstechy post their nonsense
Una go move am to front page
Nairaland beginning to disgust me

Bro leave am.

@Drjprince @Skywalker240

We're not doing this for them na.

If you notice, you won't find Transsion people here.

They've gone quiet recently sef.

Let it go.

atheistandproud:
Bro leave am.

@Drjprince @Skywalker240

We're not doing this for them na.

If you notice, you won't find Transsion people here.

They've gone quiet recently sef.

Let it go.

You can never find them in educative threads like this. But they go about opening threads based on lies and deceit, coaxing poor nlanders to believe they know what they're saying.

atheistandproud:
Bro leave am.

@Drjprince @Skywalker240

We're not doing this for them na.

If you notice, you won't find Transsion people here.

They've gone quiet recently sef.

Let it go.

you guys dey make me laugh

Transsion people for this thread? wetin dey want find for here? Transsion people no dey read na, if they no see "MP", "mAh" And "Inches" e no consign them.

khingTony:


you guys dey make me laugh

Transsion people for this thread? wetin dey want find for here? Transsion people no dey read na, if they no see "MP", "mAh" And "Inches" e no consign them.

True this.

A mod moved the topic to this section?

atheistandproud:
A mod moved the topic to this section?

These mods self.
Always doing the wrong things

ernxto:

These mods self.
Always doing the wrong things

They pretend like they don't see intelligent posts. Na only YouTubers that pay them na them dey promote. This proves it.

atheistandproud:
This topic was written because an ignoramus admitted he was ignorant to how processors function. So I have taken it upon myself to explain the basics of processors to the best of my knowledge.

My hope is that we all become enlightened.

In March 1971, Intel released a product that would revolutionize the world as we know it. They released the Intel 4004. A CPU that went on to bring computing into homes and signalled the start of the PC boom of the 80s. This CPU was fitted with 2300 transistors and could execute 46,250 to 92,500 instructions per second. This CPU is a 4-bit CPU. In comparison, the Core i9 has billions of transistors and can perform 80 billion instructions in a second.

In this part, we’re going to talk about binary as a machine language, transistors and their significance, data, instruction and some simple basic CPU terms. Lets begin.


In digital electronics, everything is represented in binary. Binary is a system of counting in twos (or two numbers) which are 1 and 0. So in binary, 1=01, 2=10, 3=11, 4=100, 5=101, 6=110, 7=111 etc. These two numbers (1 & 0) represents dual (2) states e.g. 1 (on) and 0 (off) or 1 (up) and 2 (down). At it’s most basic state, each 1 or 0 is called a BIT.

A transistor is a semi-conductor that can be used to switch on or switch off electrical signals in a circuit. A bit is transmitted as a voltage level. So if inside a CPU, a transistor allows 10V for example to flow past a junction, it is regarded as a 1, if it allows no current to pass, it is regarded as a 0. When these states (1 and 0) are combined, the CPU generates data.

When 8 states or bits are added together, you get a byte. That is 10011011 = 1byte. A byte can represent 256 states ranging from 0-256, -128 to 127, it can also represent alphabets, colours, pictures or sound. Older CPUs were built with 4bit, 8bit(1byte) or 16bit(2bytes). When multiple bytes are joined together, you get a word. You can have a 32bit word, 64 bit word or even a 128bit word. The native word size with which a CPU is built forms part of its architecture.

10011101010101011000101011010110=32bit word. A 32 bit word can represent 4,294,967,295 states of data.

Now lets go back to our Intel 4004. Intel 4004 was a 4bit CPU so this means that when data passes through it, it passes in 4bits. The same applies to 8bit, 16bit, 32bit and 64bit CPUs. The architecture for smartphones currently is the 64bit by ARM.

The most important bits of CPU data are instructions. Instructions are elemental operations such as math commands that a CPU executes. They are unique bits of data that guide CPU operations e.g add, move data, fetch data, subtract, go etc. These commands are used in writing code. The entire list of instruction that a CPU supports is called an instruction set.

Each instruction has a binary representation (machine language) and a human readable presentation (assembly language). In other words, a CPU can also be said to be an instruction processing machine. The instruction set that a CPU comes with makes up its programming. A CPU works in three phases (fetch – decode – execute) that means, it collects the data from the ROM (storage), runs it through its instruction set, executes the commands and outputs the data. The process by which a CPU does fetch – decode – execute is called a CLOCK CYCLE, and the speed by which it completes on clock cycle is called a CLOCK SPEED.

Hopefully we can look at ALU and Logic gates as well as RAM function in the next topic.

Pic 1. An Intel 4004 4bit CPU showing how data passes through it.

Pic 2. An instruction set with assembly language and it's binary language

Pic 3. CPU and RAM

My guy at it again

Bless up man

Nice article bro

Why exactly was this topic moved? Mods just be flexible unnecessary powers... Nairaland is on the decline

Some of you guys are awful and always quick to insult people you don’t even know irl

ShunTecnoInfinix:
Nice article bro

Thanks.

SweetBuns:

You can never find them in educative threads like this. But they go about opening threads based on lies and deceit, coaxing poor nlanders to believe they know what they're saying.

Why can't you let them be? Or you want dragnet to delete this if fight starts?

I wanted to start a introduction to CPU basics for smartphones, starting from the very beginning, binary and data and rounding up with RAM and ROM.

I woke up the next morning and found that my post had been moved from where I meant for it to be. I moved it back to the right place where it ought to be (with the comment "an oversabi mod moved my topic" ) and I got banned for 1 week.

In which universe is the word "oversabi" an insult? What's the criteria for moving posts about?

Is this not tyranny?

edoairways:

Why can't you let them be? Or you want dragnet to delete this if fight starts?

He can if he wants to.

This is Nairaland. I won't stoop so low as to create an alternate account. I'll move my intellectual property off and delete my account. Enough is enough.

Our dear Seun,
Accounts dey delete on a daily for this forum o, people dey comot. Abi u no seem am?

Abeg tell your MODs to calm down.

na wa o. atheist open thread mod move am, another person open thread say why mod move atheist thread? mod ban am



we are done for

sunshineV:
na wa o. atheist open thread mod move am, another person open thread say why mod move atheist thread? mod ban am



we are done for

He may even ban you for this comment sef. Since morning, there has been a deleting spree.

@TheOdd1sOut

That was a fine post you wrote on Itel.

atheistandproud:


He may even ban you for this comment sef. Since morning, there has been a deleting spree.

make dem Kuku rename nairaland to trashland


mod ma ban mi o

sunshineV:


make dem Kuku rename nairaland to trashland


mod ma ban mi o

You're one of the reasons I come here oh.

You too funny

Athiestandproud

I dey follow you bumper to bumper...

Your thread too make sense...

Feed us more bro... It's about time people start learning about what is in their smartphones

atheistandproud:
@TheOdd1sOut

That was a fine post you wrote on Itel.

Thanks sir

Dragnet wont stop until Seun feels the negative effects of his(dragnet) actions.

atheistandproud:


He can if he wants to.

This is Nairaland. I won't stoop so low as to create an alternate account. I'll move my intellectual property off and delete my account. Enough is enough.

please don't be discouraged, truth can never be subdued forever

theoneJabulani:
Dragnet wont stop until Seun feels the negative effects of his(dragnet) actions. please don't be discouraged, truth can never be subdued forever

Thanks bros. I really appreciate.