How Do Desktop Microprocessors Work?
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Basics
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A microprocessor can be thought of as the brain of your computer. It may also be referred to as a CPU (central processing unit). The introduction of the microprocessor to the world occurred in 1971 with the first Intel chip. There are several different manufacturers of microprocessors, but all microprocessors operate under the same basic principles.
Parts of a Microprocessor
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A microprocessor receives and executes commands. The basic function that the microprocessor uses to calculate data is referred to as the ALU (Arithmetic/Logic Unit). It is the part of the microprocessor that can calculate simple math instructions such as addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. A microprocessor is also capable of moving a piece of information from one location in the memory of the computer to another. A microprocessor can also make its own decisions based on the data it receives and begin a new list of instructions determined by the decisions it made.
A microprocessor is composed of a few basic sections that enable it to do its job. The first section is called the address bus, which directs an address to the computer's memory. The address would be the same thing as a file you save and the storage place would be the same thing as a folder on your hard drive. Next is the data bus, which can move data to the memory or take in data from the memory. A write and a read line instructs the memory to get the address location and set it in place. There is also the clock line, which is a clock that controls the timing of the pulse sequence in the processor, which tells the microprocessor when to run a command. Lastly, there is a reset line, which will, as the name implies, reset the counter for a program to zero and restart the executable for the program.
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ROM and RAM
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ROM (Read-Only Memory) is pre-programmed with a set of bytes. The ROM is instructed by the address bus which byte to send and where to send it on the data bus. When the read line is changed, the ROM chip sends the selected byte to the data bus. The ROM is important to the function of the microprocessor because it stores the information needed to start the computer each time you turn it on.
RAM (Random-Access Memory) contains bytes of information that can be written over by the microprocessor. The microprocessor reads or writes those bytes and that is determined by whether the read line or the write line is accessed. The RAM is important because it gives the microprocessor room to make decisions and temporarily save important application data.
Every computer contains at least some amount of ROM. This is because ROM stores its byte information after a computer is shut down and RAM does not. As soon as a computer starts the microprocessor starts running commands for the BIOS. The term BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is the term that computer manufacturers use to refer to the ROM (Read-Only Memory). The ROM and the BIOS are the same thing. After the BIOS commands are run the microprocessor goes to find the boot sector. The boot sector is the part of your hard drive that contains information for starting programs. After the boot sector is found it will run the boot sector's RAM instructions. The boot sector will then tell the microprocessor to grab more commands from the RAM. This continues until all the programs necessary to start the computer are loaded and running.
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