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Questions tagged [cpu]

CPU, stands for Central Processing Unit. It is responsible for carrying out the instructions of a computer program by performing the basic arithmetic, logical, control and input/output (I/O) operations specified by the instructions.

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What are the advantages of x86 CPUs over ARM?

Now that Apple is switching the MacOS platform to ARM chips, much has been said about the benefits of ARM processors (they save energy, are passively cooled, and the Apple M1 seems to be faster than even an Intel Core i9 processor). I'd like to know…
Jonas Sourlier
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What does the program counter do?

I was browsing the architecture of a simple CPU but there is one thing a cannot understand. Why is there data from the ALU going to the program counter and what is that data for?
AdvilDuttay
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Why are word sizes in modern CPU’s a power of 2?

Word size of most modern cpu’s is 32 or 64 bits. Both are a power of 2. This looks “intuitively reasonable”, because a bit has 2 states, but I don’t actually have a hard argument for why this is the case. Moreover, in the past, word sizes of…
user56834
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Maths Co-Processors

I want to know how Maths Co-Processors are made and how they work. I do understand that these are based upon electrical (yet chemical) switches, but how do they calculate things ? I don't understand how switching something on and off not only make…
Raj
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Data transfer between CPU, RAM and secondary storage

Could someone explain me how the CPU address the secondary storage? If the CPU needs data that are stored on a HDD (for example), could the CPU address the HDD directly? And the data are transfered directly to the CPU or are first copied into…
Bender
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What's an Instruction Set Architecture

I'm a beginner and I don't understand what an Instruction Set Architecture is (I read the wikipedia page related to it). Can anyone explain it to me in a simple manner please?
Othman
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"Hack computer" from Nand2Tetris registers, any real world examples of similar design?

The "Hack CPU" (Wikipedia/Hack_computer) is a theoretical computer design created by Noam Nisan and Shimon Schocken and described in their book and also used in their Coursera course Nand2Tetris, and in the game https://nandgame.com. Their CPU only…
user52174
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What is a Trace bit?

What is a trace bit in Processor Status register, I can't find any resource that describe about how it work, for now all I could find is that it take two bits 0,1 for Trace on/Trace off mode. Can anyone help me understand it in detail?
Tworf
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Why does the explanation of auxiliary carry flag differ from the article to article?

These two images are from Google search. AUXILIARY CARRY FLAG: This flag is set to a 1 by the instruction just ending if a carry occurred from bit 3 to bit 4 of the A Register during the instruction’s execution Explanation from Quora It…
Riddle Aaron
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How to prove a given sequence of x86 instructions is shortest possible?

Say we want to find a shortest possible sequence of x86 instructions to move the $9^{th} - 16^{th}$ bit of the $eax$ register to the $24^{th} - 31^{th}$ bit of the $ebx$ register without changing the other bits of the $ebx$ register, where the least…
Alex Vong
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Clarifications about CPU working: as the functions to get the operands are physically generated?

I ask patience to help me to have clarity because I tend to equivocate between formal rappresentation like like operator is a token bit it is determined which operation is to be performed and how to get the operands, according to a function whose…
user6791392
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Supercomputers have millions of CPUs or cores. Is there a central chip or CPU that controls all the cores?

What device integrates and coordinates all the data from millions of CPUs/cores in a supercomputer? To call these cores CPUs (Central Processing Unit) seems wrong when they are not central at all but comprised of millions of units. Isn't there one…
Richard Omura
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How do you "time" the measure of binary streams?

This is just something I've been wondering just out of curiosity. I apologize if this doesn't fall under the category of this forum, and if so feel free to divert me :) Whenever a computer does anything, it always handles a sequence of bits. My…
Matty
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How to learn how CPU works in details

I've watched multiple videos and read posts regarding modern cpus and how they work. However, those ones very rarely touch the problem on the very basic level. Like I've read about transistors and stuff but I would like to spend (a lot I guess)…
Mateusz Konopelski
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micro programming and hard wiring

I have a question about the details of microprogramming and hard wiring in CPU architecture. in hardwiring, we write a code the compiler translates it to the ISA. then ISA is run in the hardware. in microprogramming, we write a code the compiler…
jack.math
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