Computing Machinery
Chapter 9: Personal Computers
The Mother of All Boards
Functional Layout of PC Motherboard
PC Motherboard Form Factors
XT - Also called extended technology, this is the oldest of the Intel motherboard form
factors, originally designed for the 8088 CPU.
AT - The AT (Advanced Technology) form factor replaced the XT, providing a software
programmable configuration through BIOS () rather than hardwired jumpers.
Baby-AT - The Baby AT was the first attempt to reduce the size of the motherboard while
maintaining a performance capability similar to the AT.
LPX/Mini-LPX - This form factor was the next step in miniturization of the PC with
similar capability as the AT.
ATX/Mini-ATX - The ATX and Mini-ATX provide for the additional functions included
in more modern PC's. This form factors also offers a lower voltage level (3.3volts rather
than 5 volts).
NLX - This form factor is an updated version of the LPX/Mini-LPX designed to support
laptops and slimline desktop PC's.
Trends in Motherboard Form Factors
XT
ATX
micro-ATX
Back Panel I/O Connector Layout
Intel 'x86 Series of Processors
CPU
Clock Speed
8088
5
8
8086
5-10
16
286
6-1
386DX
16-40
386SX
16-33
386SL
20-25
486DX
25-100
486SX
20-40
Pentium
60-200
Pentium MMX 150-233
Pentium Pro
150-200
Pentium II
233-450
Pentium III
450-1.2GHz
Celeron Xeon 266-766
Xeon
400-3GHz
Pentium 4
1.4-3.06 GHz
Bus Max RAM
1MB
16MB
32
64
4GB
'x86 Registers
Chipsets
The chipsets are the integrated circuits on the motherboard that manage the transfer of
information from one functional component to another.
In the early days of the personal computer, each data transfer function on the
motherboard was performed by a separate IC.
Over time, the low-level intgration was replaced with higher-level integration in which
multiple functions were combined in a single IC package.
The level of integration of these functions continued until we now have all the
communications controlled contained in as few as two IC's called the northbridge and
the southbridge.
By convention, we still refer to each of these IC's as a chipset.
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Read-Only Memory (ROM)
A read-only memory (ROM) is a type of memory that is fixed and unchangeable. Once
a ROM has been loaded with a bit pattern, it cannot be changed.
Standard ROM memory is embedded into the IC at the time of manufacture. The bit
patterns are chosen to represent data or instructions that will be accessed during the
normal execution of the computer, but will not be changed.
An example use of ROM in a computer is to hold the first few instructions requied to
start up or boot the computer.
The primary functional difference between ROM and RAM is that the contents of ROM
persists even when power is off.
types of ROM
Static Random Access Memory (SRAM)
There are two types of random access memory (RAM). The first type called static RAM
(SRAM) holds its contents after being written to only once, so long as power is applied.
When power is off the contents of static RAM is lost. Due to cost, the use of SRAM is
typically limited to cache memory.
Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM)
Dynamic RAM or DRAM must be accessed frequently or its contents will be lost even
when power is being applied.
The rate of refresh depends on the particular DRAM but typically the time between
refreshes must be between a few microseconds and a few miliseconds.
The primary advantage of DRAM over SRAM is lower cost.
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Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM)
PROM (Programmable ROM) - a version of ROM that is manufactured with with no
bit patterns but can be written to once by burning the bit patterned into its circuitry.
PROM's cannot be altered after the bit pattern is set.
EPROM (Erasable PROM) - a version of ROM that can be written to more that once.
These chips need to be reset out-of-circuit by exposure to UV light or some other nonelectrical process.
EEPROM (Electrically Erasable PROM) - a version of ROM that can be rewritten by
applying electrical signal alone. If the EEPROM can be rewritten while it is in-circuit,
it is called a flash-programmable EEPROM.
Inline Memory Modules
DIMM (Dual Inline Memory Module) - a physical layout of RAM on a small circuit
board with an edge connector that can be plugged into the memory slots of a
motherboard. DIMM's support a 64 bit data path to the northbridge.
SIMM (Single Inline Memory Module) - a physical layout of RAM also on a small
circuit board with an edge connector. SIMM's support a 32-bit data path.
SIMM
DIMM
Modern Computer Memory
EDO DRAM (Extended Data Output DRAM) - since data is partitioned into blocks,
the EDO DRAM can read and write separate memory blocks simultaneously.
SDRAM (synchronous DRAM) - this is a special type of RAM that runs faster than
conventional RAM by sending multiple bits one each bus wire during the time
required for one bit to be transferred. In conventional data transfer a bit must make
it to its destination before the next bit is applied to the bus wire.
DDR SDRAM (Double Data Rate-Synchronous DRAM) - DDR SDRAM doubles
the rate of data transfer by using both the rising and trailing edge of a logic pulse to
carry data.
RDRAM (Rambus DRAM) - A proprietary version of DRAM by Rambus, Inc.
RDRAM Short for Rambus DRAM, a type of memory (DRAM) developed by
Rambus, Inc. In 1997, Intel announced that it would license the Rambus technology
for use on its future motherboards, thus making it the likely de facto standard for
memory architectures.
Cache
Cache (pronounced "cash" ) memory is a higher-speed but more costly type of random
access memory that is used to increased the number of instructions per second that can be
processed by a computer.
L1 Cache - The L1 cache is the cache that is closest to the CPU, usually inside the
integrated circuit of the CPU itself.
L2 Cache - The L2 cache is larger than L1 cache but somewhat slower due to the greater
distance to the CPU. In a dual-level cached system, the contents of the L2 cache is prefetched from main memory while smaller blocks of L1 cache are pre-fetched from the L2
cache.
Fully Associative Cache Memory
Direct Memory Mapping
Set-Associative Memory Mapping
Cache Timing
The best way to understand the advantage of multi-level cache memory is to look at an
example of cache timing.
Assume that a particular memory location is accessed 10 times over a short period of a
programs execution and that the first attempt to access the address results in a cache miss.
We can further assume that cache access time is tc = 4 nsec while main memory access is
tm = 35 nsec.
The total access time for the first call is given by,
t1 = tc + tm = 4 ns + 35 ns = 39 ns
Given that 1 out of 10 memory requests result in a miss (i.e. the probability of a cache hit
phit is 90%), we can compute the total access time for 10 memory accesses,
ttot = tc + tm + (n-1)tc = 4 ns + tm + 9 tc
= 4 ns + 35 ns + 9x(4 ns) = 75 ns
so the average access time is given by,
tavg = ttot /n = 75/10 = 7.5 ns
The first attempt to access the memory word results in an access time of 39 ns, which is
longer than a direct access to main memory (35 ns). After 10 accesses we have
accumulated a total of 75 ns, for an average access time of 7.5 ns.
Bus
A communication bus is a set of parallel lines (wires) that connect two computing
machinery components. The purpose of the bus is to provide a fast, simple and
efficient means of data transfer. Buses are defined by their width (number of lines),
and their speed (rate of data transfer).
Bus Organization (Width, Speed, Bandwidth)
The VSC has an 8-bit bus that carries data, instructions and addresses between the
memory unit and the registers. The typical data bus includes lines for both the
data and the address of the data (source or destination).
Direct Memory Access (DMA) or Bus Mastering
Bus mastering is the technique of providing circuitry to permit communication between
peripherals without using the CPU.
Direct memory access (DMA), is a more advanced version of bus mastering, with which
data transfer is completely independent of the CPU.
Bus mastering limits the level of communication with the CPU, but it needs to get
permission to present data onto the bus and to inform the CPU that data transfer has
been completed.
Memory Access through I/O Ports
Both ATA and SCSI disk controllers
provide for bus mastering.
SCSI controller are more advanced than
ATA controller, since they support a higher
level of independence from the CPU.
All devices that communicate via a bus on
the PC have their own addresses or I/O
port numbers.
The port number is
necessary to communicate with the CPU
or the RAM using memory mapping
techniques.
A PC can access data and instructions
from main memory (RAM) using the I/O
ports
PCI Bus
The Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus is used to include peripheral devices
to the motherboard of the PC. While we usually think of PCI peripherals as computer
circuits on cards that are plugged into a PCI expansion slot, there are PCI devices
integrated onto the motherboard, such as integrated graphics, audio, or network devices.
Synchronous Bus Data Transfer
The timing diagram for a synchronous bus read transaction is shown here. In this
transaction the bus master provides an address for the transaction and sets the W/R
signal to the read mode. The data supplier (slave) present data onto the bus and alerts
the bus master that the data is ready to be read by setting the wait signal to logical low.
Hennessy & Patterson, Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach. Ch. 7
Asynchronous Data Bus Transfer
Asynchornous data transfers are typically slower than synchronous transfers, however,
they support a much wider range of peripheral types. The timing diagram for an
asynchronous write bus transaction is shown below. During an asynchronous write
operation, the bus master presents the address and data to the bus. The receiver (slave)
decodes the address during a predetermined time interval (between T0 and T1).
BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)
BIOS is the machine code that is run first when a PC is powered up. This BIOS software
is hardwired into a ROM IC on the motherboard. The process of automacially loading
and executing the BIOS instructions is called booting up the computer.
BIOS can also be said to be a coded program embedded on a chip that recognizes and
controls various devices that make up the computer. In other classes of computer the
BIOS is referred to as the boot loader, boot ROM, or boot monitor
AGP Video
Modern PC's include an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) slot on the motherboard for
the addition of a high-performance graphics/video perpherial card. Intel developed the
AGP specification independent of the PCI Special Interest Group.
The AGP communication channel is independent of the PCI and is restricted to the
management of video/image data. The purpose of the AGP is to support 3D rendering
and animations at a high-frame rate.