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really boring study noites I typed out for better retention. ignore liberally.
Modern CPU’s have two speeds: an external speed set by the systems crystal clock and an internal speed set by a multiplying the system speed by a factor of 2 or greater. CPU makers advertise the faster internal speed of their processors rather than the external speed. The frontside buss connects the CPU, Northbridge chip, and RAM. The backside bus connects the CPU and L2 cache memory. Most CPUs use a 32bit address bus and can address up to 4GB of RAM. Desktop CPU Packages include Single Edge Contact (SEC) form Factor and the Pin Grid Array (PGA), and their variants. Modern Motherboards have built-in voltage regulators to control the flow of electricity to the CPU; older motherboards require a voltage regulator module (VRM). Essential CPU cooling is provided by heat sinks and fan assemblies, and by liquid cooling.
Early Pentium processors introduced Dual Pipeline Architecture and could handle two set of instructions at once. Later versions of the Pentium can handle even more pipelines simultaneously. The Pentium Pro CPUs were the first to have an onboard L2 cache and the first to use a 36-bit address bus. The Pentium III introduced the Advanced Transfer Cache. The Pentium 4 uses a 20-step pipeline and can handle up to eight data transfers per clock cycle. The Xeon CPU is enhanced for multiprocessor support and uses a special proprietary socket called Slot2. The Itanium CPU is the first to incorporate a 64-bit address bus, but in actuality only 44 or 50 bits are used. Only applications programmed for a 64-bit environment run on the Itanium CPU.
Athlon CPUs in both Slot A and Socket A configuration; Durons use only Socket A. Slot A looks like Slot 1, and Socket A looks like Socket 370, but neither is pin-compatible with the Intel-based connections. The Athalon uses a special communication scheme between the CPU and Northbridge that effectively doubles the bus speed. AMD markets the clock speed of its CPUs using the equivalent of what an Intel CPU runs rather than the actual clock speed, e.g. the 1.6 GHz Athalon XP is advertised as the 1800+ due to the fact that (according to AMD) it processes data at the same rate as an Intel 1.8 GHz CPU. AMD’s 64 bit CPU, the Opteron, differs from the 64-bit Itanium in that it is fully backward compatible with 32-bit applications.
Motherboards are made to accommodate a narrow range of CPU types. The CPU’s form factor, speed, and voltage must be compatible. Installing CPU’s is physically very simple, but you must be careful not to damage the CPU pin or package. Proper cooling is absolutely essential. Use thermal compound between the CPU and the seat sink and fan assembly, or between the CPU and cooling element if using a liquid cooling system.
Modern CPU’s have two speeds: an external speed set by the systems crystal clock and an internal speed set by a multiplying the system speed by a factor of 2 or greater. CPU makers advertise the faster internal speed of their processors rather than the external speed. The frontside buss connects the CPU, Northbridge chip, and RAM. The backside bus connects the CPU and L2 cache memory. Most CPUs use a 32bit address bus and can address up to 4GB of RAM. Desktop CPU Packages include Single Edge Contact (SEC) form Factor and the Pin Grid Array (PGA), and their variants. Modern Motherboards have built-in voltage regulators to control the flow of electricity to the CPU; older motherboards require a voltage regulator module (VRM). Essential CPU cooling is provided by heat sinks and fan assemblies, and by liquid cooling.
Early Pentium processors introduced Dual Pipeline Architecture and could handle two set of instructions at once. Later versions of the Pentium can handle even more pipelines simultaneously. The Pentium Pro CPUs were the first to have an onboard L2 cache and the first to use a 36-bit address bus. The Pentium III introduced the Advanced Transfer Cache. The Pentium 4 uses a 20-step pipeline and can handle up to eight data transfers per clock cycle. The Xeon CPU is enhanced for multiprocessor support and uses a special proprietary socket called Slot2. The Itanium CPU is the first to incorporate a 64-bit address bus, but in actuality only 44 or 50 bits are used. Only applications programmed for a 64-bit environment run on the Itanium CPU.
Athlon CPUs in both Slot A and Socket A configuration; Durons use only Socket A. Slot A looks like Slot 1, and Socket A looks like Socket 370, but neither is pin-compatible with the Intel-based connections. The Athalon uses a special communication scheme between the CPU and Northbridge that effectively doubles the bus speed. AMD markets the clock speed of its CPUs using the equivalent of what an Intel CPU runs rather than the actual clock speed, e.g. the 1.6 GHz Athalon XP is advertised as the 1800+ due to the fact that (according to AMD) it processes data at the same rate as an Intel 1.8 GHz CPU. AMD’s 64 bit CPU, the Opteron, differs from the 64-bit Itanium in that it is fully backward compatible with 32-bit applications.
Motherboards are made to accommodate a narrow range of CPU types. The CPU’s form factor, speed, and voltage must be compatible. Installing CPU’s is physically very simple, but you must be careful not to damage the CPU pin or package. Proper cooling is absolutely essential. Use thermal compound between the CPU and the seat sink and fan assembly, or between the CPU and cooling element if using a liquid cooling system.