6.

The CPU and Memory

Chapt. 7
ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Introduction
The Little Man Computer (LMC) is cute,
but
Real computers
Memory is separate from the CPU
Data are in binary (not decimal)

ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Central
Processing
Unit

Components of a CPU
ALU (arithmetic and logic unit)
Perform arithmetic and logic operations
Arithmetic: add, subtract, multiply, divide, etc.
Logic: AND, OR, NOT, Shift, etc.

Control unit
Interprets instructions
Controls the flow of information within the CPU
Works with a program counter (address of next instruction)

Input/output interface
Provides mechanism for input and output of data
Many variations possible
p. 166
ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

LMC Counterparts
ALU
Input/output
interface

123

456

00
01
02
03
04
05

123
500
199
500
399

Control unit
95
96
97
98
99

789

123

05

Program counter
p. 167
ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

System Block Diagram

CPU
ALU
Input/output
interface

Memory

Control unit
Program counter

ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Registers
A register is a single storage location within the CPU
Unlike memory, which is outside the CPU
Examples of registers:

Accumulator (ACC)
Program counter (PC)
Instruction register (IR)
Memory address register (MAR)
Memory data register (MDR)
Status register

General purpose registers (R0, R1, )

Included on some CPUs

Used for high-speed temporary storage of program variables

ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Memory Unit
Memory cell
bit 0
bit 1

0
1
2
3
4

Address decoder

Memory address register

n bits

bit n - 1

m-1

Memory data register

2n-1

m bits
p. 170

ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Memory Capacity

2n x m
n address bits = 2n addresses
m data bits
m is the width of the data path
Typical values:
n: 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, etc.
m: 8, 16, 32, 64

ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Question
Q: How many bits of memory are contained
in a memory unit with 512KB of memory?
A: 512 = 29, K = 210, B = byte = 8 = 23
29 x 210 x 23 = 222 = 4,194,304

ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Exercise Memory Capacity

Q: How many bits of memory are contained
in a memory unit with 2MB of memory?
A:

Skip answer
ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Answer

Exercise Memory Capacity

Answer

Q: How many bits of memory are contained

in a memory unit with 2MB of memory?
A: 2 = 21, M = 220, B = byte = 8 = 23
21 x 220 x 23 = 224 = 16,777,216

ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Memory Implementations
RAM random access memory
Static RAM
Dynamic RAM

ROM read-only memory

p. 175
ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Fetch-Execute Cycle
Two steps, or cycles, in the execution of
every instruction
Fetch fetch the code for the instruction from
memory and place it in the IR (instruction
register)
Execute execute the instruction

A pretty picture sometimes helps

Fetch

Execute
time

ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

The Store Instruction

Fetch

PC MAR
MDR IR
IR[address] MAR

Execute

A MDR
PC + 1 PC

ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

time

The Add Instruction

Fetch

PC MAR
MDR IR
IR[address] MAR

Execute

A + MDR A
PC + 1 PC

ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

time

Buses
Definition: a collection of wires with a
common purpose
Each wire is called a line
Typically, buses carry information from one
place to another

From our first lecture

ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

bus

Printer
Mouse

Ports

Keyboard
Modem
CPU
RAM

Disk
controller
Graphics
card

Monitor

Sound
card

Speakers

Network
card
Computer

ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Types of Buses (1 of 3)
Point-to-point
Serial
port

Control
unit

ITEC 1011

Modem

ALU

Introduction to Information Technologies

Types of Buses (2 of 3)
Multipoint
Computer

Computer

Computer

CPU
Disk controller
ITEC 1011

Computer

Memory
Video controller

Introduction to Information Technologies

Types of Buses (3 of 3)
Daisy chain

Device controller
Device
Device
Device
Terminator

ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Buses Inside a Computer

Data bus
Address bus
Control bus
CPU
I/O Module
Memory

I/O Device
ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Motherboard
Many
configurations
possible

Data Bus
Carries data between the CPU and memory or I/O
devices
Bi-directional
Data transferred out of the CPU for write operations
Data transferred into the CPU for read operations

Typical sizes: 8, 16, 32, 64 lines

Signal names:
D0, D1, D2, D3, etc.

ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Address Bus
Carries an address from the CPU to Memory or
I/O devices
Unidirectional
The address is always supplied by the CPU
(There is one exception to this, which well discuss later.)

Typical sizes: 16, 20, 24 lines

Signal names:
A0, A1, A2, A3, etc.

ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Control Bus

Collection of signals for coordinating CPU activities

Each signal has a unique purpose
Typical sizes: 10-20 lines
Signals are output, input, or bi-directional
Typical signals

ITEC 1011

/RD (read)
/WR (write
CLK (clock)
/IRQ (interrupt request)
etc.

Introduction to Information Technologies

Memory Maps
The usage of memory space on a system is
commonly depicted in a memory map
The height of the map is determined by the
number of addresses
The width of the map is usually 8 bits
E.g.,
a system with a capacity of 216 bytes

ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Memory
Map

7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
FFFF

Data bit
position

Hexadecimal
address
ITEC 1011

0002
0001
0000
Introduction to Information Technologies

The bottom
of memory

Use of Memory Maps

Memory maps are usually drawn to show what is
where on a system
The possibilities for what
RAM, ROM, I/O, nothing

The possibilities for where

Determined by the starting/ending addresses for each block
of RAM, ROM, I/O, nothing

E.g.,
a memory map for a system with a capacity of 2 24 bytes with
two 1 MB RAM modules residing consecutively at the bottom
of memory

ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Memory
Map

FFFFFF

14 MB
empty

224 bytes = 16 MB
capacity
200000
1FFFFF
100000
0FFFFF

1 MB RAM
1 MB RAM

000000
ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Exercise Memory Space

Q: A system with a memory capacity of 128
GB has four 32 MB memory modules
installed consecutively at the bottom of
memory. The rest of the memory is
unused. How much memory space is
available for future expansion? (Give your
answer in decimal in megabytes.)
A: ?
Skip answer
ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Answer

Exercise Memory Space

Answer

Q: A system with a memory capacity of 128 GB has four 32

MB memory modules installed. The rest of the memory is
unused. How much memory space is available for future
expansion? (Give your answer in decimal in megabytes.)
A: 128 GB 4 x 32 MB
= 27 x 210 MB - 22 x 25 MB
= (217 27) MB
= (131,072 128) MB
= 130,944 MB

ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Exercise Memory Maps

Draw a memory map for a system with a
capacity of 2 GB. Assume the system has
three 32 MB memory modules residing
consecutively at the bottom of memory.
Illustrate the size of each block in MB and
the starting and ending address of each
block of memory in hexadecimal.
Skip answer
ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Answer

Answer

Memory
Map

7FFFFFFF

1,952 MB
empty
231 bytes = 2 GB
capacity

06000000
05FFFFFF
04000000
03FFFFFF

Note:
2 GB = 2,048 MB

02000000
01FFFFFF
00000000

ITEC 1011

32 MB RAM
32 MB RAM
32 MB RAM

Introduction to Information Technologies

Memory vs. I/O

Our system block diagram shows memory
and I/O connected to the same buses (data,
address, & control)
This raises the question
How is I/O differentiated from memory?
(Well answer this in the next topic)

ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies

Thank you

ITEC 1011

Introduction to Information Technologies