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Microprocessor

A Microprocessor is a device that provides the basic support and operations for the arithmetic, logical and the control circuits that are necessary and essential for the processing. The microprocessor in its physical form is a chip that is fixed over the motherboard.

The Microprocessor is considered as the brain of the computer. The Microprocessor controls all the operations of a computer. It fetches the binary-coded instructions and performs the operations over them to produce the desired results. The Microprocessor contains the memory registers that can store up the values and perform the operations over it.

The processors main function is to fetch the binary coded instructions from the memory, decode it and identify it and to carry out the necessary actions. It contains an Arithmetic Logic Unit – ALU which carries out the mathematical and logical operations. It also has an address counter which is used to hold the address of the next instruction or the data to be fetched from the memory.

It also has a general purpose register, used for the temporary storage of binary data and a circuitry which generates the control bus signals.

Speed:

The speed of a Microprocessor is measured in terms of the number of operations that can be performed per second and directly depends on the clock rate input. The clock rate input is specified by the manufacturer and it is given in Hertz. The present day processors offer huge speed for example 3 Giga hertz etc.

Word Size:

It is dependent upon the internal architecture. This means the data bus structure. For example a 16 bit processor like the Intel’s 8086 specifies that it’s Arithmetic Logic Unit, internal registers and most of its instructions are so designed that they work with the 16 bit binary words. The 8086 has a 16-bit data bus so that it can read or write data to the memory and the ports either 16 or 8 bits at a time. Word size may be that of 8, 16, 32, 64 bits etc.

Data Path:

The Data path has the number of bits that can be transported into the chip in one operation. It can be of the bits of 8, 16, 32, 64 etc.

Memory Addressing:

The memory addressing of the Microprocessor is defined as the capability of the processor to provide access to the maximum number of address locations. The processor like the 8088 had about 20 bit address line which means that it can access up to one mega bytes of information.

The Microprocessor being the most important part of the computer needs special care and handling while installing it in the computer. The major manufacturers of the Microprocessor are the Intel and the AMD.

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