UNIT 5

MICROPROCESSOR &
MEMORY
In this lesson students will:
- Know some basic features and functions of Microprocessor and Memory.
- Get familiar with the following terms:
central processing unit cpu bus đường truyền
control unit multicore chip
arithmetic-logic unit đơn vị logic số học parallel processing
word coprocessors bộ đồng xử lý
bit volatile storage Bộ nhớ dễ bay hơi
byte nonvolatile storage bộ nhớ không bay hơi
clock speed cache bộ nhớ đệm
register virtual memory
accumulator RAM
core ROM
- Develop language skills on the topic of Microprocessor and Memory.

PART 1: ICT BASICS

Task 1. Watch a video about the main components of a CPU. Complete the table below.

Components Functions
Controller
(Control Unit – CU)

Arithmetic-Logic Unit –
ALU

Registers

Internal Memory (Cache)

Buses
Task 2. Use the information from the video and the diagram below prepare a short talk
about the structure and operation of a CPU.

Task 3. Use the information in the diagram and the reading passage to help you
match the terms below with the appropriate explanation or definition.

A processor chip consists of many different electronic circuits and devices for performing
control functions, arithmetic and logic operations, and data transfers. Data may be transferred
from backing storage to the main memory (RAM or ROM) or from the memory to the
arithmetic-logic unit by means of conductive channels known as buses.
The processing capacities are often expressed in word sizes. A word is the number of bits (such
as 16, 32, or 64) that can be accessed at one time by the processor. The processing speed is
typically represented by its clock speed, which is related to the number of times the processor
can fetch and process data or instructions in a second.
A new type of chip can provide two or more separate and independent CPUs. These are named
the multi-core chips. Many systems also have a coprocessor along with the primary processor. A
coprocessor is used to supplement the functions of the primary one (the CPU). Operations
performed by the coprocessor may be floating point arithmetic, graphics, signal processing,
string processing, cryptography or I/O interfacing with peripheral devices.

1. microprocessor chip b a. used to send address details between the memory and the
2. registers d address register.
3. coprocessors h b. consists of arithmetic-logic unit, one or more working registers
4. control bus i to store data being processed, and accumulators for storing the
5. address bus a results of calculations
6. data bus c c. a group of signal lines used to transmit data in parallel from
7. clock e one element of a computer to another.
8. RAM j d. groups of bistable devices used to store information in a
9. ROM f computer system for high-speed access
10. Word g e. an electronic circuit, usually a quartz crystal, that generates
electronic pulses at fixed time intervals to control the timing of
all operations in the processor
f. used for storing part of the operating system and application
software known as `firmware'; can only be read; cannot be
written to or altered in any way
g. the number of bits that can be accessed at one time by the
processor.
h. specialty chips designed to improve specific computing
operations, for example GPU (graphics processing unit).
i. a group of signal lines dedicated to the passing of control
signals
j. used for the temporary storage of application programs and
data; can be written to and read from
Task 4. Look at the diagram that illustrates different kinds of memory. What do you know
about them?

PART 2: LANGUAGE SKILLS

Task 5. You are going to watch a video explaining the difference between core i3, i5 and i7
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB4bCFMOzss).

a. Watch the video and complete the table below

Type Number of cores Technologies Used for

Core i3 2 Hyper threading Budget PCs

Core i5 ……………………. …………………….

hype threading and …………………….
durable boost a moderate user and
4
……………………. ……………………. average gaming
…………………….
Core i7 ……………………. hyper-threading
……………………. servo …………………….
high-level editing or high level
boosting and
2-8
……………………. overclocking
……………………. abilities gaming
…………………….
 b. Now watch the video again and answer the questions
tiêu chí
1. What is the main criterium that differentiate 3 types of processors? performance
2. What does “multiple cores” mean? at the time more efficiently at the time more efficiently
3. In which situations do people not take much advantage of multiple cores? doesn't apply to all applications as
4. What is hyperthreading technology? allows a single microprocessor to act like two creating software
separate processors
5. What is turbo boost technology?
technology accelerates processor and graphics performance for peak loads automatically

Task 6. Reading
a. Read the following text and takes notes under the main headings. Then answer the
questions
1. What is a quad-core technology for mobile phone?
2. What do people expect from it?
3. Can it come up with the expectations? Why or why not?
4. What is the present and future use of multicore processor for mobile phone?

QUAD-CORE PROCESSORS: A LAYMAN’S GUIDE

by Ankit Banerjee on Apr 15, 2012
sự ra đời
The advent of the smart phone brought with it a
dramatic shift in how people work, communicate, and
play. Of course, the primary use of the ‘cell phone’ is
still to make and receive phone calls, but our mobile
devices are increasingly being utilized for a wide
variety of other purposes. Email, social networking
apps, internet browsing, and serious gaming
capabilities mean that we have all the information we
need at our fingertips and are never far away from
breaking news or the next party invite.
Quite simply, the increasing demands we are placing
on mobile devices have brought about the necessity for more powerful processing. We have moved
on from “weak” processors to dual-core powerhouses and now, we are seeing the steady
introduction of quad-core devices. Granted, we are seeing this shift to quad-core only for Android
devices so far, with Apple relying, for now, on dual-core processors, and Nokia featuring a single-
core processor to power its Windows Phone 7 handsets.
Here, we will talk about some of the fundamental features of mobile quad-core processors. We
will discuss not only what makes the quad-core chip a big step forward for mobile tech, but also
the situations when more cores can actually lead to an inferior user experience.
What is a quad-core processor?
As the name suggests, a quad-core processor is a System-on-a-Chip (SoC) equipped with a four
CPU cores. Every “core” is a single ARM processor, with the four put together to create the
complete chip. ARM designs the architecture of chips used in almost every smart phone available
in the world. You can see a chart above of how ARM core processors have advanced over the
years, with each iteration being more powerful.
So, it is obvious that a dual-core Cortex-A15 processor will be more powerful than a dual-core A9
processor, and that a quad-core A9 processor (such as the NVIDIA Tegra 3) will be more powerful
than a dual-core A9 processor (NVIDIA Tegra 2). A lot of processor manufacturers also buy the
 chỉnh sửa
right to tweak the basic structure of the
ARM design, as is seen with the NVIDIA
Tegra 3 4+1 core setup, that incorporates a
companion (ninja) core for low-powered
activities, to offer extended battery life.
What we expect from a quad-core
processor
At the most basic level, we expect that
doubling the number of cores, from dual-
core to quad-core, would double the speed
of running applications. Imagine a dual-
core processor device running eight
applications. This will, ideally, divide four
applications across two cores. With a quad-
core device, you would be, again ideally,
running two applications over four cores, in essence, doubling the efficiency and speed of the
device.
Another major expectation that many have is that a quad-core processor should significantly
increase the battery life of the device. With the presence of more cores, executing a task should
exert less pressure on the processor and therefore require less power from the battery, right? Users
should enjoy a substantial increase in battery life.
We’ve been seeing a significant number of classic PC games being developed for handheld
devices. There are also a large number of graphic-intensive games available for Android devices.
As more and more of such games become available, quad-core processors are expected to provide
a major improvement in the user’s gaming experience.
What actually happens
The first misstep when it comes to complicated processor architecture and technology is the basic
assumption that 2+2=4. Ideally, that is exactly how it is supposed to work, but that does not
happen, at least not yet. Let’s take a look at why.
• When moving up from dual to quad-core processors, although the number of cores is
doubled, the other systems are not. The four-cored processor is still relying on one, albeit
slightly more powerful, memory pool, battery, etc.
• The example given above about four cores working at double the capacity holds true only if
there is an equal sharing of tasks. Unfortunately, that is not the case so far. The OS itself
needs to support “multi-threading,” that is, assigning a part of the task equally to all cores.
• For a quad-core device to work efficiently, developers need to write code for programs and
applications while keeping multi-threading in mind. The issue being that not only is writing
such code for apps much harder, but also increases the complexity of debugging such a
program of something goes wrong. Apps created for multi-core processing are simply
much more difficult to create and maintain.
• At this point, quad-core efficiency will significantly improve only with apps that are
specifically made for multiple core use.
There has been some disbelief about the expected increase in battery life. There is a very good
reason to think so. When it comes to battery life, one of the biggest consumers is the processor,
the display, and the cellular radio. While processors have become more battery efficient, the others
have not. Every high-end smart phone features a high resolution display which requires a lot more
power, and we all know the affect 4G radios have on battery life. So again, while there might be
an increase in battery efficiency due to quad-core processors, it not as significant an improvement
as we would hope.
The only area where quad-core devices completely meet our expectations is gaming. Most gaming
applications take advantage of multiple threads, and the increased number of cores provides a more
efficient and much smoother gaming experience. Plus, it’s important to remember that games and
other advanced applications that need as much power as possible are only as good as the code they
are written on. In the case of the Tegra 3 SoC, which is found in many of today’s hottest devices,
including the Transformer Infinity Pad 300, the original Transformer Prime, and the HTC One X
(non-LTE), NVIDIA has employed its vast expertise in creating world-class hardware, and has
collaborated with developers to really optimize these gaming titles, and do so in such a way that
they take advantage of all of those latent cores.
The Present
The current crop of quad-core processors (Nvidia Tegra 3, Samsung Exynos 4412, etc.) feature
ARM’s Cortex A9 architecture. The Tegra 3 processor is far better than the dual-core Tegra 2,
with similar architecture. But this does not seem to be the case against Qualcomm’s dual-core
Snapdragon S4 processor with its Krait cores, as seen from some benchmark tests. This can be kiểm tra điểm
attributed to the fact that the Krait core is more akin to the Cortex-A15 architecture, but the chuẩn
benchmark tests are still quite surprising. We are still eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Samsung
Galaxy S3 with a quad-core Exynos processor, and the Huawei Ascend D Quad, dubbed “the
world’s fastest smart phone” with Huawei’s own K3V2 quad-core processor. But for now, it seems
as though quad-core processors aren’t as powerful as most would expect.
The Future
We’ve already seen some rumors that indicate that we should see the introduction of the NVIDIA
Tegra 4 quad-core ARM Cortex-A15 processor as early as Q1 of 2013. There have also been some
leaks on a Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor in the works along with continuous
upgrades for Samsung’s Exynos processor lineup. We cannot say exactly what is coming in the
future, but we do know that it will only get even better from here on in.
Conclusion
Quad-core processors are a big step up in CPU technology, and they undoubtedly represent the
future of mobile processors. The real question of whether they fit into the present is debatable. The
more we examine it closely, the more it becomes apparent that we will have to wait for app and
game developers to catch up before we can truly enjoy what today’s and tomorrow’s quad core
and octo-core (8) SoC’s are bringing to the table.
As it stands, quad-core technology isn’t “all that,” at least, not yet.
What are your thoughts? Would you wait on getting a quad-core device or is it a must-have right
now?

Source: http://www.androidauthority.com

b. Translate these sentences taken from the reading. Pay attention to the V-ing form.
• Granted, we are seeing this shift to quad-core only for Android devices so far, with Apple
relying, for now, on dual-core processors, and Nokia featuring a single-core processor to
power its Windows Phone 7 handsets.
• You can see a chart above of how ARM core processors have advanced over the years,
with each iteration being more powerful.
 • Imagine a dual-core processor device running eight applications.
• With a quad-core device, you would be, again ideally, running two applications over four
cores, in essence, doubling the efficiency and speed of the device.
• For a quad-core device to work efficiently, developers need to write code for programs
and applications while keeping multi-threading in mind.

c. Write a short summary (about 100 – 150 words) on the reading passage above.

Task 6. Look at the Intel Core I9 X-series specifications. Choose a model and prepare a
short talk about it.

Task 7. Prepare a presentation on either of the topics:

- The competition between INTEL and AMD.
- The evolution of Intel microprocessor.
- The competition in Microprocessor market these days.
That a quad-core processor is applied in the smart phone makes a dramatic shift in world's technologies. A quad-core
processor has one microprocessor containing four CPUs such as the NVIDIA Tegra 3. Every “core” is a single ARM
processor designing the architecture of chips. People expect them to double the speed of running applications, increase
the battery life of the device, improve user’s gaming experience. Practically, however, there is some missteps. Firstly,
although the number of cores is doubled, the other systems are not since the four-cored processor is still relying on one
microprocessor. Secondly, the fact that increase in battery life is impossible because just processors have become more
battery efficient, the display, and the cellular radio have not. for now, it seems as though quad-core processors aren’t as
powerful as most would expect. Notwithstanding the present, we cannot say exactly what is coming in the future, but we
do know that it will only get even better from here on in.