CPU: Past, Present, 

“A CPU (central processing unit) is the “brain” of the

computer; it follows the instructions of the software to manipulate data into
information. ” (Sawyer, 2010, p. 208) The CPU performs logic and arithmetic
operations, controls instruction processing, and supervises the overall
operation of the computer. The main components of the CPU are the CU
(control unit) and the ALU (arithmetic/logic unit). (Dugger & Gerrish, 1994, p.
78) The CPU also has registers which temporary store data during
processing, and buses that act as roadways which transmit bits of data within
the CPU and to other components on the motherboard. CPU: The control unit
deciphers the instructions from the input and moves them into memory. For
each instruction the CPU will fetch the instruction, decode the instruction,
execute the instruction, and store the result. These four basic operations are
known as a machine cycle. The control unit is therefore responsible in the
CPU to instruct and control where the data goes to and what will happen to it.
(Sawyer, 2010, p. 208)

ALU: The arithmetic/logic unit executes data that the control unit has sent to it.
It performs basic arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division. The ALU also performs basic logic operations
such as comparing two numbers to see if they are equal, less than, greater
than, or not equal. (Dugger & Gerrish, 1994, p. 581) Registers: “Registers are
high-speed storage areas that temporarily store data during processing. ”
(Sawyer, 2010, p. 209) The CPU contains several types of registers such as
an instruction register, address register, storage register, and an accumulator
register.
These registers may store a program instruction, store data while being
processed, or store the results of a calculation. Without the registers the
control unit or arithmetic/logic unit could not complete their work. Buses: “A
bus is a group of parallel conductors which carry information. ”
(“Microprocessors,” 1983, pp. 2-2) The conductors may be wires in a cable,
foil patterns on a printed circuit board, or microscopic metal deposits in a
silicon chip. Buses act as data roadways to get data from one place to another
as needed. The term CPU/central processing unit has been in use since the
1960s.

Nowadays, we are more familiar with the term microprocessors which are
CPUs that are manufactured on integrated circuits in a single-chip package.
However, before getting into today’s technology I will take a look at the past
CPU technology. Past Exactly which computer was the first electronic
computer completed in the United States is a controversial subject. Iowa State
University claims that the Atanasoff-Berry Computer at ISU was completed in
1942 just before its creator was called up for duty in the war effort. (Munns)
Another computer at the University of Pennsylvania which was funded by the
military was completed in 1946 by J.

Presper Eckert and John Mauchly. First Generation: Eckert and Mauchly’s
invention was called the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator, or as
many now know it, as ENIAC. This first generation computer weighed 30 tons
and contained 18,000 vacuum tubes. ENIAC could do 5000 additions per
second. Each specific sequence of calculations had to be hard-wired into the
machine. To change programs, ENIAC had to be completely rewired. ENIAC
is generally known as the first electronic computer in the United States.
However, since ENIAC could not store a program it did not have, what we
would call, a CPU. Dugger & Gerrish, 1994, p. 571) In 1945 John von
Neumann created a design for a computer system. His design included four
basic units for a computer: a CPU, an input device, an output device, and
storage. (Dugger & Gerrish, 1994, p. 571) In 1946 John von Neumann joined
with Eckert and Mauchly at the University of Pennsylvania to create the
Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer (EDVAC). EDVAC was
completed in 1949. It contained almost 6000 vacuum tubes and had 12,000
diodes. EDVAC covered 490 square feet of flooring and weighed almost 9
tons. It required thirty people to operate it.

EDVAC is considered the first truly programmable electronic computer that

included a central processing unit. No doubt the CPU was enormous, but still
a recognizable CPU. (“EDVAC”) Second Generation: In 1954 Texas
Instruments introduced the silicon transistor. This revolutionized computer
technology and created the Second Generation of computers. Transistorized
CPUs of the 1950’s and 60’s were no longer hampered by vacuum tubes and
electrical relay. Second Generation computers were smaller, faster, more
rugged, and more reliable. “With this improvement, more complex and reliable
CPUs were built onto one or several rinted circuit boards containing discrete
transistor components. ” (“Central Processing Unit”) Third Generation: The
development of integrated circuits and their use in computers began in the
mid 1960’s. This shift in technology brought about the Third Generation of
computers which were faster, more reliable, cheaper to operate and much
smaller. Throughout the advances in computer technology and electronics the
CPU continued to become faster and smaller. Fourth Generation: In the early
1970’s, Ted Hoff at Intel invented the first microprocessor.

Essentially, this was the first time that a complete processing unit was
contained within a single chip and it revolutionized the way computers were
applied and designed forever. This is where the Fourth Generation of
computers was born. The Intel 4004 was a four bit device, measured 1/8 inch
by 1/6 inch, and could execute 60,000 operations per second. (Dugger &
Gerrish, 1994, p. 574) By 1972 Intel had come out with an 8-bit
microprocessor, the Intel 8008, and within a year had bettered it with the Intel
8080 which could execute about 290,000 operations per second.

In 1979, Motorola developed a 16-bit microprocessor. The Motorola 68000

was very popular in the blossoming personal computer market. Around the
same time Intel rolled out their 16-bit microprocessor; the Intel 8086. While
other companies tried to compete in the microprocessor market, it was
generally Intel and Motorola who were in the race to built smaller and better
processors with each other. By the mid 80’s each had produced 32-bit
microprocessors. Beyond: According to Moore’s Law, at our rate of
technological development, the complexity of an integrated circuit will double
in about 24 months.

By the early 90’s, 64-bit microprocessors entered the market. Each

succeeding processor is smaller and can produce data much faster. The 90’
saw Intel introduce its first Pentium chip and Motorola introduced their Power
PC CPU. Throughout the 90’s Intel improved on its Pentium technology
releashing the Pentium Pro, Pentium II, Pentium MMX, and Pentium III. In the
late 90’s AMD introduced their Athlon CPU. The Athlon worked at 800 MHz. In
2000, both Intel and AMD released 1 GHz microprocessors in the Pentium 4
and Athlon CPU. By 2002, Intel’s Pentium 4 reaches 3. 06 GHz.

By 2006, both Intel and AMD introduce dual-core processors. 64-bit

processors have been around for use in mainframes and supercomputers, but
now 64-bit processors are being made for personal computers. Present
Today’s main competitors for CPU’s in microprocessors are Intel and AMD.
Motorola sold off their semiconductor manufacturing section to become
Freescale, and has basically bowed out of the CPU race. CPU’s of today are
extremely fast. The new Intel Core i7-980X Processor Extreme Edition
released the beginning of 2010 has six cores, 12 threads, a max turbo speed
of 3. GHz , a 12 MB Smart Cache, and a clock speed of 3. 33 GHz. (“Intel
Processors,”) “The faster a CPU runs the more power it consumes and the
more waste heat it produces. ” (Sawyer, 2010, p. 206) For that reason, rather
than increasing clock speed, Intel and AMD have pursued using multi-core
technology, which employs additional CPU cores and runs them in parallel.
Dual, Quad, and multi-core processors are very popular today in CPUs for
computers, games and other technology that needs a CPU. Future 128-bit
microprocessors are still being developed. Some experts predict that
advances in microprocessor technology will produce a 50 GHz processor by
2010, the kind of power that will be required to support such function as true
speech interfaces and real-time speech translation” (Sawyer, p. 206)
ClusterOnaChip (CoC) is a popular example of the future in CPU technology.
Engineers are working on how to place thousands of more processors in a
“cluster” on a single chip. IBM in collaboration with the Georgia Institute of
Technology has created a prototype silicon-germanium hetero-junction bipolar
transistor able to operate at a speed of 500 GHz at 4. degrees Kelvin. At room
temperature, the transistor achieves a speed of 350 GHz. “This demonstrates
that speeds of half a trillion cycles per second can be achieved in a
commercial, silicon-based technology, using large wafers and low-cost,
silicon-compatible manufacturing techniques,” says John D. Cressler, Byers
Professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
and a researcher at the Georgia Electronic Design Center at Georgia Tech.
Our current technological knowledge is not good enough to produce the
microprocessors and CPU’s of the future.

We are limited by our current materials and in need of innovation to jump start
us towards even smaller and faster CPU’s. One can only dream of the day
when rather than having a bulky transistor made of silicon, we have
processors that are scaled down to the size of an electron itself. Conclusion
With Moore’s Law in mind, we can see that over the past decades we have
certainly obeyed his law. From ENIAC to EDVAC, to transistors, to integrated
circuits and single chip microprocessors, CPU technology has evolved and is
still evolving to bring us the computers that e want and need. Further
advances into CPU technology will allow us to compute faster and realize
scientific discoveries that can change our world for the better. Our thirst for
deep space exploration could become a reality. Medical research will be
simplified. The possibilities are endless. References (1983). Microcomputer
Basics. In Microprocessors (pp. 2-2). Benton Harbor, MI: Heath Company.
Central Processing Unit. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. spiritus-temporis.
com/central-processing-unit/history. html Dugger, W. E. , & Gerrish, H.

H. (1994). Electronics Technology: Devices and Circuits. South Holland, IL:

Goodheart-Wilcox Company, Inc. EDVAC. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www.
spiritus-temporis. com/edvac/ Intel Processors. (n. d. ). Retrieved from
http://www. intel. com/products/processor_number/about. htm Munns, R. (n. d.
). First-Computer controversy finally nearing a conclusion. Retrieved from
http://www. scl. ameslab. gov/abc/articles/first-computer. html Sawyer, W.
(2010). Hardware: The CPU & Storage. In Using Information Technology.
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.