Great Intro to Microprocessor Architecture

books:


	• Inside the Machine: An Illustrated Introduction to Microprocessors and Computer Architecture Jon Stokes No Starch Press, 2006 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 16 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Great Intro to Microprocessor Architecture

Jon Stokes takes us on a journey through time, beginning with a trivial hypothetical processor, marching through the fundamental design decisions and trade-offs that microprocessor designers have made over the years with subsequent versions of their products.

Each major component of microprocessor architecture is described. Rarely does a book so perfectly describe a complex subject in simple and easy to understand terms. The book is full of excellent color illustrations that help drive the subject matter home.

In the introduction, Jon describes the book as an "introduction to computers that is intended to fill the gap that exists between classic but more challenging introductions to computer architecture...and the growing mass of works that are simply too basic for motivated non-specialist readers." That statement is spot on.

Topics covered include 'basic computing concepts', 'mechanics of program execution', 'pipelined execution', 'superscalar execution', '64-bit computing and X86-64' and 'caching and performance'. Processors covered include Intel (Pentium, Pentium Pro, Pentium 4, Pentium M, Core Duo, and Core 2 Duo) and Motorola (PowerPC 601, 603, 604, 604e, 750 aka G3, 7400 aka G4, G4E and 970 aka G5).

This book provides excellent, in-depth coverage of real-world microprocessor design. It earns top marks from me for its easy accessibility and high quality writing.

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Heavy on Intel and IBM, very light on AMD

First let me say that, with some hesitation, this book is worth the read. If you're looking for a easy to understand text on x86 and RISC computing, this is your book. But after reading it I was left with more criticism than accolades. So let's start with the good:

From top to bottom it describes the microarchitecture of every Intel processor from the Pentium to the Core 2 Duo and likewise with every PowerPC processor with the exception of the G6, (which was released around the same time as this book). Jon Stokes (the writer) uses easily identifiable analogies to describe otherwise incredibly complex systems. He has a sort of "down to earth" way about his writing and throws in a few cute jokes about Oprah and smoking cigarettes. Anyone with a cursory knowledge of computing can understand 90% of the text in this book. All you need is basic logic skills, math, and a halfway decent memory for what was written in the chapter before. If you're looking for a text on how the Core 2 Duo works and what differentiates it from the Pentium 4 (or any other previous microarchitecture), this is your book. Same goes for the PowerPC line of CPU's. There's also GREAT chapters on caching and x86-64.

Now the bad:

The biggest bone to pick is that he almost completely leaves AMD out of the book. The only mention AMD gets is in regards to x86-64. He sort of gives AMD "cred" for x86-64 and then moves on to how it works. This is unfortunate because AMD has made a lot meaningful contributions to x86 computing; the most notable being the IMC on the Opteron. The IMC gets one sentence in the entire book, which is this: it exists. To expand upon this particular bone, he doesn't even mention Sun's SPARC or DEC's Alpha, both of which have had major influences on x86 and RISC. I was flat out floored that the IMC received so little mention in the caching chapter of the book.

Granted, AMD and Intel's x86 processors aren't radically different from one another (especially compared to PowerPC), but with the level of detail this book goes into, he could have at least dedicated a single chapter to the Opteron. Furthermore, it seems like he compares Intel processors to PowerPC/Gx processors just for comparisons sake. Now that PowerPC is essentially dead, why write half the book about it? Let's get real here, PowerPC isn't going to contribute anything meaningful to computing from here on out. It'll live on in supercomputing and very high end servers, but the aim of this book is desktop computing. Another major microarch that goes unexplored is Itanium. Yes, Itanium hasn't been a commercial success, but it's definitely the best performing 64 bit solution out there and it's a complete and total departure from x86 which makes it interesting in my book. (Yes, I do realize I just contradicted myself w/ the G6 and Itanium lines)

Moving on there's little mention of dual core computing or parallelism outside C2D. He puts a small paragraph in on virtualization, but doesn't explain what the benefits are. He also completely leaves out hyperthreading (which will reappearing in Penryn). He doesn't really explain the difference in manufacturing technologies or other parts of a computer's "system." You get the idea (in the VERY last paragraph) that the industry is moving towards parallelism and multicore computing, but he never explains why or what the benefits are. And my final complaint is that the book ends rather abruptly. There's no closing chapter or conclusion... just a small paragraph that says something to the effect of "intel is moving away from higher clock speeds and focusing on more cores and it's a really big deal." And BAM! it's over.

To sum it up, I was a little disappointed with the lack of AMD's mention and overall Jon doesn't really exude "excitement" about computing. He seems to forget he's writing a book and not a white paper. Still, the book is probably one of the more definitive publishings on Intel's modern day x86 CPU's and IBM/Motorola's PPC line of CPU's, all written in a way easily understood. I wouldn't say it was a complete waste of my time, but a newcomer to computing would walk away from this book with almost no knowledge on Intel's biggest (and most important) competitor: AMD. Jon makes out Intel's biggest competitor to be IBM and the PowerPC line of processors, which of course is absurd.

I hate to call this book biased, but it's hard not to after reading it.

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OK, not great

Somewhat interesting, but gets pretty tiresome after a while. Not all that well written.

If you're really into processors, you probably know a fair amount of this already. You'll probably learn a lot of new things about the details of various Intel and PowerPC processor generations, but you'll have to go through a lot of stuff you already know as well. If you're not really into processors, or really curious, this book isn't for you.

Very Good.

This book is very accessible. I came in with little knowledge of of a cpu works and came out with a lot more. It spends about half its time on simple theory or how a cpu works and the other half on showing how this was implemented in processors in the last three decades.

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Very good introduction and overview

I liked the simplicity in the book. It is very easy to read and understand things written on it. I classify the book as introductory level in computer architecture giving an overview on the today's microprocessors. I would recommend it for those who want to learn something about microprocessors on their own, outside the class or want to read some brief details about the most current microprocessors (i.e. Core 2 Duo) or architectural comparison between different microarchitectures (i.e. IBM and Intel cores).

I don't think that the book is good as a text book for computer architecture. Instead I would recommend the Hennessy and Patterson "Computer Architecture - Quantitative Approach"

I personelly enjoyed reading this book.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

Computers perform countless tasks ranging from the business critical to the recreational, but regardless of how differently they may look and behave, they're all amazingly similar in basic function. Once you understand how the microprocessor-or central processing unit (CPU)-works, you'll have a firm grasp of the fundamental concepts at the heart of all modern computing.

Inside the Machine, from the co-founder of the highly respected Ars Technica website, explains how microprocessors operate-what they do and how they do it. The book uses analogies, full-color diagrams, and clear language to convey the ideas that form the basis of modern computing. After discussing computers in the abstract, the book examines specific microprocessors from Intel, IBM, and Motorola, from the original models up through today's leading processors. It contains the most comprehensive and up-to-date information available (online or in print) on Intel's latest processors: the Pentium M, Core, and Core 2 Duo. Inside the Machine also explains technology terms and concepts that readers often hear but may not fully understand, such as "pipelining," "L1 cache," "main memory," "superscalar processing," and "out-of-order execution."

Includes discussion of: Parts of the computer and microprocessor Programming fundamentals (arithmetic instructions, memory accesses, control flow instructions, and data types) Intermediate and advanced microprocessor concepts (branch prediction and speculative execution) Intermediate and advanced microprocessor concepts (branch prediction and speculative execution) Intermediate and advanced computing concepts (instruction set architectures, RISC and CISC, the memory hierarchy, and encoding and decoding machine language instructions) 64-bit computing vs. 32-bit computing Caching and performance

Inside the Machine is perfect for students of science and engineering, IT and business professionals, and the growing community of hardware tinkerers who like to dig into the guts of their machines.

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