What is a microprocessor?

A microprocessor is an integrated circuit built on a small piece of silicon. It contains thousands , or even millions , of transistors. The transistors work together to store and manipulate data so that the microprocessors can perform many useful functions. The functions a microprocessor performs are dictated by software.

Intel’s first microprocessor was the 4004. It was introduced in 1971, and contained 2.300 transistors. Today’s Pentium II processor contains 7.5 million transistors.

Pentium, pentium pro, pentium II and pentium III

The Pentium is a widely used personal computer microprocessor from the Intel Corporation. First offered in 1993, the Pentium quickly replaced Intel’s 486 microprocessor. The original Pentium model includes two processors on one chip that contains 3.1 million transistors.

The Pentium Pro, released in 1995, was designed for PC servers and workstations. In addition to the microprocessor,

the Pentium Pro contains another microchip with cache memory that, being closer to the processor than the computer’s main memory (RAM Random Access Memory), speeds up computer operation. The Pentium Pro contains 5.5 million transistors.

The Pentium II is a Pentium Pro with Intel’s MMX technology included. It comes in microprocessor clock speeds

of 233 MHz (millions of cycles per second), 266 MHz, and 300 MHz . It’s suitable for applications that include motion video

and 3-D (three dimension or three-dimensional) images. Among the Pentium II’s features are a 512 KB (kilobyte) level-two (L2) memory cache and a 32 KB L1 cache, twice that of the Pentium Pro processor.

The Pentium® III processor has 70 new instructions – Internet Streaming SIMD extensions – that enhance the performance of advanced imaging, 3-D, streaming audio, video and speech recognition applications. It was designed to enhance Internet experience, allowing users to do such things as browse through realistic online museums and stores and download

high-quality video. The processor incorporates 9.5 million transistors, and was introduced using 0.25-micron technology.

Ex.9 Agree or disagree. Use:

+ You are (quite) right. – Вы (вполне) правы.

That’s right (correct). – Правильно.

I agree with you. – Я согласен с вами.

- You are wrong./ You are not right. – Вы не правы.

You are mistaken. – Вы ошибаетесь.

I don’t agree with you. (I disagree with you.) – Я не согласен с вами.

1. A microprocessor is an integrated circuit built on a small piece of silicon.

2. The functions a microprocessor performs are dictated by hardware.

3. Intel’s first microprocessor was the 8008.

4. The Pentium is a widely used personal computer microprocessor from the Sun Corporation.

5. The first Pentium model contains two processors on one chip that contains 3.1 million transistors.

6. In addition to the microprocessor, the Pentium Pro contains another microchip with cache memory that

slows down computer operation.

7. Pentium Pro comes with MMX technology.

8. Among the Pentium II’s features are a 512 KB level-two (L2) memory cache and a 32 KB L1 cache and a 4 MB L3.

9. The Pentium® III processor has 70 new instructions.

10. The Pentium® III processor incorporates 7.5 million transistors, and was introduced using 0.18-micron technology.