Advanced PC Architecture [Paperback]

William Buchanan (Author), Austin Wilson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0201398583 | ISBN-13: 978-0201398588 | Publication Date: December 29, 2000

The first book ever to give a complete picture of the workings of a PC! A comprehensive guide to the component systems of the PC, this book provides a foundation to the understanding of previous, current and future PC systems, and how the specification of each component of a PC affects the overall system performance. The book outlines each of the main PC processors and contrasts their performance. It also examines each of the main interface devices and shows how they integrate into the main systems. If you are an undergraduate or professional looking for a complete understanding of the internal architecture of the PC, and how it is changing, this book is for you. It explains how systems have evolved from the original PC, keeping its compatibility with previous systems, whilst increasing its power. It also provides an insight into how the PC will evolve in the future. Key chapters: * Motherboards - Analyses typical motherboards and shows how each of the components interfaces together, and how the architecture affects the system performance. * Memory - Shows how chache memory and DRAM memory interface to the system and the processor. * PCI bus - Discusses the fundamentals of the PCI bus and shows its importance in the architecture of modern PCs. * On-line multiple choice tests for students * On-line PowerPoint/HTML slides of all the graphics from the book.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

The internal architecture of the PC is changing for many reasons, including:
* Phasing-out of old legacy busses and devices. PCs have, in the past, been difficult to configure and to add new equipment to, as they are still very much based on legacy systems. The worst offender of this is the ISA bus which requires the use of interrupt lines (IRQs) and special memory address (I/O ports). These have always been difficult to configure and normally require some degree of expertise before they can be correctly configured. New interfaces, such as the USB, allow for the automatic identification and configuration of a device and for addition and deletion of a device while the PC is still powered on.
* Increase in the system data rate. Over the years, the processor has increased its speed, but the system board has struggled to keep up with these increases. New architectures are now being developed which more closely match system memory and the graphics controller to the processor, while moving other devices and interfaces, such as the hard disk and communication ports, away from the processor. This allows high-speed devices to have direct access to the processor, allowing for increased data transfer to and from memory, and for enhanced 3D photorealisitic graphics.
* New memory devices. Traditional memory (DRAM) can be slow when compared with the processor speed. New memory devices, such as RDRAM, have now been developed which allows ultra-high data transfers between the processor and the memory.
* New plug-and-play architectures. USB provides a great deal of enhancements over traditional connections, and will be used extensively over the next few years to connect devices to the PC.
* Increased usage of electronic bridges. These segment the PCs into segments which are more closely matched to the speed of the device. A typical device is the PCI bridge.

This book provides a foundation on the understanding of previous, current and future PC systems. These principles will allow undergraduates and professionals to fully understand how the specification of each component of a PC affects overall system performance.

It outlines each of the main PC processors and contrasts their performance. It also examines each of the main interface devices and shows how they integrate into the complete system. In the motherboard material, previous, current and future motherboards are shown in some detail to allow undergraduates and professionals to understand how data is passed around the PC. The main objectives are to:
* Provide a complete understand of all PC systems, current or future. This helps in understanding the specifications of a computer so that users can purchase the required specification for their application.
* Provide an insight in how PC systems will involve in the future. This will allow hardware and software developers to properly understand how they design and develop their products to encapsulate new systems.
* Show how systems have evolved from the original PC to current and future systems. This shows how the PC has kept compatibility with previous systems, but increased its power.

One of the main aims of this book is to provide a foundation on the understanding of previous, current and future PC systems, and how the specification of each component of a PC affects the overall system performance. It shows where PCs have been in the past, where they are now, and how new architectures and interfaces devices will change the PC from a difficult-to-use, difficult-to-configure and difficult to add-to system into an easy-to-use supercomputer.

With new GHz processor speeds, and new memory and interfacing techniques, the PC is never going to be the same again. For the first time, the PC will discard the past and look towards the future. First in line in the discard pile will be the ISA bus, and gone forever will be IRQs and complex software set-ups. In will come true plug-and-play and hot addition/deletion.

The PC is dead. Long live, the PC. For 20 years the PC has struggled along with the same old system, and trying to be compatible with its famous father: the IBM PC. From now on, the PC will change, and things will never be the same again. In order to take it into the supercomputer range it must change. Thus everything is changing: its architecture, its memory, its graphics, its sound, in fact, almost everything. In will come a new shining system which will be one of the greatest achievements, ever!

So which chapters should you read if you really want to get a good understanding of the PC. Well we would recommend:
* Motherboards (Chapter 27) and Hub-based architecture (Chapter 28). These chapters analyse typical motherboards and chipsets and show how each of the components interfaces together, and how the architecture affects the system performance.
* Memory (Chapter 12). This chapter shows how cache memory and DRAM memory interfaces to the system, and the processor. It also outlines how SDRAM and RDRAM enhance the data transfer rate over traditional memory types, such as EDO RAM.
* PCI bus (Chapter 18) and AGP bus (Chapter 24). This chapter discusses the fundamentals of the PCI bus and shows its importance in the architecture of modern PCs. This concept is then further enhanced in the AGP chapter, which has used the PCI bus as a foundation and then enhanced it to provide for high-speed graphics transfers.

As much as possible little interesting inserts have been added to the text. Maybe they should provide a light relief to the more academic material.

Contacts:
Dr William Buchanan
Address: School of Computing, Napier University, Edinburgh. UK.
Email address: [e-mail] w_j_buchanan@hotmail
WWW page: dcs.napier.ac.

From the Back Cover

· The first book ever to give a complete picture of the workings of a PC!

A comprehensive guide to the component systems of the PC, this book provides a foundation to the understanding of previous, current and future PC systems, and how the specification of each component of a PC affects the overall system performance.

The book outlines each of the main PC processors and contrasts their performance. It also examines each of the main interface devices and shows how they integrate into the main systems.

If you are an undergraduate or professional looking for a complete understanding of the internal architecture of the PC, and how it is changing, this book is for you. It explains how systems have evolved from the original PC, keeping its compatibility with previous systems, whilst increasing its power. It also provides an insight into how the PC will evolve in the future.

Key chapters:
· Motherboards - Analyses typical motherboards and shows how each of the components interfaces together, and how the architecture affects the system performance.
· Memory - Shows how chache memory and DRAM memory interface to the system and the processor.
· PCI bus - Discusses the fundamentals of the PCI bus and shows its importance in the architecture of modern PCs.

· On-line multiple choice tests for students
· On-line PowerPoint/HTML slides of all the graphics from the book.

0201398583B04062001

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (December 29, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201398583
• ISBN-13: 978-0201398588
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,619,301 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Random detailed information does not = advanced, January 16, 2003

By 

Mike Bowman (palo alto, ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Advanced PC Architecture (Paperback)

I am a hadware design engineer by living and purchased this
book hoping to learn more about pc bus standards, and pc
architecture. However, I quickly gave up on reading this
book. There is a lot of very detailed information in the
book - for example several pages of oscilloscope waveforms.
They fatten up the book. But, not much information is really
conveyed by them. A chapter on the AGP bus is very poorly
written. Did anybody knowledgable actually edit or review this
book before it was published? I was very disappointed
and ultimately had to obtain my information from other sources.
It seemed like the book tried to take a big standard, such as
AGP, and select random bits of detail from it to present. The
problem is that the book tries to go to far in depth for
the amount of text devoted to each subject and the effect is
a jumble of random, very detailed information which does not
make much sense. Furthermore, I found a LOT of editorial
mistakes which were very serious. Using the wrong term in
some contexts makes key information hard to decipher.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Awful., September 20, 2005

By 

D. C. Minter (London, UK.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Advanced PC Architecture (Paperback)

This book is frequently inaccurate, horribly badly proofread (typos on almost every page), and full of fatuous sidebars that contribute nothing. I feel that this book might have been ok if a decent editor, copy editor, and technical reviewer had worked it over. Without that it's worthless.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Provides complete understanding of the workings of a PC, July 9, 2001

By 

Robert Heyward "Rob Heyward" (Dayton, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Advanced PC Architecture (Paperback)

I bought this textbook as a supplementary resource book for a Microprocessor class at school. It can be used as either a textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses in PC Architecture or as a general resource guide for practicing engineers. It provides a comprehensive, practical coverage of PC architecture in an easy-to-read writing style. Although the book says it's advanced and provides advanced topics, it also provides a good simplified foundation to understanding the components of the PC.

The format of the book is intuitive and modernized. There are many functional block diagrams of various configurations and interesting boxed notes throughout the book. There are also many remarkable data and facts items conveniently located all through the book. You'll also find many insightful comparison lists, tables, and diagrams that help clarify concepts. Overall I like the writing style, format, and layout of the book.

The book describes each of the main PC processors and compares their performance. It also observes the different types of main interface devices and shows how they work with the complete system. Past, current, and future motherboards are discussed in detail so that students and professionals can understand how data is passed around the PC. The text illustrates general PC Architecture principles and design methodologies. It is written on the premise that the student may know the basic components of a computer system but may have not had any formal training. The authors have done an admiral job at providing a complete picture of the workings of a PC.

SOME (but not all) of the topics covered in each chapter include:
1) The History of computers. How computers have evolved. Which computers have flopped and which have been successful. Top Achievers and Under-achievers.
2) PC Basics, Buses, Interrupts, Interfacing, How Bios works
3) Introduction to Intel Processors, A close-up look at the Processor. The 8088. Memory addressing.
4) 8086 Basics, Assembly language elements, timing, and moving data around in Memory.
5) 80486. Specifics about the processor, data definition, equates, memory, and timing.
6) Bus Cycles, Bus Controller and Direct Memory Access.
7) CMOS, Memory and I/O, and Ports
8) Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART) and Programmable Interrupt Controller (PIC)
9) Programmable Peripheral Interface (PPI) and Programmable Timer Controller (PTC)
10) Introduction to the Pentium. Overview, Development and Terminology. Also details the Pentium II and Pentium Pro.
11) Transaction Phase Signals and additional Pentium Pro Signmals
12) Memory basics, subsystems, and errors.
13) MMX Technology. Also profile of Pentium II.
14) Instruction Execution in general. The Pentium II block diagram, execution implementation, bus features, etc. Other transaction types and phases.
15) SC242 Signals and other signals.
16) Processor Developments. Various Processors. Detail of x84-64 Architecture
17) Interface Buses. The PC, ISA, and other Legacy busses. Comparisons of different interface bus types.
18) PCI Bus. Bus cycles, PCI operation, functional signal groups, cycle timing diagrams, pins, and faults. I/O Addressing
19) IDE Section. Tracks and Sectors, The IDE interface and communication. Hard Disks, Optical Storage, File systems, and Magnetic Tape.
20) SCSI types, Interface, Operation, and Commands.
21) PCMCIA (PC Card). Registers and various types and Pin Connections.
22) USB and Firewire,
23) Games Port, Keyboard and Mouse,
24) AGP and more PCI. AGP Connections, Configuration. Register and Pin Descriptions.
25) RS-232. Programs, communications between nodes, and Interface
26) Parallel Port. I/O Addressing. Interrupts, Interface, Data Handshaking, and ECP/EPP Mode.
27) PC Motherboards. Different motherboards such as the Intel HX, TX, 450NX PCIset, and 450KX PCIset.
28) Hub-based Architecture. 810E, 820, and 840 Chipsets.