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Inside the Machine: An Illustrated Introduction to Microprocessors and Computer Architecture (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: transistor count, completed instructions, cache size, Core Duo, Intel's Pentium, Pentium Pro (more...)

4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Inside the Machine explains how microprocessors operate -- what they do, and how they do it. Written by the co-founder of the highly respected Ars Technica site, the book begins with the fundamentals of computing, defining what a computer is and using analogies, numerous 4-color diagrams, and clear explanations to communicate the concepts that form the basis of modern computing. After discussing computers in the abstract, the book goes on to cover specific microprocessors, discussing in detail how they work and how they differ.

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What people are saying about Inside the Machine

"This is, by far, the most well written text that I have seen on the subject of computer architecture. The writing is clear, logically organized, well illustrated, and is contemporary . . . A work that will be viewed as essential to any student or professional in need of education on the subject."--John Stroman, Technical Account Manager, Intel

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 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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Product Details

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: No Starch Press (November 30, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1593271042
ISBN-13: 978-1593271046
Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.1 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds

Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #255,807 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

#22 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Hardware > Microprocessors & System Design > Microprocessor Design
#90 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Hardware > Microprocessors & System Design > Computer Design

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
transistor count, completed instructions, cache size, reorder buffer, die size, instruction fetch, average instruction throughput, fxch instruction, fourth nanosecond, instruction completion rate, complex integer unit, flat register file, dispatch bandwidth, instruction set translation, simple integer unit, simple integer instructions, branch execution unit, dynamic power density, dispatch slots, vector execution units, rename registers, permute unit, decode hardware, core microarchitecture, microcode engine

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Core Duo, Intel's Pentium, Pentium Pro, Code Comments, Basic Computing Concepts, Pipehned Execution, The Mechanics of Program Execution, Store Store Load Data Addr, Moore's Curves, Assembly Language Instruction Machine Language Instruction, Intel Pentium, Write Figure, Clock Cycles Figure, Block Frames Ll Cache, First Appeared In Power Macintosh, Back End Figure, Fetch Buffer, Personal Filing Cabinet

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 4 books:

Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach, Second Edition by John L. Hennessy on page 201, and Back Matter
Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach, 3rd Edition by John L. Hennessy on page 201
Digest of Papers by Compcon in Back Matter
The Anatomy of a High-Performance Microprocessor: A Systems Perspective by Bruce Shriver in Back Matter

Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Computer Architecture by John L. Hennessy

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Computer Architecture by John L. Hennessy

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Euro-Par 2001 Parallel Processing by Rizos Sakellariou

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	11% buy How Computers Work: Processor And Main Memory (Second Edition) 4.0 out of 5 stars (8) $4.47
	9% buy Write Great Code: Volume 1: Understanding the Machine 4.8 out of 5 stars (17) $26.37

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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fills a gap in current books on microprocessors, December 10, 2006

By	calvinnme "Texan refugee" (Fredericksburg, Va) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This book is an introduction to computers that fills the gap between classic and challenging books like Hennesy and Patterson's, and the large number of "How Your Computer Works" books that are too basic for engineers.

The first four chapters lay the conceptual groundwork for later chapters' studies of real-world microprocessors. These chapters use a simplified example processor, the DLW, to illustrate basic and intermediate concepts like the instructions/data distinction, assembly language programming, superscalar execution, pipelining, the programming model, and machine language. This section is essential reading for those who are new to the world of microprocessors.

The middle section of the book consists of detailed studies of two popular desktop processor lines: the Pentium line from Intel and the PowerPC from IBM and Motorola. These chapters walk the reader through the chronological development of each processor line, describing the evolution of the microarchitectures and instruction set architectures under discussion. Along the way, more advanced concepts such as speculative execution, vector processing, and instruction set translation are introduced and explored via a discussion of one or more real microprocessors. Throughout the middle part of the book the approach is to explain each new processor's features in terms of how they differ from analogous features found in predecessors or competitors. The comparative part of the book culminates in chapters 7 and 8 which consists of detailed comparisons of two starkly different and important processors: Intel's Pentium 4 and Motorola's MPC7450, popularly known as the G4e.

After a brief introduction to 64-bit computing and the 64-bit extensions to the popular x86 instruction set architecture in chapter 9, the microarchitecture of the first mass-market 64-bit processor, the IBM PowerPC 970, is treated in chapter 10. The study of the 970, the majority of which is also directly applicable to IBM's POWER4 mainframe processor, concludes the book's coverage of PowerPC processors. Chapter 11 covers the organization and functioning of the memory hierarchy found in almost all modern computers.

The final chapter contains a detailed examination of the latest generation of processors from Intel: the Pentium M, Core Duo and Core 2 Duo. This chapter contains the most detailed discussion of these processors available online or in print, and it contains some new information not previously released and specially granted by Intel for printing in this book.

I found this book a great read - it is both accessible and enlightening, even for someone with many years experience of working with microprocessors. I really liked how the author used 4-color diagrams to illustrate whatever point he was trying to make. I also appreciate that unlike Patterson's classic book, you don't need to review your combinatorics and discrete math before and after opening the book. The following is the table of contents:

Chapter 1: Basic Computing Concepts
Chapter 2: The Mechanics of Program Execution
Chapter 3: Pipelined Execution
Chapter 4: Superscalar Execution
Chapter 5: The Intel Pentium and Pentium Pro
Chapter 6: PowerPC Processors: 600 Series, 700 Series, and 7400
Chapter 7: Intel's Pentium 4 vs. Motorola's G4e: Approaches and Design Philosophies
Chapter 8: Intel's Pentium 4 vs. Motorola's G4e: The Back End
Chapter 9: 64-Bit Computing and x86-64
Chapter 10: The G5: IBM's PowerPC 970
Chapter 11: Understanding Caching and Performance
Chapter 12: Intel's Pentium M, Core Duo, and Core 2 Duo

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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What happens once you power on your PC..., January 10, 2007

By	Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

It's possible to say you know how your computer works. But do you really know how your microprocessor does what it does? Without forcing you to take a crash course in engineering, Jon Stokes does a great job in uncovering the mysteries in the book Inside the Machine: An Illustrated Introduction to Microprocessors and Computer Architecture. It's an excellent read if you want to know what happens after you press the power button...

Contents: Basic Computing Concepts; The Mechanics of Program Execution; Pipelined Execution; Superscalar Execution; The Intel Pentium and Pentium Pro; PowerPC Processors - 600 Series, 700 Series, and 7400; Intel's Pentium 4 vs. Motorola's G4E - Approaches and Design Philosophies; Intel's Pentium 4 vs. Motorola's G4E - The Back End; 64-Bit Computing and x86-64; The G5 - IBM's PowerPC 970; Understanding Caching and Performance; Intel's Pentium M, Core Duo, and Core 2 Duo; Bibliography and Suggested Reading; Index

Normally, books like this are endless pages of painfully detailed descriptions of technology that only a true engineering geek could understand and love. For the rest of us mere mortals, we have to make do with simplistic descriptions of the chip that runs our computers. All the details are taken on faith. Stokes successfully bridges the gap between textbook details and real-life analogies to make the work of the CPU understandable. He starts off with the basics of how a CPU works and how instructions are executed. From there, he introduces the concept of pipelined instructions, and shows how that creates a much faster chip. But there are drawbacks, and when you're done reading you readily understand those limitations. Once the general groundwork is in place, the discussion moves to specific microprocessors in the market and how they are designed. Yes, those chips are highly complex, but Stokes lays a solid foundation that makes it possible to actually grasp what's going on without a Masters in chip design. By the time you're done with the book, you are well-equipped to understand why a 2.8 GHz processor may be infinitely faster than a 3.2 GHz processor, depending on how the design was implemented. The graphic illustrations are colorful and clear, and coupled with a conversational teaching tone, this book is... dare I say... "fun" to read.

Definitely a recommended read for anyone who wants to delve into microprocessor design without taking a four year degree program prior to doing so.

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inside the Machine or Microprocessors for the rest of us, April 11, 2007

By	Benjamin Gerber "AGeek" (Boston) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Jon Stokes' Inside the Machine falls somewhere between Computer Science textbook and Popular Science reading. It's packed with a lot of information that is very technical, while not quite going to the technical depth of a classroom textbook. It does make heavy use of analogy to render some hard to grasp concepts a bit easier for the non CS major.

Inside the Machine is fairly dense with both content and color. Lots of information is available here with colorful diagrams and illustrations to back it up. You'll need a more than basic understanding of computers and at least a bit of programming experience under your belt to get the most out of it. With that, the average computer enthusiast can pick up this book and find themselves in possession of a clear and concise guide to basic processor theory and real processor architecture. if you are interested in how microprocessors really work and why they were developed as they were but not interested in obtaining a CS degree this book is your first, best stop.

The book is divided into 12 chapters, with a bibliography and index following. The first four chapters lead the reader through basic computing concepts, discussing how a program actually executes when it arrives at the processor and brings us through pipelined and superscalar execution, ways to increase speed and throughput of processors.

Once a basic understanding of how the microprocessor works is reached, Stokes then disects a number of popular processors that have existed in the last decade and a half. These chapters cover the Intel's Pentium and Pentium Pro, the 600. 700 and 7400 Power PC processors, Intel's P4 vs Motorola's G4, 64-bit and x86-64 processors, the G5 and IBM's PowerPC 970 and finally Intel's Pentium M, Core Duo and Core 2 Duo processors. If you do want to delve deeper into the world of microprocessors the bibliography supplied in the book is a great resource.

If anything in that last paragraph sounded really interesting to you or made you say "Oh I loved that processor!" than this book should go on your to-read list.

I was not a CS major and though I do work in IT I'm not an expert on microprocessor architecture. I knew what I needed to know about the products to do my job. When this book came along it was a real joy for me to read it. I've looked at a number of popular text books concerned with microprocessors and while reading this book won't get you a job with Intel it will certainly be a bit easier to digest and thus offer a lot more to readers like myself.

Don't expect to breeze through this if you're going to pick it up though. You should glance through it first if you have a chance. If everything you're reading in the first four chapters is causing you to say "uh huh" and "oh yeah" then you're ready for some more advanced material and won't really need this unless you're into historical data about microprocessors. If you're familiar with some of the concepts and would like a solid grounding in current architecture based on understanding popular prior models then this book is certainly for you.

For me a broad understanding of how these things worked and a bit of programming was all I needed to enjoy this book and what it has to offer. While you won't be up late a few nights glued to the page (well, okay I was up late one night. I was really digging into the differences between the P4 and the G4 and thinking "Finally, that's what all this meant" when my wife told me in no uncertain terms to shut the light out and go to bed. That's just me though.) You will find just about every page full of useful theory or practical knowledge that will increase your understanding and prepare you for the next section of the book until you find yourself reading about processors being sold right now.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Introductory text takes you from beginner to intermediary- and it is fun too!
I started with very limited understanding of computer architecture. What I had was a jumble of marketing terms I had picked up from reading popular PC magazines. Read more

Published 15 months ago by Fritz0id

4.0 out of 5 stars 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. Read more

Published 17 months ago by A.F.

5.0 out of 5 stars 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... Read more

Published 20 months ago by Dave Walz-Burkett

5.0 out of 5 stars 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... Read more

Published on October 15, 2007 by Ferad Zyulkyarov

3.0 out of 5 stars 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. Read more

Published on July 31, 2007 by J. Sollien

3.0 out of 5 stars 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... Read more

Published on June 26, 2007 by Alexander Rosen

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introductory Overview of Microprocessors
This book provides a great introduction to microprocessor operation and design. Details and compares the development of the x86 line from the Pentium through Core 2 Duo with the... Read more

Published on May 31, 2007 by Gregory Koger

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book on computer architecture for technical readers
Let me say that I wish I could give this book 4 1/2 stars. It's just shy of 5 stars, but I couldn't place this book alongside some of my favorite 5-star books of all time... Read more

Published on May 29, 2007 by Richard Bejtlich

5.0 out of 5 stars great and numerous colour graphics that aid understanding
There are already numerous books on microprocessors. But of all those I have read, this comes across as one of the most elegant in the explanations of concepts. Read more

Published on February 2, 2007 by W Boudville

5.0 out of 5 stars happy to have read it.
This book will probably not make you a CPU designer/engineer, but will definitelly give you a solid understanding of what a processor is. Very easy to read and nicely organized.

Published on January 18, 2007 by N. Steponavicius

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