A small talk about computers

Nina = N

Bryan = В

N: I see a lot of advances in the power of computers nearly everyday and a lot of great deals. My current system is equipped with an Intel Pentium IV 3. 4 Ghz processor. Now we are also seeing Celeron and Xeon chips, what are the differences? There seems to be some really good deals on systems with Celeron processor systems. What benefits and disadvantages are there to each?

The top dog seems to be the 3.4 Ghz processor. Is there a limit to our need for speed? What does a good system need for the average home user?

B: Let me walk you through the evolution of PC processors and then I'll get you to extended questions, the answers to which will send chills up your spine.

N: O.K. Go on.

B: There were earlier Intel chips including their first the 4004 and the follow up chip the 8008. The 8080 chip was

shipped in the first personal computer called the Altair, which was an electronics hobbyist personal computer that Microsoft founders Paul Allen and Bill Gates wrote the BASIC programming language for it.

The personal computer revolution didn't really start until Intel created a chip called the 8088 processor. At the same time they created the 8086, which was a slightly more advanced chip. These chips were used in the IBM PC, which became known as the XT. That was 1978.

The 286 was next model. It was also known as the 80286 and was the first Intel processor that could run all the software written for its predecessor. In 1985, the first multi-tasking chip arrived. It was known as the 386. The 486 generation of chips really advanced the point-and-click revolution. The processor was also the first chi p to offer a built-in math coprocessor.

N: And what about Pentium computers, Bryan?

B: Hold on, baby. When Intel lost a bid to trademark the 586, to protect its brand from Copycats, it coined the name Pentium for its next generation of chips. The P6 architecture includes the Celeron chip, the Pentium Pro, the Pentium II and the Xeon chips. Each is based on the same fundamental architecture, but there are subtle differences. Informally this chip is known as the Pentium Classic, but only to differentiate it from the Pentium MMX chip, which was the same chip, but with a new set of chip instructions that boosted multimedia performance.

The Pentium II is essentially the Pentium Pro with MMX technology built in. The Celeron and Xeon chips are based on the Pentium II, but differ in how and what cache is used.

N: Used what? Cache? What is that?

B: Hardware cache is essentially a form of memory. It's used to store frequently used data so that it's quick to load when the processor needs it.

Some memory caches are built into the architecture of microprocessor chips. The Intel 80486 chip contains 8K of memory cache, and the Pentium has a 16K of cache. Those internal caches are often called Level 1 or Level 2 caches.

The Level 2 (L2) cache is a secondary cache, and larger and can be slightly slower. It is usually 64 KB to 2 MB in size.

N: May be that is why Celeron is cheaper and slower than Intel processors?

B: You are quite right! The Celeron chip is a cheaper chip because it has 128 K of L2 cache built into the chip. The Pentium II cache is 512K is size. Another word, the Celeron chip is Intel's budget chip.

N: And what about Pentium III and IV?

B: The Pentium III processor is based on the Pentium II architecture, except that it has a whole new series of multimedia instructions built into it that accelerates audio, video and other applications. The Pentium III processor is designed to give better performance with Internet activity and voice recognition.

The Pentium IV processor is the Intel chip too. This brand has different models such as Northwood or Prescott. They differ in their architecture from previous chips and, of course, they faster and more powerful. But they still have a 32-bit architecture.

Intel is going to demonstrate a prototype 64-bit architecture computer and bicyclic processors. That means that in 64-bit architecture computer chunks of data zip around in 64-bit chunks, as opposed to 32-bit chunks in existing 32-bit chips.

B: Anyway human brain is much faster than any computer processing units ever made by human race!

N: Up to the present moment. But we will see a $1,000 computer with the same computing power as the human brain by 2019. This prediction is based on an extrapolation of the rate of current chip improvements. Be sure it will happen. There is no question with if, the only question is when.