Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
EXERCISE 1.1
(continued)
3.
Enter the number
335
.
4.
Click the Bin radio button. The number is converted to binary (
101001111
). Notice that
all the number keys are disabled except 1 and 0.
5.
Click the Hex radio button. The number is converted to hexadecimal (
14F
). Notice that
all the number keys are active again, as are the A through F keys.
6.
Click the Dec radio button again to return to decimal numbering.
7.
Experiment on your own with more numbers. Close the Calculator app when you're
fi nished.
Processor Brands
A variety of manufacturers produce processors that serve inside appliances and other non-
computer devices. However, for personal computer processors, market competition has
virtually eliminated all but two manufacturers, Intel and AMD.
Apple Macintosh computers used Motorola processors for many years but
switched to Intel processors in mid-2006.
Intel Processors
Intel is the most popular brand of processors for personal computers. Since the company's
founding in 1968, it has manufactured more than 50 different processors, plus graphics
cards, motherboards, and various computer peripheral devices.
The original IBM PC and PC-XT computers ran on Intel processors (the 8088 and 8086,
respectively). Later IBM models also used Intel processors, such as the PS/2 that used the
16-bit 80286 processor. In 1993, Intel released the original Pentium processor, the fi rst
commercially viable 32-bit CPU. It was followed by the Pentium 2 in 1997, the Pentium 3
in 1999, and the Pentium 4 in 2000.
Intel's current offerings include a 64-bit line called Intel Core, which includes the Core
i3, Core i5, and Core i7. The Core i3 is an entry-level CPU, the Core i5 is midrange, and
the Core i7 is a high-end product. As you might expect from the word
core
in the name,
each of these is a multicore processor (containing from two to six cores, depending on the
model, each of which functions as a processor in its own right).
Within Intel's Core lineup are many different versions of the i3, i5, and i7, for both
desktop and laptop use, each with a different codename and combination of number of
cores, L3 cache size, and socket type. For example, the brand name Core i3-5xx (where
each x represents a digit), codenamed Clarkdale, has two cores and a 4 MB L3 cache and
fi ts in an LGA 1156 socket. Some of the other codenames include Arrandale, Lynnfi eld,
Gulftown and, the most recent of these, Sandy Bridge.
