QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS
1. How much memory is accessible to the Pentium microprocessor?
2. How much memory is accessible to the Pentium Pro microprocessor?
3. The memory data bus width is in the Pentium.
4. What is the purpose of the DP0–DP7 pins on the Pentium?
5. If the Pentium operates at 66 MHz, what frequency clock signal is applied to the CLK pin?
6. What is the purpose of the BRDY pin on the Pentium?
7. What is the purpose of the AP pin on the Pentium?
8. How much memory access time is allowed by the Pentium, without wait states, when it is operated at 66 MHz?
9. What Pentium pin is used to insert wait states into the timing?
10. A wait state is an extra clocking period.
11. Explain how two integer units allow the Pentium to execute two nondependent instructions simultaneously.
12. How many caches are found in the Pentium and what are their sizes?
13. How wide is the Pentium memory data sample window for a memory read operation?
14. Can the Pentium execute three instructions simultaneously?
15. What is the purpose of the SMI pin?
16. What is the system memory-management mode of operation for the Pentium?
17. How is the system memory-management mode exited?
18. Where does the Pentium begin to execute software for an SMI interrupt input?
19. How can the system memory-management unit dump address be modified?
20. Explain the operation of the CMPXCHG8B instruction.
21. What information is returned in register EAX after the CPUID instruction executes with an initial value of 0 in EAX?
22. What new flag bits are added to the Pentium microprocessor?
23. What new control register is added to the Pentium microprocessor?
24. Describe how the Pentium accesses 4M pages.
25. Explain how the time-stamp counter functions and how it can be used to time events.
26. Contrast the Pentium with the Pentium Pro microprocessor.
27. Where are the bank enable signals found in the Pentium Pro microprocessor?
28. How many address lines are found in the Pentium Pro system?
29. What changes have been made to CR4 in the Pentium Pro and for what purpose?
30. Compare access times in the Pentium system with the Pentium Pro system.
31. What is ECC?
32. What type of SDRAM must be purchased to use ECC?