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2answers
43 views

Can we declare output as “inout” to design a flip flop in VHDL?

I want to design a JK flip flop in VHDL. In this output depends on previous state. One method to implement this condition is by declaring a state as a signal inside the architecture. Another method ...
1
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2answers
93 views

Example Instruction Set Architechture

Not entirely sure which stack site to post this question to, but I'll give this section a whirl. I have a question on my homework which reads as follows: Instruction Set Architecture. You are ...
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1answer
193 views

Serial communication best practices

I actually need to communication between my pc and a device using serial protocol through USB. I'm looking for some guidances and best practices and messaging architecture. Do you know any reference ...
2
votes
2answers
392 views

Why do some Integrated Circuits get so hot?

I was reading an article about Radeon 6990 recently and it was recommending 1200 Watts of power supply and the entire machine to be kept dipped in mineral oil because air cooling would kill it in a ...
0
votes
2answers
162 views

Accessing an SRAM Array?

As im learning about Computer Architecture im trying to understand it from the ground up (Transistors in CMOS in particular) I came across the simple 6T schematic for SRAM (2 inverters) Mostly ...
9
votes
3answers
548 views

VHDL: Architecture naming and interpretation

Note: I am using Xilinx's ISE and have an FPGA board to work with (with switches and lights and so on), and I've hacked together some simple projects so far. At the same time I'm reading several ...
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3answers
781 views

How does the Harvard architecture help?

I was reading about arduino and the AVR architecture and got stuck at the point that how does pipeline stall or bubbling is solved by Harvard architecture introduction in the AVR.I mean what Harvard ...
3
votes
1answer
717 views

What is CLK in UART/USART used for?

I'm studying computer architecture at my university and I've been recently asked a question: what is CLK used for in UART/USART? The first obvious thing is that it is used for dividing frequency when ...
3
votes
2answers
248 views

Sorting of data from instructions ( ARM I-cache and D-cache )

Some ARM cores like the ARM9 family of cores have a Harvard Architecture, at least at the cache level. That is they access two seperate caches, an I-cache for instructions and a D-cache for data ( ...
26
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1answer
964 views

What's the purpose of this checkerboard pattern?

This gigabit Ethernet NIC has a checkerboard pattern out of copper etched on the PCB: Each square is electrically isolated. What's the point of adding these? I guess that the PCB isn't filled with ...
10
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3answers
1k views

Advantages of 32-bit 48-96 Mhz microprocessors (such as in Arduino Due)

It seems Arduino Due ( 32-bit, 84 Mhz, ARM-Cortex-M3-based SAM3X8E ) was released today. In addition, clearly there is a myriad of processors in this category ( 32-bit / 48-96 Mhz / ARM ) as well as ...
63
votes
10answers
11k views

Why are there no 256-bit or 512-bit microprocessors?

In an 8-bit microprocessor its data bus consists of 8 data lines. In a 16-bit microprocessor its data bus consists of 16 data lines and so on. Why is there neither a 256-bit microprocessor nor a ...
26
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3answers
5k views

How do I design my very own ARM based processors?

I have several questions about how I would design my own ARM-based CPU? How does one start with an ARM license and end up with a package ready to be soldered on to a board? What do I get from ARM ...
8
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7answers
686 views

Why is a datapath in microcontrollers always a power of 2 wide?

Microcontrollers data paths are always a power of 2 wide: 4 bit, 8, 16, 32 bit, etc. Even PICs which use 12-bit wide instructions are 8-bit controllers. Why? Is there any design advantage to this? ...
8
votes
4answers
2k views

What are the properties of an N-bit microcontroller?

I've heard of 8 bit microcontrollers and 16-bit microcontrollers. I've even heard about 7 bit microcontrollers and 1 bit microcontrollers. What are the general attributes of these groups? How do I ...
0
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2answers
156 views

System on chip questions

I was reading about System on Chip on wikipedia and I was wondering Is the iPhone an example of this? Is the system saved on a processor? How is the system actually put on the device? Thanks!
-1
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5answers
222 views

Constructing a logic circuit with a control line

I have a question about logic gates. I am wondering how to construct a logic circuit that makes its outputs c and d equal to its inputs a and b when a control is set to 0. If the control is set to 1, ...
1
vote
1answer
327 views

How to select a DSP chip for ECG/EMG signals

I want to select a DSP chip which I can use for some ECG/EMG signal processing. I am looking for an evaluation kit. The input signals are already in digital format (taken from phsionet.org). I am also ...
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votes
2answers
312 views

Efficient spike detecting Microprocessor or DSP architecture

I am looking for microcontroller or DSP (or its architectures) which are efficient in terms of power as well as performance in detecting spikes. I want to run an algorithm which detects spikes and ...
2
votes
2answers
309 views

Looking for a open-source ALU

I am looking for a open ALU to compute several equations like these: y1 = e^((constant1 - x)^2/(2*x)) y2 = constant2/y1 y3 = y2*constant3 + x*constant4 Where x ...
0
votes
2answers
147 views

Digital Architecture Design Question: Fast way to perform a floating point exponential operation

does anyone knows how is the fast way to perform a floating point exponential operation? (like this y = 2.71^(3.45)) Thank you to all posible links to references or articles. EDIT: I am pondering ...
1
vote
3answers
647 views

Resources to learn about the AVR/RISC architecture

I think I have used enough of the AVR series by atmel to say that I understand how to use it. I know somethings about how it actually works, but I would like to know more. Are there any good resources ...
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5answers
6k views

Why does more transistors = more processing power?

According to Wikipedia, processing power is strongly linked with Moore's law: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore's_law The number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an ...
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4answers
13k views

What are different types of computer architectures?

I am going through the book "Elements of computing systems". This book teaches how to build a whole computer from scratch. While I was just browsing the chapters on computer architecture, I noticed ...
16
votes
6answers
809 views

Identify processor type from raw binary code?

Not really related to chips, but hopefully I'll get some directions to follow from here. I got a chunk of code, but I don't know what processor it intended for. Are there tools available that can ...