Consider a hypothetical 32-bit microprocessor having32-bit instructions composed of two fields: the first byte containsthe opcode and the remainder th

BenoguigoliB

BenoguigoliB

Answered question

2020-11-10

Consider a hypothetical 32-bit microprocessor having32-bit instructions composed of two fields: the first byte containsthe opcode and the remainder the immediate operand or an operandaddress. 
What is the maximum amount of memory that can be addressed directly(in bytes)?
What is the effect on system speed if the microprocessor bus has:
a32-bit local address bus and a 16-bit local data bus, or 
a16-bit local address bus and a 16-bit local data bus. 
How many bits are needed for the program counter and the instruction register ?

Answer & Explanation

Bertha Stark

Bertha Stark

Skilled2020-11-11Added 96 answers

Consider a hypothetical 32-bit microprocessor having32-bit instructions composed of two fields: the first byte containsthe opcode and the remainder the immediate operand or an operandaddress.
What is the maximum directly addressable memory capacity(in bytes)?
since there 1 byte of 16 bits left to address theRAM the maximum number of memory locations that can be addressed is 216
Discuss the impact on the system speed if the microprocessor bus has:
a32-bit local address bus and a 16-bit local data bus, here systemspeed is faster than
a16-bit local address bus and a 16-bit local data bus.
as in the former case larger memory is directly accessible
How many bits are needed for the program counter and the instruction register ?
16 bits for each the program counter and theinstruction register .
nick1337

nick1337

Expert2023-05-29Added 777 answers

Consider a hypothetical 32-bit microprocessor with 32-bit instructions. Let's analyze the given questions:
1. Maximum addressable memory:
In a 32-bit microprocessor, the addressable memory is determined by the size of the address bus. Since the microprocessor has a 32-bit instruction composed of two fields, the first byte containing the opcode and the remainder containing the immediate operand or operand address, we can determine the maximum addressable memory as follows:
Maximum addressable memory (in bytes) = 2(size of address bus)
For a 32-bit microprocessor, the maximum addressable memory is 232 bytes.
2. Effect on system speed:
The system speed can be affected by the size of the local address bus and local data bus. Let's consider two scenarios:
a) 32-bit local address bus and 16-bit local data bus:
In this scenario, the local address bus is 32 bits wide, allowing direct addressing of 232 bytes of memory. However, the local data bus is only 16 bits wide, meaning data transfers can only occur in 16-bit chunks. This would require multiple bus cycles to transfer a 32-bit instruction or data, resulting in slower system speed.
b) 16-bit local address bus and 16-bit local data bus:
In this scenario, both the local address bus and local data bus are 16 bits wide. This limits the direct addressable memory to 216 bytes. Additionally, data transfers are also limited to 16 bits at a time. Therefore, the system speed would be slower compared to the scenario with a 32-bit local address bus and a 16-bit local data bus.
3. Bits needed for program counter and instruction register:
The number of bits required for the program counter (PC) and the instruction register (IR) depends on the maximum addressable memory. Since the maximum addressable memory in our case is 232 bytes, we need:
- Bits for the program counter (PC): log2(232)=32 bits
- Bits for the instruction register (IR): Since the instruction is 32 bits, we need 32 bits to store the instruction.
In summary:
- Maximum addressable memory (in bytes): 232
- Effect on system speed:
- 32-bit local address bus and 16-bit local data bus: Slower speed
- 16-bit local address bus and 16-bit local data bus: Slower speed
- Bits needed for program counter (PC): 32 bits
- Bits needed for instruction register (IR): 32 bits
Don Sumner

Don Sumner

Skilled2023-05-29Added 184 answers

Answer:
- The maximum amount of memory that can be addressed directly is 224 bytes.
- The system speed may be affected differently depending on the microprocessor bus configuration.
- The program counter requires 24 bits, and the instruction register requires 32 bits.
Explanation:
To determine the maximum amount of memory that can be addressed directly in bytes, we need to consider the size of the operand address field. In this case, the remaining bytes after the opcode field are used for addressing memory. Since we have 32 bits for instructions and the opcode occupies the first byte (8 bits), we are left with 24 bits for addressing.
The formula to calculate the maximum amount of memory that can be addressed directly is given by:
2(address bits)
Using this formula, the maximum amount of memory that can be addressed directly is:
224 bytes
Now let's analyze the effect on system speed based on the microprocessor bus configurations:
1. If the microprocessor has a 32-bit local address bus and a 16-bit local data bus, the system speed may be affected. This is because the local data bus is narrower than the local address bus, which means that data transfers between the microprocessor and memory may take longer due to the reduced data bandwidth.
2. If the microprocessor has a 16-bit local address bus and a 16-bit local data bus, the system speed may also be affected. In this case, both the address bus and data bus have the same width, which means that address and data transfers can happen simultaneously without any reduction in bandwidth. However, the maximum amount of memory that can be addressed directly will be limited by the size of the address bus (16 bits).
Lastly, let's determine the number of bits needed for the program counter and the instruction register.
The program counter is responsible for keeping track of the memory address of the next instruction to be fetched. Since we have 24 bits available for addressing in the instruction format, the program counter will require 24 bits to accommodate all possible memory addresses.
The instruction register is responsible for temporarily holding the currently fetched instruction. Since each instruction in our hypothetical microprocessor is 32 bits, the instruction register will require 32 bits to store the entire instruction.

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