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Hi,

I'm looking for the answer ... to following question:
How it all works, I mean how my code, even assembler code or opcode, gets executed? I don't want to read about 'moving pointer on the call stack' or 'processor does one thing or other' or anything like that. I'd like to know how it works on electrical level. Is there any nice source for that kind of information- except maybe some university..... Any book or website you could reccomend?? I can handle any fancy math or physics.

Another questions would be:
1) why I actually need motherboard
2) where is FSB?

Thanks in adv.

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asked for the electrical-level story; and pointed to useful pieces (ALU, FSB, Altair) but those are only parts of the path. The practical way to learn this without getting lost in modern CPU complexity is: (1) start at transistor/gate level, (2) build a tiny CPU from gates to see fetch/decode/execute, (3) inspect how memory and buses carry voltages and timing, then (4) map those ideas onto real motherboard/chipset roles.

At the lowest digital level bits are voltages switched by MOSFETs arranged into gates, latches and flip-flops. Flip-flops hold state at clock edges; combinational logic (gate networks) computes ALU functions; memory cells store bits using capacitors (DRAM) or bistable latches (SRAM). An instruction is fetched by placing an address on the address lines, asserting a read strobe, and receiving data on the data lines after the memory’s access latency. The fetched byte lives in an instruction register, decode logic (combinational or microcode ROM) generates control signals, and the ALU/register file carry out the operation — all driven by synchronized clocks and control state machines.

A motherboard’s job is physical and electrical: deliver clean power, provide clocking, route high-speed traces, host the chipset that bridges CPU, DRAM and peripherals, and expose connectors. Historically the CPU talked to northbridge over the FSB; modern designs move the memory controller into the CPU and use point-to-point links (so the “FSB” is largely gone). Real systems add caches, pipelines and speculative logic — things you can model later once the basic signal/timing story is clear.

Hands-on learning speeds understanding. Work through a course that goes from gates to CPU (for example Nand2Tetris), build a small breadboard/FPGA CPU, and use a logic analyzer or oscilloscope to watch address/data/control lines. Read a digital-electronics primer (MOSFET behavior, noise margins, timing) before diving into Intel/AMD manuals. Caution: modern chips add analog effects, power-management and on-die interconnect details — those require semiconductor and VLSI texts once the digital picture is solid.

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Member Avatar for azwiz

Hello edek,
I cut my teeth learning the workings of computers, processors, and cpu chips by building my first computer from a kit ( see Altair 8800: http://www.digibarn.com/collections/systems/altair-8800/index.html).
I had to hand code the assembly language programs since I did not have an assembler, so had to know how each instruction worked within the CPU. This is down to the level of where the 1's and 0's go, and what they do. Whether they are instructions (to the cpu) or data (to memory).
here are a few other links that will provide some insight as to the inner workings:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altair_8800 (at least read "description" & "software" headings
http://tldp.org/LDP/tlk/basics/hw.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motherboard

That should answer most of your questions, if not - leave me a message. Oh, and a good paperback to read would be Tracy Kidder's "Soul of a new Machine" about the beginings of Data General, back when CPU's (the processing unit, equivalent IN NAME ONLY to a Intel Pentium chip) were made by individual circuits on multiple interconnected boards (a bus)


Happy learning ! Glad you are interested in how it all works, not too many people are these days.

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