Advanced PC Architecture [Paperback]

The format of the book is intuitive and modernized. There are many functional block diagrams of various configurations and interesting boxed notes throughout the book. There are also many remarkable data and facts items conveniently located all through the book. You'll also find many insightful comparison lists, tables, and diagrams that help clarify concepts. Overall I like the writing style, format, and layout of the book.

The book describes each of the main PC processors and compares their performance. It also observes the different types of main interface devices and shows how they work with the complete system. Past, current, and future motherboards are discussed in detail so that students and professionals can understand how data is passed around the PC. The text illustrates general PC Architecture principles and design methodologies. It is written on the premise that the student may know the basic components of a computer system but may have not had any formal training. The authors have done an admiral job at providing a complete picture of the workings of a PC.

SOME (but not all) of the topics covered in each chapter include:
1) The History of computers. How computers have evolved. Which computers have flopped and which have been successful. Top Achievers and Under-achievers.
2) PC Basics, Buses, Interrupts, Interfacing, How Bios works
3) Introduction to Intel Processors, A close-up look at the Processor. The 8088. Memory addressing.
4) 8086 Basics, Assembly language elements, timing, and moving data around in Memory.
5) 80486. Specifics about the processor, data definition, equates, memory, and timing.
6) Bus Cycles, Bus Controller and Direct Memory Access.
7) CMOS, Memory and I/O, and Ports
8) Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART) and Programmable Interrupt Controller (PIC)
9) Programmable Peripheral Interface (PPI) and Programmable Timer Controller (PTC)
10) Introduction to the Pentium. Overview, Development and Terminology. Also details the Pentium II and Pentium Pro.
11) Transaction Phase Signals and additional Pentium Pro Signmals
12) Memory basics, subsystems, and errors.
13) MMX Technology. Also profile of Pentium II.
14) Instruction Execution in general. The Pentium II block diagram, execution implementation, bus features, etc. Other transaction types and phases.
15) SC242 Signals and other signals.
16) Processor Developments. Various Processors. Detail of x84-64 Architecture
17) Interface Buses. The PC, ISA, and other Legacy busses. Comparisons of different interface bus types.
18) PCI Bus. Bus cycles, PCI operation, functional signal groups, cycle timing diagrams, pins, and faults. I/O Addressing
19) IDE Section. Tracks and Sectors, The IDE interface and communication. Hard Disks, Optical Storage, File systems, and Magnetic Tape.
20) SCSI types, Interface, Operation, and Commands.
21) PCMCIA (PC Card). Registers and various types and Pin Connections.
22) USB and Firewire,
23) Games Port, Keyboard and Mouse,
24) AGP and more PCI. AGP Connections, Configuration. Register and Pin Descriptions.
25) RS-232. Programs, communications between nodes, and Interface
26) Parallel Port. I/O Addressing. Interrupts, Interface, Data Handshaking, and ECP/EPP Mode.
27) PC Motherboards. Different motherboards such as the Intel HX, TX, 450NX PCIset, and 450KX PCIset.
28) Hub-based Architecture. 810E, 820, and 840 Chipsets.