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I thought I knew a lot about computer, putting them together and all, but I really don't.
How does someone take silicone, and make it become a computer. When you are dealing microscopically, how do you program instructions to the piece of silicon we call a chipset.
I mean I am just staring at this black chip, soldered to my motherboard, and I am wondering what is inside it, who made this, how? I know most are mass produced, but the first ones required some with intelligence, how, how, how?
I know this kinda broad but can someone help me?
Well the first computer ever built didnt fit in a box. If fact it wouldnt fit in most homes it was the size of a house.
A friend of mine does chip design and i dont understand half the stuff he talks about.
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Bill,
You're asking a big question. The physical process of manufacturing is one thing, how semiconductors operate is another. So what you are asking involves two big topics. Here is a link that might explain some of it;http://www.sematech.org/public/news/mfgproc/mfgproc.htm
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It looks so eyeballed though...I mean they are letting nature group ions together and stuff. What is seperating chips apart, what do they alter in that process that makes per say a pentium 4 faster than a pentium 3, how are they adding mhz?
Like if your sitting in a room, and you want to make a BIOS chip, it's not like you can write by hand what you want on a piece of silicon... It just seems so mysterious how we accept a chip just works.
......maybe Intel, National Semiconductor, are government agencies...I know they sell to them.....whooo ha......nm
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Picture how they did it originally (the resonators, diods, resisters, etc...), then picture it on a much smaller scale (physically). Everything they did originally they just kept making it smaller, smaller, smaller, until they got it onto a printable flat sheet almost! Did you know that people confuse bios and cmos because the truth is..... you can't see the cmos because it's 10000 beyond the naked eye? Bios just tells you what the cmos knows. Picture the camcorder. It use to be big and heavy and thhem it went to the palmcorder. Same idea. It all gets smaller. And is so small now that it can actually be PRINTED in mass.
One note: This is ONLY how I've come to understand it, and I am new in technology (almost still a wannabe)
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Are you stoned Bill?
No, I'm not being nasty, I just love the way you write.
The bottom line is the industry is just refining a 30-year old process. PCBs have some serious thought put into them as well. For example, the 7-layer boards on the ti4600 are a piece of work. Have a go on google.
Joni
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cool it, Joni.
It's a very good valid question. If you know the answer then good for you. Maybe you are OLD or something, who knows. But, I like the question and would like to know too. Then again, you did not offer much to this, "for us", to gain any knowledge. Unless, you are offering that the only people who do not know must smoke pot? Hmmmm. Do you? I mean, you didn't answer the question so are you stoned?
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Ok, I'm not too old, but yes, I do know the answer, I even know how to convert the architecture code to what you see on the screen. But this is a hardware support forum, not school. As ArtSmarss said, its too big a question. As a reult of this, I did not even attempt to answer it. I merely pointed Bill in the direction of similar technology that he may not have considered.
Joni
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Well, that's okay. But it's not too good to accuse a person of being stoned because they ask an intelligent question. More people should. And yes, it's complex, but wouldn't be interesting to see how technicians answer the question? Without feeling dumb? Or being accused of being stoned? I did. And I have only smoked pot once! (and I didn't INHALE! HAHAHHAHAHAH!)
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You are asking the kinda question that nobody on here will be able to answer totally.
Simple answer is, nano scientists and computer scientists get together over a beer and probably draw a few designs on a napkin.
Next thing we know, it is a computer chip.
You would have to study for years to fully understand it, and unless you're smart enough, you stil won't!
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I diagree with that. Bill, understood it immediately, almost like nature. I do believe there are many who have the knowledge that he does (just don't have the money to back it up), but don't cut everyone short. Don't ever believe that 1 or 2 or 3 people have the answer. They just had the money to back up their answer. There are many who can explain to the T, but they are only knowledgeable, not rich- which is what it takes to be recognized for what you understand
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Bottom Line- You guys are crazy if you think the explanation is far fetched. It's not. It's very understandable, so hop for an explanation!
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Well, if someone can explain how you get millions of circuits, squeeze them into a wafer of silicon and then reproduce that EXACTLY millions of times for each customer who wants one, then I will take my hat off to ya.
But lets face it, there are only 4 or 6 BIG computer comanies in the whole world spending millions on research, making processors on a large scale and they don't release secrets.
I am sure given some time, and a clear explanation I could understand the theory. But nowadays, humans use current computers to redesign newer computers (uh oh, just thought TERMINATOR).
No one human can sit down and design a modern cpu on their own! It takes a team of computer scientists working in a team to get to the finished product.
Getting BIOS to work is a feat in itself!
How do you spark electricity into a piece of silicon and somehow it starts THINKING!
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My point exactly. It's a scientific thing- agreed. But if you think that Bill Gates and "his peers" are the only intelligence on earth, think again. I'm just saying, it's not a 2 person understood thing. I think there are many brilliant people out there who understand EXACTLY what's going on.
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you know the problem today? I'll tell you. They only teach how to replace parts, IRQ's, DMA's, etc...
Back in the day (1970-1980), you were required to understand motherboards and every single part on them. Every path, every resistor, every diode, every cell. Know what it does, where paths are, everything. You could not understand this without physic calc, trig, and algebra. It was all math. THIS, was computer technology. Today has changed a lot. No math required, just know what a Hard Drive is and where it goes.
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This is funny, but I like what XxxFranciscoxxX said. How do they put electricity in something and make it start thinking. And what DJ said, just makes me feel dumb, and I guess stoned. I also prefaced my giant question, with something like, I know it's broad...so there, I knew that much.
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Well the BIOS marvel was courtesy of a 20 something who's family own most of the hotels on the Greek Island of Kos.
I was chatting to him, and he studied in the UK, computer science being his thing.
He said to me, it is the most amazing part of the whole computer. We don't often think of it as much, but the bios is the "spark" without which there would be no computer.
I would like to learn more about bios engineering. But at the same time, I really have no reaosn to know, as I don't intend every having to make my own bios! Just buying one from the web is good enough!
I agree also with dj. Plug and play in conjunction with Microsoft, has taken computers to the masses.
We often gripe about Gates and his money machine, but without him, there would be no computing.net because those with problems now, wouldn't even own a computer if there wasn't a windows o/s. They wouldn't have a clue.
Before Windows everything was DOS, AMIGA DOS, BASIC, and other languages. I know you guys remember getting a page of program to type into the c64 in games magazines and it would make a GAME!
And Gates isn't that bright, BUT HE was in the right place at the right time, with the right idea.
Much like the founder of MacDonalds, he came up with an idea, and people said WOW!
Several copyrights later, and no one comes close to his customer base.
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LOL @ XxxFrancisxxxUSA
Yep, I remember getting a few pages of code in BYTE or some such magazine and a few hours later ending up with Canyon Runner or something like that.
DJ, I sure don't know the answer to your question...I'm not an electrical (or any kind of) engineer. I think some of the previous posts nailed it though, your question has an incredibly complex answer. The way computers and chips function can be explained to a layman in metaphors, but to achieve a true depth of knowledge on the subject would and does require years of schooling.
If you're still in the mood to query message boards, I would recommend posting your question at www.arstechnica.com. There are many regulars there who have a very high level of technical knowledge and expertise.
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Forget about how its done now and worry about how it will be done in the near future. The cpu's of tomorrow will assemble themselves. They will be grown.
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That article is 2 years old... shouldn't we have heard about it since? I had never heard of it before tht aricle.
All that stuff about the current day chips designing newer chips is completely true, scarily enough - and has been for a long time...
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