Despite continuous improvements and pinafore eroticism captionsincremental upgrades with each new generation, processors haven't seen any industry-shifting advancements in a long time. The transition from vacuum tubes to transistors was revolutionary. The move from individual components to integrated circuits was another major leap. However, since then, there haven't been any paradigm shifts of that magnitude. Yes, transistors have become smaller, chips have gotten faster, and performance has increased exponentially, but we are beginning to see diminishing returns.
This is the fourth and final installment in our CPU design series, providing an overview of computer processor design and manufacturing. Starting from the top down, we explored how computer code is compiled into assembly language and then converted into binary instructions that the CPU can interpret. We examined how processors are architected and how they process instructions. Then, we delved into the various structures that make up a CPU.