GAMEBOY DMG CPU INTERNALS PORTABLE
GAMEBOY DMG CPU INTERNALS CODE

I EmbeddedICE macrocell: Includes extra instructions to provide debugging operations. M Enhanced Multiplier: Previous ARM cores required multiple cycles to compute 32-bit multiplications, this enhancement attempts to reduce it to just a few.

GAMEBOY DMG CPU INTERNALS CODE

This means that, in some cases, Thumb programs may require more code than ARM programs, so its all about achieving a good balance by using both.ĭ Debug Extensions: Allows to suspend the CPU for debugging purposes. So, why is not the entire program coded with Thumb then Well, Thumb doesnt include important instructions like conditionals (it only includes branches). The biggest advantages of using Thumb over ARM are that their instructions only require half of the bus width and occupy half the size in memory.įurthermore, ARM and Thumb instructions can be mixed in the same program, so developers can offload the overhead of ARMs 32-bit instructions. Moreover, this core contains some extensions referenced in its name ( TDMI ): T Thumb: An additional instruction set which can fit in smaller words (16-bit), its a subset of ARM. Three-stage pipeline: Execution of instructions are divided in three steps or stages, the CPU will queue up to three instructions where each one is allocated in one stage, this allows to take advantage of all the CPUs resources without idling while also incrementing the amount of instructions executed per unit of time.ĪLU: Can operate 32-bit numbers without consuming extra cycles. Their new design, the ARM7TDMI, is based on the old ARM710 with very distinct features: ARM v4 ISA: The next version of the 32-bit RISC instruction set designed by ARM. Whats new Before ARM Holdings became incredibly popular in the smartphone world, they actually licensed their CPU designs to power Acorns computers, Nokias phones and some of Nintendos consoles. This package contains two completely different CPUs: A Sharp LR35902 running at either 8.4 or 4.2 MHz: If it isnt the same CPU found on the GameBoy Its effectively used to run GameBoy ( DMG ) and GameBoy Color ( CGB ) games.Īn ARM7TDMI running at 16.78 MHz: This is the new processor well focus on, it most certainly runs GameBoy Advance games.īoth CPUs will never run at the same time or do any fancy co-processing, the only reason for including the very old Sharp is for backwards compatibility. This console will carry on using Nintendos signature GPU, additionally, it will introduce a relatively new CPU from a UK company that will surge in popularity in years to come.ĬPU Most of the components are compressed in a single package called CPU AGB.

GAMEBOY DMG CPU INTERNALS PORTABLE

Gameboy Dmg Cpu Internals Portable Console ThatĪ quick introduction The internal design of the GameBoy Advance is quite impressive for being a portable console that runs on two AA batteries.

Gameboy Dmg Cpu Internals Portable Console That.

While there were various improvements made to the CPU core, the audio component was unaltered.

The sound chip also has an ambitious feature it supports stereo sound, but only when the audio jack is used.Īn upgraded version of the chip, the CPU-CGB B, would later be utilised in the Game Boy Color. The noise channel supports a frequency range from 2-1,048,576 Hz, and the other three channels support a frequency range of 64-131,072 Hz. The first square wave supports a frequency sweep, and the programmable wave supports up to 32 4-bit samples. Volume envelopes are supported on both square waves and the noise channel. The PSG consists of four channels, two pulse waves, a programmable wave, and a noise channel. This PSG was US patent publication number US5095798 A, it was filed on, published on, and given application number 07/462,491. It had a built in audio processing unit (APU) which included a PSG which was designed by Satoru Okada and Hirokazu Tanaka. The DMG-CPU B was the primary CPU of the Game Boy.

Gameboy dmg cpu internals