Is it possible to build your own CPU

[Fluffinator]

Well, it would be cool if it could make more complicated desicisions as well like analog signals to motors or similar. Decision making in itself would be amazing. Anyone find any links?

Decision making isn't even possible yet thats straight up artifical Intelleigence.

[Stadin6]

Making something in a video game doesn't translate to real life....

the logic gates in these "virtual computers" are the same as in real computers

[J. Hammond]

Making something in a video game doesn't translate to real life....

 

Actually it sort of does. Understanding the theory is just as important as being able to build a device. If you can understand why this is connected to this and what effects this and this have on that, then being capable of building a processor in a virtual world will help immensely when designing one in the real world.

 

Of course actually designing the circuits and soldering the parts together will be an entirely new challenge by itself.

[Enderman]

yes its possible

no it cant be used for anything useful

 

the processing power is 0 compared to a normal intel or AMD CPU

[Clanscorpia]

Decision making as in IF and similar statments
I dont care if I can't run a normal program. It would be something like a huge underpowered arduino
Anyone found any links?

[Stadin6]

I dont care if I can't run a normal program. It would be something like a huge underpowered arduino

you can make a 8 bit calculator with a LED-matrix display

[Clanscorpia]

Could I make it do other stuff? Like say make a motor move?

[ICantThinkOfAnyGoodName]

look up where to get transistors. then look up how to make simple adders, logic gates and the likes. then look up how to make a SRAM cell. then figure out a way to have them interconnected. congratulations you have a touring complete machine. 

/

Is it any good? no. Is it fun to do? hell yeah. ive seen it done by some fellow students. it required manual selection of instructions and operands, and worked slower than an FX4100 (if tahts even possible), BUT, given infinite time, would be just as good as a supercomputer

Actually it wouldn't be as good as a supercomputer due to the very limited amount of memory available to it.

[Stadin6]

Could I make it do other stuff? Like say make a motor move?

making a motor move is a lot simpler than making a calculator. you could probably make it move the motor after 5 calculations or something. Or if the result of a calculation is a specific number

[LukaP]

Actually it wouldn't be as good as a supercomputer due to the very limited amount of memory available to it.

not true, you can write things down, since instructions and operands had to be chosen manually, and assuming infinite time,that means infinite memory

[ICantThinkOfAnyGoodName]

not true, you can write things down, since instructions and operands had to be chosen manually, and assuming infinite time,that means infinite memory

You have a point, but if you manually choose the instructions and operands you might as well do all the calculations manually, which would also be just as good as a supercomputer given infinite time.

[BrightCandle]

Start with this book, it goes from nothing to the logic that makes a processor function: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Code-Language-Computer-Hardware-Software/dp/0735611319/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447802542&sr=8-1&keywords=CODE

 

Using something like an FPGA would allow you to build a decently capable device and have it interface within a computer and be able to do useful things and give you some amount of access to the latest silicon process (while building useful skills that companies need).

[Clanscorpia]

When I say build my own CPU, I mean one that I build myself. Anyone found any links for a guide?

[Cheddle]

In my other post someone thought that I was building a CPU (I wasn't planning to) but now I'm wondering if it is possible. If it is can someone give me some links on how to do it? I don't care how old of architecture it would be or what it could run (maybe MS-DOS?) and if so, how would I connect it to say a home built GPU and motherboard (or bought ones) and how I could get it to post. Maybe a guide on building a PC from scratch. Thanks

 

start with a basic "flasher" circuit... go from there.

 

People have built CPU's powerful enough to run a calculator... in MINECRAFT

 

so yeah

[LukaP]

You have a point, but if you manually choose the instructions and operands you might as well do all the calculations manually, which would also be just as good as a supercomputer given infinite time.

yea but you dont have a CPU then.

[FruitBasketSilex]

Theoretically, yes. You could make a lower-bit CPU, but the amount of transistors you would need just to get a 4-bit CPU running is insane and expensive. It would not be energy efficient at all, very big, and the failure rate of the transistors would be very, VERY high. There is also a ton of discrete mathematics and applied science you would need to learn in order to get it functioning.

Even if you have all of that accomplished, it would be unbearably slow. So, yes it is possible, but it isn't probable

But will it blend?

[You_are_a_cunt]

An 8-core Haswell-E CPU has 2,600,000,000 transistors in it. Have fun!

[runit3]

When I say build my own CPU, I mean one that I build myself. Anyone found any links for a guide?

https://web.archive.org/web/20131030152349/http://neazoi.com/transistorizedcpu/index.htm

 

There are no guides for this sort of thing. It's extremely impractical and has no functional use besides proof of concept and being a cool project. If you're doing this for a school project or to learn about circuitry getting an Arduino board or Raspberry Pi and some servo motors would be a much better way to learn, and you can come up with useful stuff for the system to accomplish. This was a pretty cool project https://youtu.be/ZszlVVY1LXo

[Nena Trinity]

It will be huge and use more power than AMD and you will think twice before you wanna say AMD uses so much power!

[PrimeSonic]

If you want learn a bit more about how a CPU functions, look into the Scott CPU.

 

Trying to make an actual CPU yourself, I doubt that'll be feasible.

 

Otherwise, I can only echo this perfect recommendation for you.

 

If you're doing this for a school project or to learn about circuitry getting an Arduino board or Raspberry Pi and some servo motors would be a much better way to learn, and you can come up with useful stuff for the system to accomplish.

[Clanscorpia]

Thanks for all the help guys!
And I have an arduino board, but I want to do this for a science fair project in April. I don't care how hard it is of if it uses pre built logic gates and stuff like that.

[Stefan1024]

In my other post someone thought that I was building a CPU (I wasn't planning to) but now I'm wondering if it is possible. If it is can someone give me some links on how to do it? I don't care how old of architecture it would be or what it could run (maybe MS-DOS?) and if so, how would I connect it to say a home built GPU and motherboard (or bought ones) and how I could get it to post. Maybe a guide on building a PC from scratch. Thanks

 

It's pretty easy actually.

The a FPGA and learn VHDL or Verilog to programm it. In an FPGA you can programm the logic cells. There are also CPU with cashe and everything alread done for you. They are called softcore. They are also quite powerful, in school we once run linux on a soft core in an FPGA. We used this board:

http://www.terasic.com.tw/cgi-bin/page/archive.pl?Language=English&CategoryNo=165&No=502

[Miguel Batista]

Ah fellow lover of logic circuits. Google the term. I had a course at uni on logical circuits and we did just that lighting leds. And try to write swear words in Morse... Good times good times

[utroz]

FPGA is about the only way for a non billionaire to make a custom CPU core and actually get to run useful software on it (pure software emulation doesn't really count). If you can even get i486 performance from a cpu you made fully from scratch without help count yourself very lucky. Nowadays they have specialist that design each part of a CPU and a lead architect that chooses what building blocks will be used. It takes even Intel or AMD 3-5 years to make a new cpu design, most of the time they reuse old designs and build on them speeding up the process. Even a cpu from the 1970s would be very hard for one person to make.

[Clanscorpia]

If it's as powerful as a calculator, then I'd be happy