Instead of a loop, modern processors use a bunch of... | Ken Shirriff

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Instead of a loop, modern processors use a bunch of adders arranged in a special tree to perform a multiplication in a single clock cycle. The 8086 was very slow in comparison, taking up to 133 clock cycles for a 16-bit multiplication.

Like 16 Mar 2023 at 5:29 | Open on oldbytes.space

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For more information on multiplication in the 8086 and lots more microcode analysis, see my latest blog post https://www.righto.com/2023/03/8086-multiplication-microcode.html

16 Mar 2023 at 5:30 | Open on oldbytes.space

vruz

@kenshirriff This is a genuinely excellent post. Thanks Ken!

16 Mar 2023 at 5:34 | Open on mastodon.social

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