Everyone knows, at the least intellectually, that our computer systems are all constructed with plenty of tiny transistors. However past that it’s a bit exhausting to explain. They’re printed on a silicon wafer someway, and since any sufficiently superior know-how is indistinguishable from magic, they miraculously create a big a part of trendy society. Even most computer systems from 40 or 50 years in the past have been constructed round varied inscrutable built-in circuits. Alternatively, this pc goes all the best way again to first ideas and implements a whole processor out of particular person transistors as an alternative.
The transistor pc makes use of over 2000 particular person transistors to implement every little thing comprising the 11-bit CPU. The creator, Reddit consumer [ Weekly_Salamander_78] additionally has a web-based interactive guide that walks by every of the steps that’s required to get to the purpose of getting a working pc like this. Beginning with a information on constructing logic gates from transistors it would finally cowl the arithmetic logic unit, adders, reminiscence, clocks, and every little thing else that’s wanted for the entire CPU to stand up and working. The design does depend on an Arduino for reminiscence to simplify some issues, and ultimately it’s in a position to run a Howdy, World! program and play a easy dinosaur sport as nicely.
Constructing a pc out of discrete parts like that is a formidable accomplishment, though we would not envy the creator of it when it comes time for troubleshooting or upkeep of all of these particular person parts. Presumably it could be a lot simpler to work on than one thing like a relay pc, however for now we’ll all take a second to be grateful that nearly nobody must work on debugging vacuum tube computer systems anymore.