🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <576@obiwan.UUCP>, mark@mips.UUCP (Mark G. Johnson) writes:
> 
> The July, 1987 issue of COMPUTER DESIGN magazine has an article on page 22
> 	"80386 Multiplier Problem Spotlights VLSI Testability Issues"
> which you might find illuminating.  The following excerpt is taken
> without permission:
> 
> {beginning of excerpt}
> `Contrary to industry speculation, the 80386 multiplier errors result
> from a layout problem, not from an error in logic design.  "We didn't
> allow enough margin to catch the worst-case pattern in the multiplier
> at the corners of our process," explains Dana Krelle, Intel's 80386 [...]
> 
> Another interesting facet of the problem hasn't been mentioned
> yet --- the 80386 doesn't have a multiplier (!!).  The 386 uses
> its general-purpose ALU, plus a shift-and-add microcode routine,
> to perform multiplication operations.  Similarly, divide operations
> use the ALU plus a shift-and-subtract microcode routine.
> 
> The confusing thing is, why do multiplys fail but divides and
> adds (apparently) work??  Isn't it possible to supply the
> appropriate "bad" ALU operands for a regular add, or to create
> them during some step of a divide?

	This is just speculation, since I know nothing about the 386 design.
If they are using a shift and add for multiplication, then they may have a
special shift-by-two-bits latch.  This is useful in doing a what I think is
called a "modified Booth algorithm", where two bits worth of a multiply can
be done each clock cycle, if you can make 1x, 2x and 4x of one of the 
inputs available.  As far as I know, the shift by 2 bits isn't too useful
for much else.  The divide algorithms I know of which don't use parallel
multipliers or groups of adders only shift by 1 bit at a time, so such a 
divide wouldn't use the shift-by-two latch either.  So perhaps the pattern
sensitivity lies in this shift register.

	By the way, I think you can make this multiplication algorithm work for
N bits per clock cycle, if you can provide all the following multiples of one
of the inputs (call it Y) :  Y, 2Y,  ... (2^^N)Y .


	Ken Karakotsios				ken!sci
	Silicon Compiler Systems


	Disclaimer: These are my personal views and opinions, and don't
	reflect those of my employer.