Human imagination knows no bounds, as demonstrated by a YouTuber named Inkbox who used Microsoft Excel to create a functional central processing unit (CPU). By leveraging Excel’s formula bar and several thousand cells, Inkbox successfully developed a 16-bit Excel CPU, showcasing impressive engineering skills.
While this Excel CPU is not comparable to the powerful Intel Core i9-14900K, you can download it from GitHub as “.XLSX” files. The project aimed to create the concept of a CPU inside Excel, showcasing the creativity and skill of its creator.
Inkbox, the creator of this Excel-based CPU, humorously refers to it as a “system on a spreadsheet,” playing on the term “System on a Chip (SoC)” used for traditional CPUs.
This project doesn’t involve any physical circuitry; instead, the cells in Excel are used as an emulator.While this Excel-based CPU is a low-level 16-bit design, compared to the modern 64-bit architecture of current processors, it’s still an educational project. Inkbox’s video explainer provides insights into the inner workings of a CPU, making it a valuable resource for learning about CPU architecture.
According to the creator, this Excel-based CPU is designed with several components, each meticulously built cell by cell, utilizing productive Excel tips such as auto-filling.
The video showcases the inclusion of a 128×128 16-color display and 128KB of RAM, adding to the complexity of the project. Additionally, components such as the ALU (arithmetic logic unit), CU (control unit), fetch unit, register file, multiplexers, and PC unit are all present, demonstrating the depth of detail in the design.
One major limitation of this Excel-based CPU is its slow speed. To put it into perspective, a low-end Intel Processor 300 (which is already considered slow) has a clock speed of 3.9 GHz (gigahertz), equivalent to 3900 MHz (megahertz). In contrast, according to the creator, the final speed of the Excel CPU is not faster than 2 to 3 Hz.
Despite its slow speed, witnessing the computing capabilities of Inkbox’s Excel CPU is still incredibly impressive. The project showcases the innovative use of a familiar tool like Excel to create something as complex as a CPU.
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