If you’d like to follow the full structured build:
https://www.patreon.com/RossMcgowanMaths
In this video we go inside a single instruction and examine how microcode actually controls a CPU.
Using a simple ADD register-to-register example, I trace the instruction through the control unit, show how the microcode is stored in the control ROM, and explain how individual control signals drive the datapath.
You’ll see how one assembly instruction becomes a sequence of micro-operations — activating registers, selecting ALU inputs, writing back results, and stepping through the instruction cycle.
This is where architecture becomes concrete:
instruction → microcode → control signals → hardware action.
Topics in this video include:
microcode architecture
control unit design
control ROM structure
micro-operations
instruction execution cycle
ADD instruction walkthrough
16-bit CPU design
computer architecture fundamentals
