Analyzing the Architecture of Game Boy Advance

Have a look at an analysis of the Game Boy Advance architecture by Rodrigo Copetti that will give you an idea of how different portable consoles work. The author noted that the internal design of the device was quite impressive for a portable console running on two AA batteries.

When it comes to architecture, most of the components can be found in a single package called CPU AGB. The package features two different CPUs:

• A Sharp LR35902 running at either 8.4 or 4.2 MHz: it is the same CPU found on the Game Boy which is used to run Game Boy (DMG) and Game Boy Color (CGB) games. 
• An ARM7TDMI running at 16.78 MHz: the main processor that runs Game Boy Advance games.

Copetti noted that both CPUs "will never run at the same time or do any fancy co-processing. The only reason for including the very old Sharp is for backward compatibility."

Make sure to check out the full analysis of the console here (there's also a number of articles on other consoles) with an in-depth overview of the main processor. Don't forget to join our new Telegram channel, our Discord, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we are sharing breakdowns, latest news, awesome artworks, and more.