1.1.2 Type of processor

Question 1

what does RISC mean?

Answer 1

Reduced Instruction Set Computer

Question 2

what does CISC mean?

Answer 2

Complex Instruction Set Computer

Question 3

what are the properties of RISC?

Answer 3

• small instruction set
• each instruction is one line of machine
  code
• used in everyday devices

Question 4

what are the properties of CISC?

Answer 4

-a large instruction set
- instructions are built into hardware
- used in embedded systems and
microprocessors

Question 5

what are the benefits of RISC processors?

Answer 5

pipelining is possible since each
instruction takes one clock cycle.

Question 6

what are the benefits of CISC processors?

Answer 6

• compilers have to do less work,
• they require less RAM since
  instructions are smaller

Question 7

what is a graphics processing unit (GPU)?

Answer 7

a co-processor made up of lots of
independent parallel processors.

Question 8

what are GPUs used for?

Answer 8

-image processing
-machine learning

Question 9

what are multi core systems?

Answer 9

systems where there are multiple cores that separate fetch-execute cycles.

Question 10

what are parallel systems?

Answer 10

-multiple instructions can
be completed at any given time
-doesn’t require multiple cores
-it can use threading and pipelining instead