1.1.2 - Types of processor

Question 1

Instruction set

Answer 1

The possible number of instructions that the CPU can understand and decode

Question 2

Word length

Answer 2

The number of bits processed in a single instruction. The greater the word size, the larger the processing power of the CPU.

Question 3

The features of a RISC

Answer 3

• Stands for Reduced Instruction Set Computer
• A processor architecture that uses a small set of instructions of uniform length
• They make use of simple instructions that are generally executed in one clock cycle
• RISC chips are relatively simple to design and inexpensive

Question 4

The features of a CISC

Answer 4

• Stands for Complex Instruction Set Computer
• Offers hundreds of instructions of variable sizes
• Includes a complete set of special-purpose circuits that carry out these instructions at a very high speed
• CISC reduces program sizes and require less memory cycles to execute programs

Question 5

Comparison between RISC and CISC

Answer 5

In a RISC:
- The compiler has to do more work to translate high level code into machine code
- More RAM is required to store the code
- Pipelining is possible since each instruction takes one clock cycle
In a CISC:
- The compiler has to do less work to translate high level code into machine code
- Less RAM is required since code is shorter
- Many specialized instructions are made, even though only a few of them are used

Question 6

A Multi-Core CPU…

Answer 6

has multiple independent cores that can complete instructions separately which results in higher performance.

Question 7

Parallel systems…

Answer 7

accomplish a similar task to multi-core CPUs but they can complete multiple tasks with a single core, using threading. Generally, multi-core systems perform better in larger projects than parallel systems.

Question 8

What is the Graphics Processing Unit? And what does it do?

Answer 8

A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a device which, unlike CPUs, has lots of independent processors which work in parallel making it very efficient at completing repetitive tasks such as image processing and machine learning. GPUs are a type of co-processor.

Question 9

What is a co-processor?

Answer 9

A secondary processor designed to supplement the activities of the primary processor.