1.2a - The differences between and uses of CISC and RISC processors

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