RISC and CISC Flashcards
1
Q
What does RISC stand for?
A
reduced instruction set computer
2
Q
What does CISC stand for?
A
complex instruction set computer
3
Q
What is an instruction set?
A
link between hardware and software , the instructions understood by the processor
4
Q
What are the characteristics of RISC?
A
- processor with smaller instruction sets
- simpler hardware (emphasis on hardware)
- complex software (more lines need to be compiled)
- each instruction takes 1 cycle
5
Q
What is RISC used in?
A
- smart phones
- tablets
6
Q
What can RISC do that CISC cannot?
A
Be idle,called sleep mode, where less energy is consumed
7
Q
What are the characteristics of CISC?
A
- larger and richer sets of machine instructions (single instruction can represent a lot of instructions for RISC)
- simpler software and coding (emphasis on software)
- each instruction takes a different amount of cycles
- complex hardware
- greater energy consumption compared to CISC
- uses less RAM then CISC due to less code
8
Q
What is more expensive CISC or RISC?
A
CISC as more complex circuitry is required
9
Q
What is CISC used in?
A
Laptops
desktops
intel
10
Q
Why is pipelining only possible in RISC?
A
since all instructions have equal time slots (cycles)
