Types of Processor Flashcards
What does CISC and RISC stand for?
CISC - Complex Instruction Set Computing
RISC - Reduced Instruction Set Computing
What are CISC processors?
CISC CPUs have a wide instruction set so they are readily available to programmers to write efficient code.
What are RISC processors?
RISC CPUs have a narrower instruction set than CISC, meaning the CPU can access and process data faster.
What are the advantages to CISC processors?
- Require less memory
- Few registers are required
- Less programming code is required
What are the disadvantages to CISC processors?
- Several clock cycles required for one instruction
- More complex hardware is required
- Requires a larger and more complex CPU with many transistors
- More heat from transistors so requires bigger heat sink
- More transistors so costs more and uses more power
What are the advantages to RISC processors?
- Simpler hardware is required
- Single clock cycle for one instruction
- Fewer transistors, so costs less than CISC processors and uses less power
What are the disadvantages to RISC processors?
- More programming required
- More registers are required
- Requires more RAM
Where are CISC processors used?
Desktops, Laptops and Supercomputers
Where are RISC processors used?
Small portable devices, phones and tablets
Describe a Multi-Core CPU
A multi-core CPU is a processor with multiple cores or multiple ALUs and other register within a single CPU chip and this requires a CU to coordinate all the cores
Name some limitations of multi-core CPUs
- Dependent on problems being efficiently broken down so each sub-problem can be solved independently, which can take up some processing ability and slow down the CPU
- Programmers must write code specific to make full use of a multi-core CPU construction
What is a GPU?
A Graphical Processing Unit renders graphics as a discrete unit to the CPU in order to take load off of the CPU and speed up the system as a whole.
The CPU will send any graphical related tasks to the GPU to run in parallel to the processes being performed on the CPU
List some uses of GPUs
- AI or deep learning algorithms
- Breaking Encryption Schemes
- Scientific modelling of physical systems
- Real-time signal processing
What is pipelining?
The technique of fetching an instruction whilst the prior one is being decoded and the one before that is being executing, speeding up the CPU as multiple instructions can be processed at the same time
