1.1.2 - Types of Processor

• CISC - Most desktop or laptop computers use CISC (complex instruction set computing) and this CPU normally contains a lot of instructions. This is the reason why they are used in computers because, the processes that need to carry out in computers are more technical. This means that one of the main integrated features onto the CISC chips has to be the ability to complete multiple instructions all at once. Also, there has to be a compiler so that the CPU can change the high level code into assembly language so that the processes can be complete without any hassle of waiting to change the code from one language to another.

• RISC - Many smartphones, to date, use RISC (reduced instruction set programming) processing. Due to the fact that the RISC processors don’t have as many instructions in its set as the CISC processor, which means that it is very efficient at performing simple tasks. Rather than this processor trying to do multiple instructions all at once, then it tries to perform millions of instructions a second rather than doing them simultaneously.

What is meant by 'Dual core' and 'Quad Core'?

The number of core in a computer stands for the number of actions that can be complete simultaneously. Therefor this means that if there is a “dual core” processor then this means that the computer can complete 2 actions simultaneously. Therefor if there is a “quad core” then this means that the processor can do 4 actions simultaneously.

Overall, if there are more cores in the CPU of a computer, then this means that ultimately there will be more tasks that can be completed simultaneously, meaning that the computer will tend to be faster.

What is Serial and Parallel Processing?

Serial and parallel processing both attend to the command “and”. The only difference is that serial attends to the command 1 by 1 and parallel attends to the command simultaneously.

SIMD and MIMD

SIMD or single instruction, multiple data is a group of parallel. It is a way to show a computer that can process multiple instructions at once on multiple data points.

MIMD or multiple instructions, multiple data is a technique used by modern day computers that makes the different processors in a CPU work independently. This means that the computer can perform multiple tasks at once.