Scribd
Upload
6 views6 pages

Understanding CISC vs RISC Architectures

CISC, or Complex Instruction Set Computer, refers to microprocessors that simplify programming and optimize memory usage, with designs like Intel 80x86 and Motorola 68K being prominent examples. Modern CISC processors often incorporate RISC principles due to advancements in technology, leading to hybrid architectures. Key characteristics of CISC include complex instruction-decoding logic, a limited number of general-purpose registers, and a focus on hardware, contrasting with RISC's emphasis on software and simplified instruction sets.

Uploaded by

kimtaekookjimin4648
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
6 views6 pages

Understanding CISC vs RISC Architectures

CISC, or Complex Instruction Set Computer, refers to microprocessors that simplify programming and optimize memory usage, with designs like Intel 80x86 and Motorola 68K being prominent examples. Modern CISC processors often incorporate RISC principles due to advancements in technology, leading to hybrid architectures. Key characteristics of CISC include complex instruction-decoding logic, a limited number of general-purpose registers, and a focus on hardware, contrasting with RISC's emphasis on software and simplified instruction sets.

Uploaded by

kimtaekookjimin4648
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

What is CISC?

• CISC is an acronym for Complex Instruction Set Computer and are chips
that are easy to program and which make efficient use of memory. Since the
earliest machines were programmed in assembly language and memory
was slow and expensive, the CISC philosophy made sense
• Most common microprocessor designs such as the Intel 80x86 and
Motorola 68K series followed the CISC philosophy.
• But recent changes in software and hardware technology have forced a re-
examination of CISC and many modern CISC processors are hybrids,
implementing many RISC principles.
• CISC was developed to make compiler development simpler. It shifts most
of the burden of generating machine instructions to the processor. For
example, instead of having to make a compiler write long machine
instructions to calculate a square-root, a CISC processor would have a built-
in ability to do this.
Most CISC hardware architectures have several characteristics in
common:
• Complex instruction-decoding logic, driven by the need for a single
instruction to support multiple addressing modes.
• A small number of general purpose registers. This is the direct result
of having instructions which can operate directly on memory and the
limited amount of chip space not dedicated to instruction decoding,
execution, and microcode storage.
• Several special purpose registers. Many CTSC designs set aside
special registers for the stack pointer, interrupt handling, and so on.
This can simplify the hardware design somewhat, at the expense of
making the instruction set more complex.
• A 'Condition code" register which is set as a side-effect of most
instructions. This register reflects whether the result of the last
operation is less than, equal to, or greater than zero and records if
certain error conditions occur.
What is RISC?
RISC Attributes
CISC versus RISC

CISC RISC

Emphasis on hardware Emphasis on software


Includes multi-clock Single-clock,
complex instructions reduced instruction only
Memory-to-memory: Register to register:
"LOAD" and "STORE" "LOAD" and "STORE"
incorporated in instructions are independent instructions
Small code sizes, Low cycles per second,
high cycles per second large code sizes
Transistors used for storing Spends more transistors
complex instructions on memory registers

You might also like