From the course: Computer Architecture Essentials
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CISC vs. RISC architectures
From the course: Computer Architecture Essentials
CISC vs. RISC architectures
- [Instructor] Now, let me tell you about a historic classification of ISAs. This one is based on the philosophy behind the instruction set. On the one hand, we have the CISC, or complex instruction set computer, architecture, which uses a large instruction set with many specialized instructions, some of which can perform multi-step tasks in a single instruction. This is the first commercial type of computers designed in the 1970s when microprocessors came to existence. In a nutshell, in CISC computers, one instruction may achieve a lot, with some specialized instructions to traverse arrays or calculate trigonometric functions. However, this comes with a cost in execution time. Complex instructions require several CPU cycles to complete. On the other hand, there's the RISC, or reduced instruction set computer, architecture, which came as an alternative to CISC in the 1980s. This focuses on a simpler, smaller instruction set, making the instructions easier and faster to execute. This…
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