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Computer Architect Assignment

The document describes and compares RISC and CISC architectures. CISC was developed to simplify compiler development by offering complex, variable-length instructions that could perform operations in one instruction. RISC uses a reduced, fixed-length instruction set of under 100 instructions that are simpler to decode and can complete one operation per clock cycle, allowing for faster execution speeds. Key differences are that CISC has more complex instruction decoding, supports complex operations in instructions while RISC uses primarily register-based operations, and RISC generally has faster execution times due to simpler instructions.

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126 views

Computer Architect Assignment

The document describes and compares RISC and CISC architectures. CISC was developed to simplify compiler development by offering complex, variable-length instructions that could perform operations in one instruction. RISC uses a reduced, fixed-length instruction set of under 100 instructions that are simpler to decode and can complete one operation per clock cycle, allowing for faster execution speeds. Key differences are that CISC has more complex instruction decoding, supports complex operations in instructions while RISC uses primarily register-based operations, and RISC generally has faster execution times due to simpler instructions.

Uploaded by

INAM
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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COMSATS INSTITUE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE – ASSIGNMENT 1

QUESTION
Describe the RISC & CISC architecture and compare their features ?

CISC ARCHITECTURE:
CISC was developed to make compiler development easier and simpler. The full form of
CISC is Complex Instruction Set Computer. They are chips that are easy to program that
makes efficient use of memory.
CISC eliminates the need for generating machine instructions to the processor. For
example, instead of having to make a compiler, write lengthy machine instructions to
calculate a square-root distance, a CISC processor offers a built-in ability to do this.
Many of the early computing machines were programmed in assembly language.
Computer memory was slow and expensive. CISC was commonly implemented in such
large computers, such as the PDP-11 and the DEC system.

FEATURES OF CISC ARCHITECTURE:


 A large number of instructions.
 Instruction-decoding logic will be complex.
 Instructions for special tasks used infrequently.
 A large variety of addressing modes
 It offers variable-length instruction formats.
 Instruction is larger than one-word size.
 Instruction may take more than a single clock cycle to get executed.
 Less number of general-purpose registers as operation get performed in memory
itself.
 Various CISC designs are set up with two special registers for the stack pointer for
managing interrupts

RISC ARCHITECTURE:
RISC is designed to perform a smaller number of computer instruction. Hence, it can
operate at a higher speed. The full form of RISC is Reduced Instruction Set Computers. It
is a microprocessor that is designed to perform smaller number of computer instruction
so that it can operate at a higher speed.

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COMSATS INSTITUE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE – ASSIGNMENT 1
RISC instruction sets hold less than 100 instructions and use a fixed instruction format.
This method uses a few simple addressing modes that use a register-based instruction.
In this compiler development mechanism, LOAD/STORE is the only individual
instructions for accessing memory.

FEATURES OF RISC ARCHITECTURE:


 Simpler instruction decoding
 A number of general-purpose registers.
 Simple Addressing Modes
 Fewer Data types.
 A pipeline can be achieved
 One instruction per cycle
 Register-to-register operations
 Simple instruction format
 Instruction execution would be faster
 Smaller Programs

COMPARISON BETWEEN CISC AND RISC FEATURES:


 In CISC, the instruction set is very large that can be used for complex operations
while in RISC the instruction set is reduced, and most of these instructions are
very primitive.
 CISC computer's execution time is very high whereas RISC computer's execution
time is very less.
 In CISC, code expansion is not a problem while in RISC code expansion may create
a problem.
 In CISC, decoding of instructions is complex whereas, in RISC, the decoding of
instructions is simple.
 CISC requires external memory for calculations, but RISC requires internal
memory for calculations.
 CISC has only a single register set while RISC has multiple register sets.

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