Which processor design does the following statement relate to, 'less RAM is required to store program instructions'?

A Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) is a processor design that has a large number of instructions in the instruction set requiring fewer cycles to achieve the same output as a reduced instruction set computer. However, the design is more complex and less power efficient. CISC computers have a large number of addressing modes and a variable format for instructions.

Which processor design does the following statement relate to, 'the opcode and operand can take a variable number of bits in the current instruction register depending on the command being decoded'?

A Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) is a processor design that has a large number of instructions in the instruction set requiring fewer cycles to achieve the same output as a reduced instruction set computer. However, the design is more complex and less power efficient. CISC computers have a large number of addressing modes and a variable format for instructions.

Which of the following is NOT a reason why doubling the number of processor cores does not lead to a direct doubling of processor speed and efficiency in all situations?

If a problem, is for example only 20% parallelisable than multiple cores will add little benefit, no matter how many you add. On top of this there are certain overheads in terms of communication between multiple cores that mean even a problem which is highly parallelisable will not see a straight doubling of efficiency simply by doubling the number of cores.

Which processor design does the following statement relate to, 'better power consumption makes this architecture better suited to portable devices'?

A Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) is a processor design that has a reduced number of instructions in the instruction set requiring many cycles to achieve the same output as a complex instruction set computer. However, the design is simpler and more power efficient making it ideal for portable devices. RISC computers have a limited number of addressing modes and a fixed format for instructions due to their simplistic design.

Which processor design does the following statement relate to, 'processor hardware is capable of understanding and executing a series of operations in one instruction'?

A Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) is a processor design that has a large number of instructions in the instruction set requiring fewer cycles to achieve the same output as a reduced instruction set computer. However, the design is more complex and less power efficient. CISC computers have a large number of addressing modes and a variable format for instructions.

What does 'GPU' stand for?

A Graphics Process Unit (GPU) is a specialised form of co-processor which works alongside the main CPU. It's most common use is to aid graphics, however due to its specialised nature it is well suited to other tasks designed around Single Instructions Multiple Data (SIMD) such as modelling and data mining.

Which processor design does the following statement relate to, 'more RAM is required to store program instructions'?

A Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) is a processor design that has a reduced number of instructions in the instruction set requiring many cycles to achieve the same output as a complex instruction set computer. That reduced instruction set means that more instructions are required to carry out the same task resulting in more memory being required. However, the design is simpler and more power efficient making it ideal for portable devices. RISC computers have a limited number of addressing modes and a fixed format for instructions due to their simplistic design.

Which processor design does the following statement relate to, 'less transistors are required'?

A Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) is a processor design that has a reduced number of instructions in the instruction set requiring many cycles to achieve the same output as a complex instruction set computer. However, the design is simpler and more power efficient making it ideal for portable devices. RISC computers have a limited number of addressing modes and a fixed format for instructions due to their simplistic design.

Which processor design does the following statement relate to, 'instruction is executed in one clock cycle'?

A Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) is a processor design that has a reduced number of instructions in the instruction set requiring many cycles to achieve the same output as a complex instruction set computer. However, the design is simpler and more power efficient making it ideal for portable devices. RISC computers have a limited number of addressing modes and a fixed format for instructions due to their simplistic design.

What does 'MIMD' stand for?

MIMD stands for 'Multiple instruction multiple data', and refers to different instructions carried out at the same time on different items of data .

Which of the following is the best definition for 'MIMD'?

MIMD stands for 'Multiple Instruction Multiple Data', and refers to different instructions being carried out at the same time on different pieces of data. This happens in parallel processing environments where processors can act independently of each other.

Which of these statements is true?

It is a misconception that one architecture is faster than another. There are too many factors to consider. Avoid using speed in an argument when comparing chip architectures in exams.

Which processor design does the following statement relate to, 'compiler does very little to translate from high level language into machine code'?

A Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) is a processor design that has a large number of instructions in the instruction set requiring fewer cycles to achieve the same output as a reduced instruction set computer. However, the design is more complex and less power efficient. CISC computers have a large number of addressing modes and a variable format for instructions.

Which processor design does the following statement relate to, 'the primary goal is to complete the task in as few lines of code as possible'?

A Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) is a processor design that has a large number of instructions in the instruction set requiring fewer cycles to achieve the same output as a reduced instruction set computer. However, the design is more complex and less power efficient. CISC computers have a large number of addressing modes and a variable format for instructions.

Which of these statements refers to a 'CISC' architecture?

Which of the following is the best definition of a 'RISC' processor design?

A Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) is a processor design that has a reduced number of instructions in the instruction set requiring many cycles to achieve the same output as a complex instruction set computer. However, the design is simpler and more power efficient making it ideal for portable devices. RISC computers have a limited number of addressing modes and a fixed format for instructions due to their simplistic design.

Which processor design does the following statement relate to, 'uses a load-store approach where the operands for an add operation must both be held in registers'?

A Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) is a processor design that has a reduced number of instructions in the instruction set requiring many cycles to achieve the same output as a complex instruction set computer. However, the design is simpler and more power efficient making it ideal for portable devices. RISC computers have a limited number of addressing modes and a fixed format for instructions due to their simplistic design.

What does 'RISC' stand for?

A Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) is a processor design that has a reduced number of instructions in the instruction set requiring many cycles to achieve the same output as a complex instruction set computer. However, the design is simpler and more power efficient making it ideal for portable devices. RISC computers have a limited number of addressing modes and a fixed format for instructions due to their simplistic design.

Which of these statements refers to a 'RISC' architecture?

A Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) is a processor design that has a reduced number of instructions in the instruction set requiring many cycles to achieve the same output as a complex instruction set computer. However, the design is simpler and more power efficient making it ideal for portable devices. RISC computers have a limited number of addressing modes and a fixed format for instructions due to their simplistic design.

Super computers are well known to use what type of parallel processing?

MIMD stands for 'Multiple instruction multiple data', and refers to different instructions carried out at the same time on different pieces of data. Super computers are well known to use this type of parallel processing.

Which of the following is the best definition of a 'CISC' processor design?

A Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) is a processor design that has a large number of instructions in the instruction set requiring fewer cycles to achieve the same output as a reduced instruction set computer. However, the design is more complex and less power efficient. CISC computers have a large number of addressing modes and a variable format for instructions.

Which of the following would not be a recommended use for a GPU?

A Graphical Process Unit (GPU) is a specialised form of co-processor which works alongside the main CPU. Unlike a CPU it is highly specialised and is excellent at any job which involves processing many calculations on large data sets. This concept known as Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) is a great candidate for array processing. Something which GPUs are designed to do very well.

Which processor design does the following statement relate to: 'a limited number of addressing modes'?

A Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) is a processor design that has a reduced number of instructions in the instruction set requiring many cycles to achieve the same output as a complex instruction set computer. However, the design is simpler and more power efficient making it ideal for portable devices. RISC computers have a limited number of addressing modes and a fixed format for instructions due to their simplistic design.

Which of the following is the most appropriate definition for a 'GPU'?

A Graphical Process Unit (GPU) is a specialised form of co-processor which works alongside the main CPU. It's most common use is to aid graphics, however due to its specialised nature it is well suited to other tasks designed around Single Instructions Multiple Data (SIMD) such as modelling and data mining.

Which of the following is the best definition for a multicore system?

A multicore system has several sets of CPU components in one microprocessor. A typical example would be a chip multiprocessor (CMP) which houses four CPU cores, more commonly referred to as a quad-core processor. These processors also commonly have inbuilt cache which is shared amongst the cores via an inter-core communication system.

Which processor design does the following statement relate to, 'uses a register-memory approach where the operands for an add operation can be held one in memory and one in a register'?

A Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) is a processor design that has a large number of instructions in the instruction set requiring fewer cycles to achieve the same output as a reduced instruction set computer. However, the design is more complex and less power efficient. CISC computers have a large number of addressing modes and a variable format for instructions.

Which of these statements refers to a 'CISC' architecture?

A Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) is a processor design that has a large number of instructions in the instruction set requiring fewer cycles to achieve the same output as a reduced instruction set computer. However, the design is more complex and less power efficient. CISC computers have a large number of addressing modes and a variable format for instructions.

GPUs take advantage of 'SIMD'. What is meant by this term?

A Graphical Process Unit (GPU) is a specialised form of co-processor which works alongside the main CPU. Unlike a CPU it is highly specialised and is excellent at any job which involves processing many calculations on large data sets. This concept known as Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) is a great candidate for array processing. Something which GPUs are designed to do very well.

Which processor design does the following statement relate to, 'pipelining is possible - that is fetching the next instruction whilst decoding current instruction'?

Although both RISC and CISC are capable of pipelining, for the purposes of exams it is better to suggest that pipelining is a feature of RISC architectures due to their simplistic design.

Which processor design does the following statement relate to, 'usually more power efficient'?

A Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) is a processor design that has a reduced number of instructions in the instruction set requiring many cycles to achieve the same output as a complex instruction set computer. However, the design is simpler and more power efficient making it ideal for portable devices. RISC computers have a limited number of addressing modes and a fixed format for instructions due to their simplistic design.

Which of the following would not be a recommended use for a GPU?

A Graphical Process Unit (GPU) is a specialised form of co-processor which works alongside the main CPU. Unlike a CPU it is highly specialised and is excellent at any job which involves processing many calculations on large data sets. This concept known as Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) is a great candidate for array processing. Something which GPUs are designed to do very well.