Try to investigate the differences between the x86 and ARM processor families (or x86 and the Apple M1), and you'll see the acronyms CISC and RISC. It's a common way to frame the discussion, but not a ...

Prompted by the chipmaker's announcement of the SSE5 instruction-set extensions, Glaskowsky analyzes the ultimate outcome to this old controversy. Peter N. Glaskowsky is a computer architect in ...

I was just wanting to know if anyone can tell me if the new athlon mp and xp's are risc chips or if they went to cisc. I know the older AMD chips were all RISC, but not sure of the newer ones. When ...

A computer processor uses a so-called Instruction Set Architecture to talk with the world outside of its own circuitry. This ISA consists of a number of instructions, which essentially define the ...

The Mac's best quality: software A Pioneer Press piece opines that the best part of the Macintosh platform is elegant, well-designed software. "So what does Macintosh have going for it? The most ...

It’s easy to look at the benchmark numbers of Apple’s home-grown processor with wide, astonished eyes—and some heart-felt expletives, too. The M1 is no doubt impressive enough to capture the interest ...

At WWDC, Apple announced a radical change to its computers. The company is dropping Intel as its CPU provider, and will be transitioning its laptops and desktops to custom Apple-designed chips over ...

For months, Apple has been fighting a battle to convince folks that megahertz (MHz) isn’t the most important statistic in determining the speed of a computer. Apple hasn’t made much headway, but ...

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More ARM is the most successful microprocessor architecture on the planet, ...

The RISC-V Summit North America, held on 22-23 October 2025 in Santa Clara, California, showcased the latest CPU cores featuring new vector processors, high-speed interfaces, and peripheral subsystems ...

SAN JOSE–Looking to alter the embedded chip landscape, startup MemoryLogix Inc. took the Microprocessor Forum last week to unveil the company and disclose the development of a “586-based ...

The Power architecture doesn’t get the attention it deserves. With Power5 servers finally shipping, even non-Big Blue shops should take look again If all things were equal and IBM made its systems as ...