Cache prefetching is what allows processors to have data and/or instructions ready for use in a fast local cache rather than having to wait for a fetch request to trickle through to system RAM and ...

I've been writing on CPU technology here at Ars for almost five years now, and during that time I've done my best to communicate computing concepts in as plain and accessible a manner as possible ...

Microprocessor units (MPUs) are silicon devices that serve as the central processing unit (CPU) in computers. They contain thousands of electronic components and machine instructions to perform ...

What is million instructions per second (MIPS)? Million instructions per second (MIPS) is a measure of a processor's speed, providing a standard for representing the number of instructions that a ...

A computer instruction is an order given to a computer processor by a computer program. At the lowest level, each instruction is a sequence of 0s and 1s that describes a physical operation the ...

SAN MATEO, Calif. — MIPS Technologies Inc. has entered the race to deliver microprocessor cores that accept custom-made instructions, saying the move gives designers an alternative to hardwired logic ...

A microprocessor is a complex, programmable integrated circuit (IC) on a single chip that can execute instructions. This generally includes CPUs found in computers but also refers to the ...

RISC Microprocessors that use a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) design process a few simple instructions rather than many complex ones in order to speed operations. CISC Microprocessors that ...

Forty years ago today, electronics and semiconductor trade newspaper Electronic News ran an advertisement for a new kind of chip. The Intel 4004, a $60 chip in a 16-pin dual in-line package, was an ...