The fundamental sequence of steps that a CPU performs. Also known as the "fetch-execute cycle," it is the process whereby a single instruction is executed. The first half of the cycle transfers the ...

A measure of how a given piece of code or the entire application is performing is to look at the average number of cycles that are needed to retire an instruction. This is an indication of how much ...

We all think of the CPU as the "brains" of a computer, but what does that actually mean? What is going on inside with the billions of transistors that make your computer work? In this four-part series ...

Despite the minor change in digits to Arm’s latest CPU moniker, the latest processor design is a significant release for the company powering Android smartphones everywhere. The Cortex-A76 is a ground ...

Part one of this two-part article discussed current trends impacting the evolution of data processing architectures, including the implications of higher transistor budgets afforded by Moore’s Law, ...

There’s always some debate around what style of architecture is best for certain computing applications, with some on the RISC side citing performance per watt and some on the CISC side citing ...

For the unaware, IPC (instructions per cycle) provides a good indicator of how fast a processor is and having both a high IPC with a high operating frequency is the best combination for maximum ...