The information in this article is current as of October 2026.In recent years, a heated debate has been ongoing in the PC and ...

While an x86 CISC processor can be used for anything, it's not always the best choice. Simplified and highly integrated purpose-built RISC processors are improving efficiency and power in data centers ...

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 ...

Understand RISC, CISC, and pipelining concepts. Compare the features of RISC and CISC architectures. Explain how pipelining improves CPU performance. Apply processor architecture knowledge to ...

Remember how I said that Moore’s Law is “the full-employment act for computer pundits”? In the smaller niche of microprocessor journalism, there used to be another topic that was always good for a ...

Ten years ago, I waded into the then-raging “Mac vs. PC” wars with a lengthy treatise on “RISC vs. CISC: the Post-RISC Era.” In the conclusion to that article, I declared the “RISC vs. CISC” debate ...

Back in 1998, when I first began covering hardware at the newly launched Ars Technica, much of my writing focused on issues raised by the raging Mac vs. PC flame wars that took place in computing ...

A new instruction set by the original creator of MIPS aims to reinvent the ultra-low power, high-efficiency processor -- and to do so with an architecture that's fundamentally open and available to ...

Chris Thomas was a reporter at Android Police from 2022 until 2025. As smartphone users, we carry an incredible amount of computing power in our pockets every day. Even today's most affordable phones ...

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 ...