← 1.2 Computer Organisation and Architecture
How the elements communicate, and instruction sets: RISC and CISC
Computer Studies · Grade 10 · about 40 minutes
Ports, interfaces and controllers; cache and the von Neumann bottleneck; the two instruction set philosophies; and what actually determines performance.
Sign in to read this lesson
Lessons are for learners and teachers with an account. Browsing the curriculum — subjects, strands and what each sub-strand covers — stays open to everyone.
- 6 sections of explanation, worked examples and diagrams
- 1 practice task with hints and worked answers
- A quiz that marks itself as you go
- Your progress kept across every subject you take
Other lessons in this sub-strand
- The von Neumann architecture and its functional elements
- How the elements communicate, and instruction sets: RISC and CISC
- Number systems: binary, octal and hexadecimal
- Architecture and performance