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 ...

There was a time when owning a computer meant you probably knew most or all of the instructions it could execute. Your modern PC, though, has a lot of instructions, many of them meant for specialized ...

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 ...

Most processors run a single instruction set. But the ARM1026EJ-S implements four in hardware, including 32-bit ARM instructions, 16-bit ARM Thumb instructions, ARM DSP instructions, and Java ...

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 ...

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 ...

This paper presents an instruction set simulator of a 32-bit CPU and explains its use in embedded software development. Interaction of the ISS with transaction level model of a complex peripheral ...

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 ...