RISC

Reduced Instruction Set Computing chipsets such as the MIPS R4000 and R4400 intended to outperform CISC complex instruction chipsets such as the Intel family of popular 386, 486, and Pentium competitors and the Motorola 680x0 family in Mac computers. The concept of RISC evolved from IBM laboratories where it was noted that most routine processing of consumers does not require full use of the processor. RISC processors consume less power and generate less heat than CISC processors powerful enough to compete at the same speed and capacity as RISC processors. They do this by reducing the number of operations and executing multiple instructions in what is known as "superscaler" processing. However, INTEL intends to keep its CISC lines competitive with RISC processors. At this juncture, it is impossible to know who will win the RISC versus CISC processor competitions of the future. The RISC-architecture is the foundation of the new PowerPCs and the PA-RISC systems of Hewlett-Packard Corporation. The HP 32-bit PA-7100 chip, for example, runs about 25% faster than the PowerPC RISC chips and the Pentium CISC chips. A new RISC processor from Texas Instruments called the Multimedia Video Processor is claimed to be 20 to 50 times more powerful than Intel's Pentium. RISC chipsets may become more of a threat to CISC in the form of NexGen alternatives to Pentium that are being manufactured by Alaris for Compaq, IBM, and other major PC manufacturers. (See also Mulimedia Video Processor , NexGen , PowerPC , and CISC )

Stands for "Reduced Instruction Set Computing," pronounced like "risk." It is arguably the fastest and most effiecient microprocessor technology available today. The RISC architechture is an improvement upon the CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computing) architecture used in most Pentium chips. In 1974, John Cocke of IBM Research worked to make an even faster version of the CISC chip, and came up with a result that majorly reduced the number of instructions the chip needed to perform. The new technology was not only faster than CISC chips, but the chips were also easier and less expensive to manufacture. Motorola's PowerPC chips (such as the G4 in Power Macs) are the most widely used RISC-based chips. Intel has slowly been integrating RISC technology into its chips, but they still are mostly CISC-based, which causes the chips to suffer in floating-point calculations.