2001 Paper 7 Question 3
Comparative Architectures
A processor is to be selected for use in a battery powered embedded device that
will incorporate the functions of a mobile phone, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA),
web browser, and audio/video player.
(a) Discuss how the above requirements might influence the instruction set
architecture, micro-architecture, and physical implementation of a processor
suitable for the above device. [15 marks]
(b) Describe how you would go about determining whether a candidate CPU
would provide sufficient performance to implement fully the embedded device’s
specification. [5 marks