- If you see the microcontroller and microprocessor there is hardly any difference between them. They almost most look very identical but they are different in many aspects. They are different in terms of the applications in which they are used. They are different in terms of the cost. They are different in terms of the processing power which they possess and they are different in terms of the power consumption.
- So, first let’s see the different between them in terms of the applications in which they are used. So we consider one example of the microprocessor application is personal computer or laptop. We can using this laptops we can do a lot of stuff like we can use it for the gaming, for web browsing , for photo editing, for creating documents or we can use if for mathematical calculations, simulations or media streaming.
- The microprocessor is basically used in an application where the task in not predefined it depend upon the user or it is used in applications where intensive processing is required while in case of a microcontroller they are used for specific task. So based on the input which are given to the microcontroller, it do some processing and it gives the result as an output. Here the input could be a user input which are coming from the sensors.
- So the example of microcontroller applications is the digital camera, washing machine and a microwave oven. So, if you see all these devices, the task which is going to be performed is predefined. Like in case of a microwave oven, once you set the power and the timing it gives you the cooked food. Likewise in case of a washing machine, once you set the parameters of the machine it gives you the clean and dry clothes so basically a microcontroller is used in applications where the task is predefined.
- Let’s see the difference between in terms of the internal structure. So they can be used for a very light application like creating documents or a very intensive applications like gaming or media streaming. So the amount of memory that is required depend upon the applications. If you see the microcontroller chip it only contains CPU which is central processing unit and all the memory elements and the I/o interface are connected to it externally.
- So in case of a microprocessor memory elements like RAM, ROM, I/O ports, Serial interface and the timers all are connected externally. while in case of a microcontroller as they are used for a specific task the amount of memory and the I/O ports which are required are limited. So in microcontroller all the memory elements and I/O ports are integrated along with the CPU inside a single chip. So the size of a overall system Is much smaller. While in microprocessor the memory elements and I/O ports are connected externally so overall size of the system is larger than the microcontroller.
- Now let’s see the difference between microcontroller and microprocessor in terms of the processing power and memory. So a microprocessors are operated at much higher speed so if you see the clock speed of a microprocessor it is in the range of Giga Hertz. The clock speed varies from the 1 GHz to the 4 GHz for the high-end processors.
- So as microprocessor has to run an operating system the amount of memory that is RAM and ROM which is required is quite high. So if you see the random access memory or RAM which is a volatile memory in the microprocessor, it ranges from 512 MB and it goes upto 32 GB for high end microprocessors. Similarly if you see the ROM in the microprocessor it ranges from the 128 GB and it goes upto 2 TB that is Tera Bytes. And the common peripheral interface which you see in the microprocessor are like USB, high-speed Ethernet and the UART.
- While in case of a microcontroller the clock speed is in the range of Mega Hertz so if you see the clock speed of microcontroller, it ranges from the 1MHz and it goes upto the 300 MHz in the high end microcontrollers. And as these microcontroller are defined for a specific task the amount of memory that is required by them is quite less. So if you see a random access memory or RAM inside the microcontroller it is the range of kilo bytes. It can go from the 2 KB upto the 256 KB.Similarly if you see a flash memory or a programmable memory inside the microcontroller it varies from the 32 KB and it can go upto the 2 MB. And the common peripheral interface which you find inside the microcontroller are I2C, SPI and UART. So basically all these are serial interface which you find in a modern day microcontrollers.
- If you see a modern day microprocessors they are either 32 bit or 64 bit. So 32 bit microprocessor can handle 32 bits of binary data at the same time. Similarly, a 64 bit microprocessor can handle 64 bits of data at the same time. In case of 64 bit of microprocessor all the address bus and the data buses are of a 64 bits. Similarly, a 64 bit microprocessor the address bus and the data buses are of a 32 bits.While if you see modern day microcontroller they are either of 8 bits, 16 bits or 32 bits. So the amount of data which can be handled by a microprocessors in a single cycle is higher than the microcontroller.
- Now, let’s see the difference between microcontroller and microprocessor in terms of the power consumption and cost. So in case of a microprocessor the memory elements and I/O ports are connected externally the overall cost of the system as well as power consumption is higher compared to the microcontrollers.
