17 February 2023

Difference Between FPGA and Microprocessor

The performance difference between FPGA and microprocessors. FPGA refers to the performance of several instructions at once, whereas a microprocessor refers to the performance of a single instruction at once. The microprocessor offers greater benefits in serial communication than an FPGA. 

Related article: FPGA Vs GPU

What is FPGA?

FPGA is an abbreviation for field programmable gate array. It is a programmable logic device with a sophisticated architecture that allows them to have a large logic capacity, making them excellent for high gates count designs like server applications and video encoders/decoders. Since FPGAs have a huge number of gates, the internal latency of this semiconductor is sometimes unexpected.

Related article: FPGA Vs Microcontroller

What is a Microprocessor?

A microprocessor is a collection of integrated circuits. It might be a single integrated circuit or a group of integrated circuits. The microprocessor requires arithmetic, logic and control circuits to accomplish computer activities. A microprocessor will comprehend and execute commands. It can also execute arithmetic operations. A microprocessor performs a process such as a clock-driven, register-based digital integrated circuit. 

Related article: Difference between ASIC and FPGA

Difference between FPGA and Microprocessor

  • The frequency range in FPGA is low, and the frequency range in microprocessors is high.
  • The data processing throughput is high in FPGA, But the data processing throughout is low in microprocessors.
  • Microprocessors are more complex than FPGAs.
  • The power consumption in FPGA is high, and the power consumption in the microprocessor is low.
  • The FPGA executes in parallel, and the microprocessor executes sequentially.
  • The development period for FPGA is high, and the development period for the microprocessor is low.
  • Microprocessors have fixed instructions while FPGAs don't.
  • FPGAs and microprocessors are frequently combined in a single device.
  • FPGA is higher data processing throughout. While the microprocessor is lower data processing throughout.
  • Design is expensive in FPGA But, Mircorprocessor is cheap in price.
  • For serial communication operations, FPGAs are not as useful as compare to microprocessors. While in for serial communication-based operations, microprocessors are more useful.
  • FPGA is like an electronics circuit that we design through wires which is built through reconfigurable logic blocks. Whereas, microprocessors execute pieces of code through instruction memory.
Thank you for reading this article. Still, if you have any questions or queries in your mind on the Difference between FPGA and Microprocessor then please ask us in the comment section below. 

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