Topic: What is a Microcontroller(µC) and how it differs from Microprocessors!!!
MICROPROCESSORS :
Microprocessor is an IC which has only the CPU inside them i.e. only the processing powers. There are no Ram, Rom or other peripherals on chip. So to make a microprocessor functional, the user has to add them externally. That is why we can easily add/change Ram or hard disk without bothering about the microprocessor such as Intel’s Pentium 1,2,3,4, core 2 duo, i3, i5 etc. The processing speed of MPUs now a days are above 1Ghz.
MICROPROCESSORS :
Microprocessor is an IC which has only the CPU inside them i.e. only the processing powers. There are no Ram, Rom or other peripherals on chip. So to make a microprocessor functional, the user has to add them externally. That is why we can easily add/change Ram or hard disk without bothering about the microprocessor such as Intel’s Pentium 1,2,3,4, core 2 duo, i3, i5 etc. The processing speed of MPUs now a days are above 1Ghz.
MICROCONTROLLERS :
It has a CPU, in addition with a fixed amount of RAM, ROM and other peripherals all embedded on a single chip. At times it is also termed as a mini computer or a computer on a single chip. The processing speed is in the range of Mhz, like AVR microcontrollers mostly run with a 12mhz/16mhz on board crystal oscillator which serves as the processing speed or simply the heart beat of the system.
It has a CPU, in addition with a fixed amount of RAM, ROM and other peripherals all embedded on a single chip. At times it is also termed as a mini computer or a computer on a single chip. The processing speed is in the range of Mhz, like AVR microcontrollers mostly run with a 12mhz/16mhz on board crystal oscillator which serves as the processing speed or simply the heart beat of the system.
**In brief, Microprocessor Units (MPU) are much faster than Microcontroller Unit (MCU), but MCUs are way too cheap. Although they can't be compared with price and neither can they replace each other's existence.
