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Difference between Microprocessor & Microcontroller

Posted on August 13, 2015May 18, 2025 By vlsifacts 1 Comment on Difference between Microprocessor & Microcontroller

When someone start dealing with Microprocessor; a very common doubt always strikes out in the initial phase: “What is the difference between Microprocessor and Microcontroller?”

Microprocessor Vs Microcontroller

Let’s Define both microprocessor and microcontroller and then we will compare them.

Microprocessor:

Microprocessor
Microprocessor Block Diagram and it’s Interfacing

We mean by a microprocessor that all the components of a CPU (Central Processing Unit): ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit), Registers, Timing & Control Unit, Interface (to external memory and I/O devices) would be fabricated on a single chip. So, the microprocessor can be called as “CPU-on-a-Chip”.

Microcontroller:

Microcontroller
Microcontroller Block Diagram

In case of a Microcontroller; not only the CPU but RAM, ROM, I/O ports, Timer/Counter, Serial I/Os all are put together on a single chip. So, microcontroller can be termed as “Computer-on-a-Chip”.

Comparison between Microprocessor & Microcontroller:

MicroprocessorMicrocontroller
CPU-on-a-ChipComputer-on-a-Chip
General PurposeTask Specific
Used in Computer SystemsUsed in Embedded Systems
Memory and I/O components are interfaced externallyOn-chip Memory and I/O Components
Since external components interfaced, so the whole system is larger and costlySince On-chip components, so system is smaller and cheaper
In Microprocessor based system, Instruction and data are stored in same memory moduleIn Microcontroller based system, program memory and data memory are separate

Other than these differences, there are many other application based difference between microprocessor and microcontroller. Though microcontroller based system is smaller, cheaper, faster and less power consuming than the microprocessor based system; we should realize that a microprocessor is a heart of a microcontroller. Also the application area of both are different. Where a microprocessor is used for general purpose computation, at the same time microcontroller is used in specific embedded system application. So we should not have the confusion that why microcontroller is not replacing the microprocessor.

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Embedded System Tags:8051, 8085, Microcontroller, Microprocessor

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Comment (1) on “Difference between Microprocessor & Microcontroller”

  1. Vinod kumar singh says:
    August 23, 2015 at 6:49 am

    Nice work

    Reply

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