The control unit of a CPU can be implemented in two main ways: Hardwired or Microprogrammed.
1. Hardwired Control Unit:
In a hardwired implementation, the control signals are generated by hardware using logical gates, flip-flops, and other combinational and sequential circuits. The logic is "fixed" into the physical wiring of the chip.
2. Characteristics of Hardwired Control:
• Speed: It is extremely fast because signals propagate through physical gates without needing to fetch instructions from memory.
• Complexity: It is very difficult to design and modify because any change requires a physical redesign of the circuits.
• Efficiency: Used primarily in RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architectures where the instruction set is simple.
3. Contrast with Microprogrammed Control:
Options (1), (3), and (4) generally describe Microprogrammed control, where control signals are stored as "microinstructions" in a special Control ROM (Read-Only Memory).