Serial computer

A serial computer is a computer typified by <a href="/facts/Bit-serial_architecture/I7FlkhFk">bit-serial architecture</a> – i.e., internally operating on one <a href="/facts/Bit/RwfjaYSv">bit</a> or <a href="/facts/Numerical_digit/JJdLBoGT">digit</a> for each <a href="/facts/Clock_signal/9UfTzGHx">clock cycle</a>. Machines with serial <a href="/facts/Main_storage/wPHKFpdx">main storage</a> devices such as acoustic or <a href="/facts/Magnetostrictive/hkma4mTU">magnetostrictive</a> <a href="/facts/Delay-line_memory/jHWI7nIv">delay lines</a> and <a href="/facts/Drum_memory/yul0r8nG">rotating magnetic devices</a> were usually serial computers.
Serial computers require much less hardware than their bit-parallel counterparts which exploit <a href="/facts/Bit-level_parallelism/HgFdRBM3">bit-level parallelism</a> to do more computation per clock cycle. There are modern variants of the serial computer available as a <a href="/facts/Soft_microprocessor/pCmb601M">soft microprocessor</a> which can serve niche purposes where the size of the CPU is the main constraint.
The first computer that was not serial and used a <a href="/facts/Parallel_bus/9quqJd8G">parallel bus</a> was the <a href="/facts/Whirlwind_I/IbG8pxYt">Whirlwind</a> in 1951.
A serial computer is not necessarily the same as a computer with a <a href="/facts/1-bit_architecture/ArKvhVbw">1-bit architecture</a>, which is a subset of the serial computer class. 1-bit computer instructions operate on data consisting of single bits, whereas a serial computer can operate on N-bit data widths, but does so a single bit at a time.

Serial computer open-in-new

Serial computer