General Purpose Computers vs. Embedded Systems

Feature	General Purpose Computers	Embedded Systems
Definition	Combination of generic hardware and a general-purpose operating system for executing a variety of applications.	Combination of special-purpose hardware and embedded OS for executing a specific set of applications.
Main Processing Unit	Microprocessor	Microcontroller
Operating System	Contains a general-purpose operating system.	May or may not contain an OS, often an RTOS (Real-Time Operating System).
Application Alterability	Applications are alterable by the user.	Applications are non-alterable by the user.
Key Factor	Performance	Application-specific requirements
Power Consumption	More power consumption	Less power consumption
Response Time	Not critical	Critical for some applications
Cost	Mostly costly compared to embedded systems	Cheaper compared to general-purpose computers
Task Handling	Designed to cater to multiple tasks as per requirement	Designed to cater to a predefined task
Execution Behaviour	Need not be deterministic	Execution behaviour is deterministic for certain types like Hard Real-Time systems
Software Complexity	Operating system and software are complicated and occupy more memory space	Operating system (RTOS) and software occupy less memory space