Applications today require more and more processing power
within existing system power budgets - a big challenge for developers. Fortunate
for developers, Freescale is providing many options for increasing processing
capabilities without dramatically increasing power consumption. Your decision
just depends on the amount of processing you need. Three new product architectures
from Freescale have been disclosed - all based on the e600 core built on
Power Architecture technology, and leveraging 90 nanometer silicon-on-insulator
(SOI) technology.
MPC8641D Dual Core Processor
Freescale has leveraged its expertise in building high-performance processors
and highly integrated communications processors to design the MPC8641D
Dual Core Processor. This processor integrates two e600 cores, two memory
controllers, Ethernet controllers, a RapidIO™ fabric interface, a
PCI Express I/O interface, and a high performance MPX bus that scales to
667 MHz. It's one powerful processor, but it doesn't break the power budget.
The MPC8641D supports flexible software implementations: symmetric
multiprocessing (SMP) and Asymmetric multiprocessing. With SMP, one operating
system runs on both cores, but from a programming perspective, it appears
that the developer is writing a program for a single core. With Asymmetric
multiprocessing, two instances of the same operating system or two entirely
separate operating systems can be run on the two cores, largely unaware of
each other.
MPC8641 Processor
The MPC8641 is a single core version of the dual core processor with the
same level of peripheral integration - but at a lower power point. This
processor is an excellent option for developers needing additional processing
provided by the e600 core combined with integrated memory controllers and
high-speed interfaces. It is also pin-for-pin compatible with the dual
core processor.
MPC7448 Processor
The MPC7448 represents another performance leap in Freescale's discrete processor
line. It provides more than 1.5GHz processing power, increased L2 cache
(1MB), and a higher-speed bus than its predecessors. It is also pin-for-pin
and software compatible with the MPC74xx processors - an easy drop-in to
those existing designs. But the MPC7448 keeps the power low, able to consume
less than 10 Watts running at 1.4 GHz.
Processor Comparison
| Processor |
Single e600 PowerPC core, up
to 1.7GHz, 2.3MIPS/MHz |
Single e600 PowerPC core, up
to 1.33GHz, 2.3MIPS/MHz |
Dual e600 PowerPC core, up
to 1.5GHz each, 2.3MIPS/MHz |
Caches
(per core) |
L1: 32kB I/D
L2: 1MB with ECC |
Alti Vec
Engine |
Yes - includes performance
improvement of out-of-order instructions |
| Memory Controller |
Separate System Controller,
200MHz bus |
Dual 64b DDR2, up to 533MHz
with ECC |
Dual 64b DDR2, up to 600MHz
with ECC |
| Fabric Interface |
None |
Serial RapidIO®, 1x/4x
at up to 2.5Gb/s per lane |
| Local I/O Interface |
None |
Dual PCI Express, x1/x2/x4/x8,
2.0Gb/s per lane |
| Voltage |
1.05V |
1.1V |
| Reliability |
10 yrs at 105°C |
| Technology |
90nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) |
| Package |
360-pin HiCTE ceramic
25mm x 25mm |
1023-in HiCTE ceramic
33mm x 33mm |
