Digital ICs/DSP: 64-Bit MIPS-Compatible CPU Clocks At Up To 666 MHz

Aug. 23, 2004

Top clock speeds of 533 to 666 MHz are possible with the TX9956CXBG, the company's first standard 64-bit processor to employ the TX99/H4 CPU core. The CPU can simultaneously execute two instructions to deliver a peak throughput of over 1200 MIPS. It's also software-compatible with all previous MIPS processors. Subsets in the instruction set include the 64-bit instructions of the MIPS64 ISA for high performance and the MIPS-3D ASE for graphics and multimedia. On chip are 32-kbyte instruction and data caches (four-way, set-associative) and a 256-kbyte level 2 cache. Housed in a 272-contact plastic BGA package, the CPU can operate from either a 2.5- or 3.3-V supply. Samples of the CPU are available immediately, selling for $45 each in 100-unit lots.

Toshiba Corp.www.chips.toshiba.com

About the Author

Dave Bursky

Technologist

Dave Bursky, the founder of New Ideas in Communications, a publication website featuring the blog column Chipnastics – the Art and Science of Chip Design. He is also president of PRN Engineering, a technical writing and market consulting company. Prior to these organizations, he spent about a dozen years as a contributing editor to Chip Design magazine. Concurrent with Chip Design, he was also the technical editorial manager at Maxim Integrated Products, and prior to Maxim, Dave spent over 35 years working as an engineer for the U.S. Army Electronics Command and an editor with Electronic Design Magazine.