tag: CPU

The Mightier Microcontroller
By Ed Sperling - 26 May, 2016 - Comments: 1

Microcontrollers are becoming more complex, more powerful, and significantly more useful, but those improvements come with strings attached. While it's relatively straightforward to develop multi-core microcontroller (MCU) hardware with advanced power management features, it's much more difficult to write software for these chips because memory is limited. CPUs can use on-chip memory such as... » read more

Convolutional Neural Networks Power Ahead
By Ann Mutschler - 18 Apr, 2016 - Comments: 0

While the term may not be immediately recognizable, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are already part of our daily lives—and they are expected to become even more significant in the near future. [getkc id="261" kc_name="Convolutional neural networks"] are a form of machine learning modeled on the way the brain's visual cortex distinguishes one object from another. That helps explain wh... » read more

Coherency, Cache And Configurability
By Ann Mutschler - 24 Mar, 2016 - Comments: 0

Coherency is gaining traction across a wide spectrum of applications as systems vendors begin leveraging heterogeneous computing to improve performance, minimize power, and simplify software development. Coherency is not a new concept, but making it easier to apply has always been a challenge. This is why it has largely been relegated to CPUs with identical processor cores. But the approach ... » read more

How Many Cores? (Part 1)
By Ed Sperling - 10 Mar, 2016 - Comments: 2

The optimal number of processor cores in chip designs is becoming less obvious, in part due to new design and architectural options that make it harder to draw clear comparisons, and in part because just throwing more cores at a problem does not guarantee better performance. This is hardly a new problem, but it does have a sizable list of new permutations and variables—right-sized heteroge... » read more

How To Choose A Processor
By Ann Mutschler - 10 Dec, 2015 - Comments: 0

Choosing a processor might seem straightforward at first glance, but like many engineering challenges it's harder than it looks. When is a CPU better than a GPU, MCU, DSP or other type of processor? And for what design—or part of a design? For decades, the CPU has been the default choice. “It is deliberately designed to be pretty efficient at all tasks, is straightforward to program, ... » read more

Can The IoE Ever Be Secure?
By Ed Sperling - 07 Dec, 2015 - Comments: 2

There are many different opinions about how the [getkc id="76" comment="Internet of Things"]/[getkc id="260" comment="Internet of Everything"] ultimately will look, who is best positioned to take advantage of it, and how processing will be split between local devices, the cloud, and everything in between. But there is almost universal agreement on one point: It's not secure enough. "In the p... » read more

High Speed Memory Interface Chipsets Let Server Performance Fly
By Rambus - 11 Nov, 2015 - Comments: 0

The demands on server performance continue to increase at a tremendous pace. New requirements from large in-memory databases that are powering today’s cloud services and advanced analytics tools are arriving just as the impact of Moore’s Law is starting to slow. This is setting up a classic performance challenge that requires rethinking some of the core elements of today’s server archit... » read more

Custom Versus Platform Design
By Ed Sperling - 26 Feb, 2015 - Comments: 0

The increase in [getkc id="81" kc_name="SoC"] complexity is being mirrored by a rise in complexity within the markets that drive demand for those chips. The upshot is that a push toward greater connectivity, lower power and better performance—and all for a minimal cost—has turned the pros and cons for custom design vs. platforms and superchips into a murky decision-making process. For t... » read more

Surprises Abound As Subsystem IP Gains Prominence
By The SE Staff - 28 Feb, 2013 - Comments: 0

What’s new in the world of subsystem intellectual property? To find out, System-Level Design sat down with Richard Wawrzyniak, senior market analyst for ASICs and SoCs at Semico Research Corp. What follow are excerpts of that conversation. SLD: You mentioned that the cost of semiconductor intellectual property (IP) at 20nm and below is increasing. Why is that? Wawrzyniak: The reason is c... » read more

Four Factors Driving Processor Choices
By Ed Sperling - 12 Jul, 2012 - Comments: 0

By Ed Sperling Choosing processors for an SoC, a system-in-package, or even a complete system is becoming much more difficult, and the challenge is growing as demands on performance, power, area and time to market continue to increase. There are many reasons why this is becoming more difficult—and some designs will require more tradeoffs than others, depending upon IP re-use or a particul... » read more

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