Contact Information: Contacts: ARM PRESS OFFICE: +44 208 846 0797 Haran Ramachandran Text 100 +44 208 846 0727 Claudia Natalia ARM +1 408 548 3172 Mike Gehl Intrinsity, Inc. +1 970.376.7811 Michelle Spencer ARM +44 1628 427780 Nancy Green William-Baldwin Group +1 650 856 6192
ARM and Intrinsity Boost Performance of Cortex-R4 Processor
Cortex-R4X Processor Implementations to Double Maximum Operating Frequency for Storage, Printer and Networking Applications
| Source: Intrinsity
CAMBRIDGE, UK and AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwire - July 23, 2007) - ARM (LSE : ARM ) (NASDAQ : ARMHY )
and Intrinsity, Inc. today announced their agreement to produce
high-performance implementations of the ARM® Cortex family of processors.
The first of these will be implementations of the Cortex-R4 processor
operating at around twice the frequency achievable using standard synthesis
techniques on the same silicon process. The Cortex-R4X processor
implementations are available for licensing from ARM immediately.
The processor implementations incorporate Intrinsity's Fast14® 1-of-N
Domino Logic (NDL) technology, which enables faster circuit speeds while
minimizing power consumption and area. With its ultra-fast processing
speeds, the ARM Cortex-R4X processor implementations enable higher capacity
and data rates without increasing unit costs for very high-volume, deeply
embedded applications such as hard disk drives, printers and networking
equipment.
"Mass storage, printing and networking applications need ever increasing
levels of performance to handle higher data rates, more media services and
new functionality such as encryption," said Graham Budd, executive vice
president and general manager, Processor Division, ARM. "Through this
relationship we can extend the performance range of the Cortex-R4 processor
to meet these requirements and those of new market domains."
The Cortex-R4X processor implementations incorporate all of the advanced
features of the popular Cortex-R4 processor. These enable the execution of
complex control algorithms and real-time workloads in next-generation
embedded systems, while maximizing power efficiency. The extremely flexible
local memory architecture enables the tightly coupled memory (TCM) to be
unified into a single logical address space while providing the same
performance as cache memory.
Straightforward direct memory access (DMA) support for the TCM extends the
use of this memory for shared buffers and streaming data. In addition, all
versions of the Cortex-R4 processor offer embedded Error Correcting Code
(ECC) technology which monitors memory accesses to detect and correct
errors, providing very high reliability and availability. The advanced
AMBA® 3 AXI compliant bus interfaces allow high performance memory
backplanes to be implemented using the ARM PrimeCell® portfolio.
Various configurations of the Cortex-R4 processor will be available as
Cortex-R4X implementations, on a range of silicon processes. The first
implementation will operate at 600MHz under worst-case operating conditions
on the TSMC 65LP process. As a cycle-accurate implementation of the
Cortex-R4 processor it executes all the same software binaries, and is
fully supported by the RealView® Development Suite. Standard Cortex-R4
processor models can be used for cycle accurate modelling of the Cortex-R4X
processor implementation with RealView SoC Designer, offering rapid
prototyping and architectural exploration.
"Intrinsity FastCores incorporate Fast14 technology, and we use this to
enable breakthrough embedded processor performance with very low power
consumption," said Bob Russo, CEO, Intrinsity. "By working closely with ARM
on the development of the Cortex-R4X processor implementations, together we
will be able to reach a much broader base of designers who are looking for
ways to achieve higher performance without sacrificing power efficiency and
bring new SoCs to market quickly."
Availability
The Cortex-R4X processor implementation is available for licensing from ARM
immediately, with delivery expected in Q1 2008. ARM Partners will be able
to choose among a range of off-the-shelf fixed configurations, with the
option to order custom configurations as needed. Further information is
available at www.ARM.com.
About Intrinsity
Intrinsity, Inc. develops high-performance embedded IP, cores called
FastCores, using its proprietary Fast14 design technology. Intrinsity's
FastCore and Fast14 technologies yield dramatic performance increases over
cores built using synthesized static technologies that trade-off speed,
power and area to achieve the optimal solution to customer design targets.
More information on Intrinsity is available at http://www.intrinsity.com.
About ARM
ARM designs the technology that lies at the heart of advanced digital
products, from mobile, home and enterprise solutions to embedded and
emerging applications. ARM's comprehensive product offering includes
16/32-bit RISC microprocessors, data engines, graphics processors, digital
libraries, embedded memories, peripherals, software and development tools,
as well as analog functions and high-speed connectivity products. Combined
with the company's broad Partner community, they provide a total system
solution that offers a fast, reliable path to market for leading
electronics companies. More information on ARM is available at
http://www.arm.com.
ARM is a registered trademark of ARM Limited. Cortex is a trademark of ARM
Limited. All other brands or product names are the property of their
respective holders. "ARM" is used to represent ARM Holdings plc; its
operating company ARM Limited; and the regional subsidiaries ARM INC.; ARM
KK; ARM Korea Ltd.; ARM Taiwan; ARM France SAS; ARM Consulting (Shanghai)
Co. Ltd.; ARM Belgium N.V.; AXYS Design Automation Inc.; AXYS GmbH; ARM
Embedded Solutions Pvt. Ltd.; and ARM Physical IP, Inc.; and ARM Norway AS.
Fast14 is a registered trademark of Intrinsity, Inc. FastCore is a
trademark of Intrinsity, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their
respective holders.