IDT launches new Orion MPU spins

Electronic News, Oct 31, 1994 by Jim DeTar, Anthony Cataldo

SANTA CLARA, CALIF.--Integrated Device Technology and its design partner Quantum Effect Design (QED) took the wraps off new spins of the MIPS-based Orion processor targeted at graphics and embedded systems markets. The R4700 and the R4650 are both derivatives of the triplemetal layer 0.55-micron Orion R4600, which was designed by QED and introduced late last year (EN, Oct. 25, 1993).

The Orion R4700 is pin compatible with its R4600 predecessor but offers double the floating-point performance while retaining certain key attributes that make it easier to design into systems, according to Tom Riordan, president and CEO of Quantum Effect Design (QED).

"The 4700 is a very simple derivative of the new R4600. Basically it improves the floating performance by approximately 50 percent. It takes the multiply/add rate from being six cycles to being four cycles for double precision. It's aimed directly at the higher-end workstation market," Mr. Riordan said.

At 175MHz, the R4700 is capable of more than 3 million floating point operations per second (MFLOPs), making it suitable to handle 3D graphics software standards like OpenGL. Other advancements include higher frequency operation and an improved integer multiply, allowing two fewer cycles than the R4600. The 64-bit architecture and 175MIPS scalar execution engine are also said to contribute to higher computational performance.

The R4700 is capable of achieving a 500MB per second bandwidth and accommodates both write-through cache support and write-back cache support. And like the R4600, the graphics microprocessor includes the FLEXBus system interface, which is said to give designers more control over internal frequency to the system bus. Modes supported divide the microprocessor clock between a factor of two through eight, permitting it to run memory at lower clock speeds.

Packaged in either a 179-pin PGA or a 208-pin Mquad package, the price for the R4700 starts at $220 in 10,000-piece quantities. Available frequencies range from 100-to 175MHz. Samples will be ready by 1Q95; and quantity production is slated for the following quarter.

Meanwhile, the R4650 is being ballyhooed as a low-cost challenger to digital signal processors (DSPs) in embedded systems. The chip combines a fixed- and separate floating-point unit. Its reported fixed-point performance of up to 67 million multiply-accumulates (MACs) is claimed to exceed that of leading fixed-point DSPs by more than 50 percent. Floating-point performance equals 22 million MACs, according to IDT, which translates into 44 million floating point operations per second (MFLOPs).

"The R4650 is also a derivative of the original Orion, but it is definitely not oriented toward minimizing code size, toward minimizing power or any of those sorts of things," Mr. Riordan said. "It is definitely a high-performance embedded controller. If your need is for a very high performance controller, the 4650 is probably a good choice.

Probably the biggest single feature of the 4650 is the improved integer-multiply, and multiply-add capability. The processor will do two-cycle, 16- by 16-bit multiply at the rate of once every two cycles, and will do 32 by 32 in three cycles.

"In order to keep the (die) area down and get this sort of performance, the 4650 uses a very deeply pipelined iterative multiplier, and that multiplier runs at an approximate clock frequency of 1GHz," Mr. Riordan said. "You can extend this same idea to get whatever amount of performance you would like in the digital signal processing or integer/numeric area because you can continue to use that same clock and put things through it at that rate if your algorithm so desires."

IDT claims the R4650, which it rates at 175 dhrystone MIPS, is more than 40 percent faster than Intel's 960HT processor. The CPU is suitable for consumer games, set-top boxes, and printer applications. Featuring 533MB/sec bandwidths, the R4650 includes a 32-bit interface option that is selectable at reset and offers a programmable clock multiplier to derive pipeline frequency. Upgrades over the Orion 4600 include cache locking and an upgraded system debugging capability.

The R4650 is bus- and software-compatible with the Orion family, providing an upgrade path to OEMs. Current Orion users include Cisco Systems, Silicon Graphics, AT&T, Canon and Williams-Midway-BAlly. Scheduled for sampling in 1Q95, R4600 will be offered in 80-, 100- and 133MHz versions in 144-pin QFP, 179-pin PGA and 208-pin Mquad packages. Prices starting at $64 each in 10,000-piece quantities.

AMD Unveils New ISA/Ethernet Device

SUNNYVALE, CALIF.--Advanced Micro Devices introduced a full-duplex version of its single-chip Ethernet controller for ISA plug-and-play PCs.

The PCnet-ISA II singlechip Ethernet controller does the job of a full-duplex Ethernet adapter and can be designed onto a PC mother board or serve as the nucleus for a low-cost adapter. "Users are demanding cost effective products which meet their needs today and in the future," said Andy Robin, AMD's I/O and network products division director. "Full duplex Ethernet solutions are ideal because they work fine in existing networks and can be upgraded by swapping the hub for a full-duplex switch that doubles throughput to 20Mb per second."