SCIENCE

MIPS Technologies has introduced a new processor that offers industry-leading speed for fully-synthesizable multicore IP. With the MIPS32 1074K Coherent Processing System (CPS), companies can now get the high performance of a custom implementation with an off-the-shelf CPU core. The 1074K CPS is the next step in the evolution of MIPS Technologies' coherent multiprocessing (CMP) platforms, hitting the top end of MIPS' performance lineup in a compact area footprint.

Using commercially-available standard cell libraries, memories and EDA design flows, the 1074K CPS approaches production frequencies of 1.5 GHz in 40nm G process. With the 1074K CPS, MIPS Technologies is making multicore performance widely accessible and affordable for companies developing the next generation of internet-connected multimedia products such as digital televisions, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes (STBs). This platform is also targeted for home/wireless networking products as well as tablet computers leveraging the popular Android operating system.

According to Joseph Byrne, an analyst at The Linley Group and author of A Guide to CPU Cores and Processor IP, "We are seeing increasing adoption of multicore solutions across embedded markets as SoC manufacturers hit the limits of the performance a single CPU core can achieve. We are pleased that MIPS Technologies is unveiling its new CMP solution at our Linley Tech Processor Conference. Based on MIPS' synthesis numbers, the 1074K CPS appears to be one of the best multiprocessor IP cores in terms of power and performance. And, putting three cores of this performance level into an area smaller than one Intel Atom CPU presents a compelling value proposition."

"The integration of the web-connected experience into DTVs, STBs, and Blu-ray disc players was a key motivation behind development of the 1074K CPS," said Art Swift, vice president of marketing and business development, MIPS Technologies. "MIPS Technologies has many years of experience in multicore technologies, and we are expanding our multiprocessor leadership with this newest member of our CMP family that makes higher-end multicore performance easy, accessible, and affordable to implement."

MIPS Technologies is seeing increasing adoption of its high-end cores. Its superscalar MIPS32 74K cores have been licensed by more than 20 companies, and its multi-threaded multiprocessing MIPS32 1004K CPS has been licensed by more than 10 companies. The new 1074K CPS already has a yet-to-be-announced lead licensee.

Proven, High-Speed Architecture

The 1074K CPS is built on the proven, superscalar 74K microarchitecture. There are numerous production designs in the market based on the 74K core, and MIPS customers are currently in pre-production with 74K implementations that reach 1GHz. New enhancements to the 74K architecture enhance performance on a variety of C++ applications, including web browsing and JavaScript engines. In addition to these hardware enhancements, MIPS Technologies' ongoing software optimizations have added exponentially more performance on major open source projects such as Webkit. When run on a 1074K platform at 1.5 GHz, a single core can complete the popular Sunspider benchmark for JavaScript engine performance in well under two seconds.

The 1074K CPS provides connectivity of up to four superscalar Out-of-Order (OoO) 74K cores plus system components for clock/power gating management, global interrupt control, program/data trace functionality, and optional L2 cache controller--as a complete coherent multicore solution. When compared to a single, hyper-threaded Intel Atom CPU in its CE4100 SoC, the 1074K CPS configured in a 3-core implementation fits in a smaller silicon footprint and provides nearly 2.5x the performance as measured by the CoreMark benchmark.

The 1074K CPS provides a highly scalable multicore performance migration path for the popular MIPS32 24K and 74K core families.

Choosing Between Coherent Processing Systems

MIPS Technologies offers customers two paths to performance through its CMP products, depending on the specific application. The multi-threaded 1004K CPS provides high performance for applications such as high-end smartphones and advanced set-top boxes where multiple tasks run simultaneously, and real-time response and performance efficiency are key requirements. The new 1074K CPS is targeted for applications such as web-connected DTVs and set-top boxes as well as home/wireless networking, where one or two primary functions in an application require significant performance at low cost.

Robust Ecosystem

The MIPS architecture has been implemented in multicore systems for more than two decades, supported by a robust ecosystem. In addition, since the 1074K CPS is MIPS32-compliant, designers can leverage an extensive base of existing software and tools. The 1074K CPS is supported by tools from CodeSourcery, CriticalBlue and others, including MIPS Technologies' own development tools and probes, and symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) versions of the Linux operating system.

MIPS will also provide accurate and fast simulation models for the 1074K CPS. SoC developers can leverage 100% cycle accurate models--built with technology from Carbon Design Systems--for verification in SystemC and co-simulation environments. Software developers can also take advantage of fast instruction set simulators--developed in conjunction with Imperas--for use in software development and virtual platforms.

Availability

The new 1074K CPS will be generally available in October 2010. Two initial versions of the 1074K CPS will be available: the MIPS32 1074Kc(TM) CPS, which provides a coherent processing system using base integer cores, and the MIPS32 1074Kf(TM) CPS, which includes a floating point unit (FPU) in each core.