MIPS Technologies and Virage Logic Announce Lowest Cost, Lowest Power, Highest Performance 333 MHz Embedded Processor
MIPS32(R) 24Kc(TM) Core Plus Virage Logic Memories and Standard Cells Enable High-Speed SoC Designs for Portable Consumer and Communication Devices
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and FREMONT, Calif., Jan. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MIPS Technologies, Inc., (NASDAQ: MIPS), a leading provider of industry- standard processor architectures and cores for digital consumer and business applications, and Virage Logic Corp. (NASDAQ: VIRL), a leading provider of semiconductor intellectual property (IP) platforms, today announced that they have produced a fully-routed design that they believe provides the lowest cost, lowest power processor available today at 333 MHz. The combination of the MIPS32(R) 24Kc(TM) core's high performance and low power with Virage Logic's small footprint standard cell logic and memory IP results in an excellent choice for portable consumer and communication devices.
Using a MIPS32 24Kc core plus Virage Logic's Area, Speed and Power (ASAP) Logic(TM) High-Density (HD) libraries and ASAP Memory(TM) HD memories in a TSMC 0.13G process, the companies have produced a tape-out ready design for a 333 MHz processor in 3.7 mm2, consuming 166.5 mW and delivering 480 Dhrystone MIPS (DMIPS) performance-a 34% smaller core consuming 37% less power and delivering 20% higher performance than an ARM 1136J-S running at 333 MHz. Portable consumer applications-for which this combination is particularly well suited-will increasingly rely on Java-based applications. The fully-routed 24Kc core with Virage Logic libraries and memories delivers 2,664 CaffeineMarks at 333 MHz.
"The MIPS32 24Kc core is the highest-performance, lowest-power processor on the market," said John Bourgoin, MIPS Technologies' president and CEO. "Virage Logic's memories and standard cells are the smallest, highest performance, lowest power available. With this combined technical advantage, designers benefit from the high performance while minimizing power consumption and die size, extending battery life and reducing manufacturing costs. We think this is the best value proposition in the market today for portable consumer applications."
"We're very pleased with the impressive results of this collaborative effort," said Adam Kablanian, Virage Logic's president and chief executive officer. "Consumer devices now make up over half of the $1.3 trillion global electronics market, with portable consumer and communication products making up a growing part of that. The combination of MIPS cores and Virage Logic IP enables engineers to greatly reduce development and system costs, power consumption, design uncertainty, and time-to-market. They come out ahead in the three areas that matter most -- price, performance and power -- and that provides a key competitive advantage."
The MIPS architecture has key design wins in a range of portable consumer applications. OEMs shipping MIPS-Based portable consumer applications include Canon, Casio, Fujifilm, Fujitsu, JVC, Minolta, PENTAX, Philips, Samsung and Sony.
MIPS32 24Kc Core with Virage Logic IP Provides a More Cost-Effective Solution
Below is a comparison between the MIPS Technologies 24Kc core and the ARM Holdings ARM1136J-S core. The 24Kc core referenced below was implemented from released RTL using Virage Logic's ASAP Logic HD libraries and ASAP Memory HD memories and without voltage scaling techniques that can further reduce power consumption.
TSMC 0.13G MIPS32 24Kc ARM1136 Core 24Kc core
Process, both Core with Libraries and compared to
cores with 16KB Virage Logic memories not ARM1136
I-cache and 16KB ASAP Logic HD specified
D-cache Cells and ASAP
Memory HD
Memories
Speed (Worst Case) 333 MHz 333 MHz Same
Performance
efficiency 1.44 DMIPS/MHz 1.2 DMIPS/MHz 20% higher
Performance 480 DMIPS 400 DMIPS 20% higher
Area 3.7 mm2 5.6 mm2 34% smaller
Power 0.5 mW/MHz 0.8 mW/MHz 37% lower
Total Power 167 mW 266 mW 37% lower
Java efficiency,
Direct 8.0
compilation CaffeineMarks/MHz Not specified
Java Performance,
Direct 2,664
compilation CaffeineMarks Not specified
The combination tested was a MIPS32 24Kc core with 16K instruction and 16K data caches, Virage Logic ASAP Memory HD memory and ASAP Logic HD cells compared to an ARM1136J-S, using the performance characteristics posted on ARM's web site as of 1/18/05. The results include all logic, including memory management, cache control and debug on TSMC's 0.13G process; core area with cache includes the core, a 16KB instruction cache and 16KB data cache and all necessary RAM. The numbers quoted for both cores represent fully routed layouts including power-rails and scan insertion. Java performance results are based upon direct compilation using an Esmertec FastDAC direct Java compiler for the MIPS32 24Kc core.
About the MIPS32 24K Core Family
The 24K core family includes the 24Kc, 24Kc Pro, 24Kf and 24Kf Pro versions. The 24K cores, which are synthesizable, can be targeted by customers at various process nodes: in TSMC's 0.13G process the cores exceed 400 MHz, and in the high-performance 0.13 LV-OD low-K process, they will exceed 625 MHz, the highest frequency available today in a 32-bit synthesizable core for embedded markets. Designers have the flexibility to optimize for speed, area or power. In addition, the 24K core family offers the highest known Java performance in the SOC industry, or 5000 Embedded CaffeineMark 3.0 at 625 MHz. It also offers, in the 24Kf core, an integrated, high-performance IEEE 754-compliant floating point unit, which has a certified EEMBC Basic floating-point score of more than 1300 Iterations/MHz.
Development support provided with the cores includes tailored SOC design methodologies from Cadence, Magma and Synopsys, and an OCP interconnect structure. MIPS16e(TM) code compression technology reduces memory requirements, providing significant additional savings in overall system cost.
The MIPS32 24K cores have been licensed to fourteen companies. Publicly announced licensees include Atheros, Kawasaki Microelectonics, LSI Logic, Micronas, PMC-Sierra, Realtek, Scientific Atlanta and TZero.
About Virage Logic's ASAP Logic and ASAP Memory Products
The ASAP Logic product line, based on Virage Logic's proprietary and patented routing methodology and cell architecture, contains application-optimized libraries targeted to unique market requirements. The ASAP Logic Standard Cell Libraries are optimized for area, speed, and power and provide up to a 30 percent increase in utilization when compared to conventional standard cell libraries. The ASAP Memory product line provides the largest selection of silicon-proven embedded memories designed for testability and manufacturability. The product line comprises High-Density (HD) memories optimized for area, High-Speed (HS) memories optimized for speed, and Ultra-Low-Power (ULP) memories optimized for battery-powered and hand-held applications.
Availability
The MIPS32 24Kc core and Virage Logic ASAP Logic High-Density (HD) libraries and ASAP Memory HD memories are available today from their respective companies. For further information, please visit http://www.mips.com/ and http://www.viragelogic.com/.
MIPS Technologies will be presenting more on the results of the MIPS32 24Kc core's high performance and low power with Virage Logic's IP in Virage Logic's extensive series of technical seminars which are being delivered throughout the U.S., Asia/Pacific and Europe beginning January 19, 2005, in Santa Clara, California. Those interested in learning more about the seminar program should visit Virage Logic's web site at http://www.viragelogic.com/. Online registration is now open.
About MIPS Technologies
MIPS Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for digital consumer and business applications. The company drives the broadest architectural alliance that is delivering 32- and 64-bit embedded RISC solutions. The company licenses its intellectual property to semiconductor companies, ASIC developers and system OEMs. MIPS Technologies and its licensees offer the widest range of robust, scalable processors in standard, custom, semi-custom and application-specific products. The company is based in Mountain View, Calif., and can be reached at 650-567-5000 or http://www.mips.com/.
About Virage Logic
Founded in 1996, Virage Logic Corporation quickly established itself as a technology and market leader in providing advanced embedded memory intellectual property (IP) for the design of complex integrated circuits. Virage Logic has evolved to become a global leader in semiconductor IP platforms comprising embedded memories, standard cells, and I/Os primarily for the consumer, communications and networking, handheld and portable, and computer and graphics markets. Virage Logic's highly differentiated product portfolio provides foundries, integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) and fabless customers with key competitive advantages including higher performance, lower power, higher density and optimized yield. The company's comprehensive quality efforts are validated in its FirstPass-Silicon Characterization Lab which is designed to help ensure high quality, reliable IP across a wide range of foundries and process technologies. Headquartered in Fremont, California, Virage Logic has R&D, sales and support offices worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.viragelogic.com/.
NOTE: MIPS, MIPS-Based, MIPS32, 24K, 24Kc and 24Kf are trademarks or registered trademarks of MIPS Technologies, Inc. in the United States and other countries. ASAP Logic and ASAP Memory are trademarks or registered trademarks of Virage Logic, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks referred to herein are the property of their respective owners.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including those regarding the ability of MIPS Technologies and Virage Logic to complete the development and introduction of their products and their management of expenses. Actual events or results may differ materially. Many factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: our products may fail to achieve market acceptance, changes in our research and development expenses, the anticipated benefits of our partnering relationships may be more difficult to achieve than expected, the timing of or delays in customer orders, delays in the design process, the length of MIPS Technologies' and Virage Logic's sales cycles, MIPS Technologies' and Virage Logic's ability to develop, introduce and market new products and product enhancements, and the level of demand for semiconductors and end-user products that incorporate semiconductors. With respect to MIPS Technologies, we refer you to the documents filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2004 and subsequent Forms 10-Q and 8-K. With respect to Virage Logic, we refer you to the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended September 30, 2004, and in Virage Logic's other periodic reports filed with the SEC.
CONTACT: John Donovan of MIPS Technologies, +1-650-567-5124, or
johnd@mips.com; or Sabina Burns of Virage Logic, +1-510-743-8115, or
sabina.burns@viragelogic.com
Web site: http://www.viragelogic.com/
Web site: http://www.mips.com/
|
