In January, Analog Devices announced that it is significantly expanding its lineup of Blackfin DSP chips by adding eight new members to the family. (Blackfin is Analog Devices’ low-power, dual-MAC, 16-bit fixed-point architecture.) The new family members execute at speeds of up to 750 MHz (increased from the previous top speed of 600 MHz) and include the first dual-core member of the family. Three of the chips—including the dual-core device—target multimedia applications; one targets wireless handset applications; and four target automotive and industrial applications. Each of the chips includes a variety of peripherals tailored to its target markets.
Two of the new family members are already sampling. The ADSP-BF561, which includes two Blackfin cores, is available at 500, 600, and 750 MHz. Pricing for the ADSP-BF561 is $22.65 for 600 MHz chips and $39.95 for 750 MHz chips in 10K quantities. The single-core ADSP-BF533, which targets portable products such as digital cameras and wireless handsets, is also currently sampling at 750 MHz. Pricing is set at $31.95 for the 750 MHz version and $15.95 for an upcoming 600 MHz version. The ADSP-BF561 and ADSP-BF533 are expected to reach production in the second quarter of 2004, according to ADI. Speeds, pricing, and availability for the remaining six chips have not yet been announced.
Two of the processors’ key competitors come from Texas Instruments. For more demanding applications, Blackfin will be up against the TMS320C64x family, particularly the video-oriented TMS320DM64x chips. TI now offers 1 GHz members of the ’C64x family (see this month's article TI Moves ’C64x to 90 Nanometers, 1 GHz) that are much faster than the new Blackfin chips, but for cost reasons, it’s unlikely that the two will compete head-to-head: the 1 GHz TI chips start at a whopping $189. Blackfin is much more likely to see competition from the ’DM64x chips, which top out at 600 MHz and cost around $35. At 600 MHz, the ’DM6401 BDTImark2000™ score is 5478, compared to the 750 MHz single-core Blackfin score of 4190.
In low-power portable applications, Blackfin will compete with TI’s TMS320C55x. The ’C55x, with a current top clock rate of 300 MHz, is nowhere near as fast as Blackfin; the 300 MHz ’C55x has a BDTImark2000™ score of 1460, compared to the single-core 750 MHz Blackfin’s score of 4190. In addition, Blackfin has an unusual advantage over the ’C55x in that it provides exceptional support for 8-bit operations commonly used in video applications. In its favor, the ’C55x offers partial code compatibility with its predecessor, the ’C54x. Blackfin offers no compatibility with ADI’s earlier fixed-point architecture, the ADSP-21xx.
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