Texas Instruments Launches TMS320C66x DSP Generation Enhancing Existing

Texas Instruments (News - Alert) Incorporated (TI) introduced the newest digital signal processor (DSP) in the TMS320C66x DSP generation, the TMS320C6671 device. It also makes enhancements to its TMS320C6670 radio System-on-Chip (SoC).

Based on TI's multicore architecture, the C6671 DSP is said to be the industry's fastest and highest performing fixed-and floating-point single core device. It offers a compelling choice for developers wanting to ease into the world of multicore. At the same time, TI's enhanced C6670 radio SoC delivers double the power/performance improvement over existing SoC solutions for communications-centric applications.

TI's C6671 DSP, the first 1.25 GHz single core member of the C66x DSP generation, utilizes a strategic design approach that familiarizes developers with multicore devices. Customers do not need the expertise of working with such a device. Designing with the C6671 DSP, they will benefit from TI's benchmark-busting multicore features including increased number of peripherals and memory per core, and fixed-and floating-point performance on a single device.

If more performance is needed down the road, developers using TI’s C6671 DSP can test out whether or not multicore devices suit their needs and explore options for migrating their designs to other processors in TI's C66x DSP portfolio. By offering pin and software compatible platforms across TI's TMS320C6672, TMS320C6674 and TMS320C6678 multicore DSPs, customers are said to be more easily design integrated, power and cost-efficient products for high-performance markets. These markets include mission critical, public safety and defense, medical and high-end imaging, test and automation, high-performance computing and core networking.

TI enhances C6670 radio SoC which is a 1.2 GHz four core device and boasts improved accelerators for communications-centric applications including software defined radios (SDRs), public safety and emerging broadband radio systems. The added enhancements to the C6670 radio SoC include a new multistandard Bit Rate Coprocessor (BCP) as well as other coprocessors that accelerate physical layer processing for LTE, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA and WiMAX (News - Alert). As a result, it increases system capacity and performance with low latency. In addition, the well balanced programmable CPU cores and configurable accelerators enable software defined radios with a simplified programming model. With the addition of improved accelerators, developers can develop multistandard communications-centric solutions for the industry.

Earlier, TI has updated its multicore software and tools, including a free multicore software development kit (MCSDK), Linux software, optimized libraries and support for the OpenMP programming model. While manufacturers can develop a wider portfolio of solutions with TI's software offerings, these offerings can simplify developers' migration to multicore solutions.

TI offers evaluation modules (EVMs) to help developers quickly get started with designs using the C6670, C6671, C6672, C6674, or C6678 DSPs. The TMDXEVM6670L and TMDXEVM6678L sell for $399 each. The package include a free MCSDK, Code Composer Studio (CCS) integrated development environment (IDE) and suite of application/demo codes to allow programmers to quickly come up to speed on the new platform. Order entry has already opened for the C6671 DSP, C6670 radio SoC and EVMs. Pricing for the C6671 DSP starts at $79 for 1Ku.

In related news, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) has announced the availability of a new software-defined wideband transmit and receive signal processor, GC6016. This package include digital up and down converter (DUC/DDC), transmit, receive, and capture buffer blocks.