NEC Electronics America Announces EEMBC Benchmark Scores for 50-MHz, 32-Bit V850E Microcontroller and 266-MHz VR4133 MIPS-Based Microprocessor

SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 7, 2004 – In a move to provide designers with further objective performance data for its microcontroller and microprocessor products, NEC Electronics America, Inc., today announced the publication of new certified EEMBC® benchmark scores for its 50-megahertz (MHz), 32-bit V850E™ microcontroller and 266-MHz, 64-bit VR4133™ MIPS®-based RISC microprocessor.

"The V850E controller and VR4133 processor scores are the latest in our long-term and continuing effort to provide independent benchmark results that show the advantages of NEC Electronics architectures," said David Lamar, senior marketing manager, microcontroller strategic business unit, NEC Electronics America, and chairman, EEMBC, 8-/16-Bit Microcontroller Subcommittee. "With this announcement, there are now more than 60 score reports for NEC Electronics' 8-, 32- and 64-bit devices to help guide designers in choosing the right processor for their applications."

In a first for EEMBC benchmark scores, two tests were performed on the V850E microcontroller in each of EEMBC's five application-focused suites, allowing designers to observe, respectively, the effect of settings that minimize code size usage and settings that maximize speed. The Green Hills MULTI® 2000 for V800 V4.0.1 compiler was used to obtain the 10 resulting out-of-the-box device scores, which were verified by the EEMBC Certification Labs (ECL).

NEC Electronics V850E Microcontroller Consolidated Score Table

"By making these two types of scores available, NEC Electronics gives designers a clear indication of device performance in memory-constrained applications versus higher-end applications where maximum execution speed is a must," said Markus Levy, president, EEMBC. "This is the type of real engineering information that more EEMBC members should present because it provides system designers with valuable data points that indicate the impact of trade-offs they will encounter in real-world applications."

A comparison of the new V850E microcontroller scores with previous certified benchmark results for the same device further demonstrates the impact of code size optimization on performance. Compared with previous numbers for the automotive industrial suite, for example, code size usage was reduced in the new tests by approximately 30 percent, but the impact on performance was negligible.

Comparison With Previous Benchmark Results

NEC Electronics' V850E 32-bit microcontrollers are designed for real-time control applications in systems ranging from office machines to multimedia systems such as digital still cameras, DVD players and video printers. The devices integrate a 32-bit CPU, ROM, RAM, interrupt controller, real-time pulse unit, serial interface, A/D converter, DMA controller and other functions on a single chip.

Also announced today were scores for the NEC Electronics 266-MHz, 64-bit VR4133 MIPS-based RISC microprocessor. Tested against all five EEMBC application suites, the device achieved consolidated scores of 108.5 Automarks, 23.9 Consumermarks, 3.8 Netmarks, 216.3 OAmarks, and 4.5 Telemarks. The ECL-certified Automark, OAmark, and Telemark results were obtained using the Green Hills MULTI 2000 for MIPS V4.0.1 compiler, while the certified Consumermark and Netmark scores were obtained using the Red Hat® gcc version 3.2-vr4x5x-030102 compiler.

NEC Electronics' high-performance VR4133 processor delivers ultra-low power consumption for applications including updateable embedded devices, wireless LAN access points, SOHO access points, low-power data routers, industrial and medical devices, information appliances and storage systems. Employing the MIPS I, II and III instruction sets, the VR4133 core features cache memory, a two-way superscalar pipeline, memory management unit and SysAD internal bus. The 133-MHz internal SysAD bus connects the CPU core to the other major units of the processor. The integrated peripherals include a sophisticated security processor, two Ethernet MACs, DMA interface, serial interfaces, IrDA® interface, and a real-time clock. The VR4133 processor also has a 32-bit external memory bus and a 33-/66-MHz PCI bus interface for external devices.

EEMBC, the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium, develops and certifies real-world benchmarks and benchmark scores to help designers select the right embedded processors for their systems. Every processor submitted for EEMBC benchmarking is tested for parameters representing different workloads and capabilities in communications, networking, consumer, office automation, automotive/industrial, embedded Java, and microcontroller-related applications. Detailed benchmark scores for the V850E microcontroller and VR4133 microprocessor are available free on the EEMBC website at www.eembc.org.

About NEC Electronics America, Inc.
NEC Electronics America, Inc., headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is a wholly owned subsidiary of NEC Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), a leading provider of semiconductor products encompassing advanced technology solutions for the broadband and communications markets; system solutions for the mobile, PC, automotive and digital consumer markets; and platform solutions for a wide range of customer applications. NEC Electronics America offers a local manufacturing facility in Roseville, California, and the global manufacturing capabilities of its parent company. NEC Electronics America is also the North American marketing and sales channel, specializing in industrial applications, for active-matrix LCDs from NEC LCD Technologies, Ltd., a global leader in innovative display technologies. More information about the products offered by NEC Electronics America, Inc. can be found at http://www.necelam.com.

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NEC Electronics America, Inc., V850E, VR Series, and VR4133 are either registered trademarks or trademarks of NEC Electronics Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. EEMBC, Automark, Consumermark, Netmark, OAmark and Telemark are either registered trademarks or trademarks of the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium. MIPS is a registered trademark of MIPS Technologies. IrDA is a registered trademark of the Infrared Data Association. MULTI is a registered trademark of Green Hills Software, Inc. in the United States and/or internationally. Red Hat is a registered trademark of Red Hat, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.