Signal Processing on the MIPS 74K

MIPS, Inc. is a leading vendor of 32-bit licensable processor cores that are commonly found in set-top boxes and cable modems, among other products. In recent years, MIPS has augmented its cores with DSP features to increase their performance on the signal processing tasks increasingly found in their target applications.

In 2007 MIPS announced a new high-performance core, the 74K. The 74K is a dual-issue superscalar core that supports MIPS' next generation of DSP-oriented instruction set extensions, called DSP ASE Rev 2. (DSP ASE Rev 1 is used in the 74K's predecessor, the 24KE core, and in MIPS's multi-threaded 34K core.) The 74K core targets demanding multimedia and networking applications, such as WiMAX, DVD players, and VoIP. According to MIPS, the 74K core is fully synthesizable and operates at up to 1.11 GHz in a 65 nm process.

BDTI recently completed an evaluation of the 74K's signal processing features and suitability for its target applications. In this article, we'll share some highlights of our analysis.

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