Renesas' Dual-Core Processor Enhances Data Transfer Using Less Power

Renesas Technology, one of the world's leading semiconductor system solutions providers for mobile, automotive and PC/AV markets, has recently announced its second generation SH7786 dual-core 32-bit processor, designed with a 65nm fabrications process. The new CPU is meant to meet all requirements for car navigation systems, but also for game consoles, digital home electronics and industrial equipment.

 

The company claims that the new processor delivers up to 1.920 million instructions per second (MIPS), operating at a core speed of 533MHz. Part of the company's SuperH family of processors, the new dual-core SH7786 equips a DDR3-SDRAM memory interface that boosts data transfers up to 4.27GB/s, without increasing power consumption, when compared with the previous version, which was manufactured on a 90-nm process.

 

“With its dual SH-4A high-performance 32-bit RISC CPU cores, each of which delivers up to 960 MIPS performance, the SH7786 can process complex data at high speeds for excellent application response. It readily meets the requirements of next-generation car navigation systems that have functions such as graphical display capabilities, high-quality audio reproduction, and image recognition. The faster data-transfer capabilities of the new chip help ensure that the user’s experience is exceptionally impressive, while the decreased power consumption eliminates the need to build bigger power supplies, increase heat-sink size and use larger power wires,” said Paul Sykes, marketing manager, MPU Group, Renesas Technology America.

 

The new 65-nm based SH7786 processor equips two SH-4A CPU cores, and integrates a 32-bit bus working at 533MHz. The processor's on-chip peripheral functions include a high-speed USB 2.0 host, a media access controller featuring the IEEE-802.3 standard, three low-power modes (sleep, light sleep and module standby) and additional peripherals, including display sound and communications functions.

 

Regarding pricing and availability, the company stated that two models would become available for $75, in Q4 this year.