PowerPC e6500
Encyclopedia
The PowerPC e6500 is a multithreaded
64-bit
Power Architecture
-based microprocessor
core
from Freescale Semiconductor
. e6500 will power the entire range of QorIQ AMP Series system on a chip (SoC) processors which share the common naming scheme: "Txxxx". Hard samples, manufactured on a 28 nm process, will be available in early 2012 with full production later in 2012.
with four cores combined into a CPU Cluster, sharing a large L2 cache and the e6500 cores supports up to eight CPU Clusters for very large multiprocessing implementations. The core is the first multithreaded core designed by Freescale and reintroduces an enhanced version of AltiVec
to their products. The multithreading allows for two virtual cores per hard core and one virtual core in an e6500 can often perform better than an entire e5500 core since Freescale essentially duplicated a lot of logic instead of just virtualizing it, in addition to other enhancements to the core.
Speeds range up to 2.5 GHz, and the core is designed to be highly configurable via the CoreNet fabric and meet the specific needs of embedded
applications with features like multi-core
operation and interface for auxiliary application processing units (APU).
Thread (computer science)
In computer science, a thread of execution is the smallest unit of processing that can be scheduled by an operating system. The implementation of threads and processes differs from one operating system to another, but in most cases, a thread is contained inside a process...
64-bit
64-bit
64-bit is a word size that defines certain classes of computer architecture, buses, memory and CPUs, and by extension the software that runs on them. 64-bit CPUs have existed in supercomputers since the 1970s and in RISC-based workstations and servers since the early 1990s...
Power Architecture
Power Architecture
Power Architecture is a broad term to describe similar RISC instruction sets for microprocessors developed and manufactured by such companies as IBM, Freescale, AMCC, Tundra and P.A. Semi...
-based microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
core
Multi-core (computing)
A multi-core processor is a single computing component with two or more independent actual processors , which are the units that read and execute program instructions...
from Freescale Semiconductor
Freescale Semiconductor
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. is a producer and designer of embedded hardware, with 17 billion semiconductor chips in use around the world. The company focuses on the automotive, consumer, industrial and networking markets with its product portfolio including microprocessors, microcontrollers,...
. e6500 will power the entire range of QorIQ AMP Series system on a chip (SoC) processors which share the common naming scheme: "Txxxx". Hard samples, manufactured on a 28 nm process, will be available in early 2012 with full production later in 2012.
Design
It has a revised memory subsystem compared to the previous e5500 corePowerPC e5500
The PowerPC e5500 is a 64-bit Power Architecture-based microprocessor core from Freescale Semiconductor. The core is compatible with the Power ISA v.2.06 with hypervisor support. It has a four issue, seven-stage out-of-order pipeline with a double precision FPU, three Integer units, 32/32 KB data...
with four cores combined into a CPU Cluster, sharing a large L2 cache and the e6500 cores supports up to eight CPU Clusters for very large multiprocessing implementations. The core is the first multithreaded core designed by Freescale and reintroduces an enhanced version of AltiVec
AltiVec
AltiVec is a floating point and integer SIMD instruction set designed and owned by Apple, IBM and Freescale Semiconductor, formerly the Semiconductor Products Sector of Motorola, , and implemented on versions of the PowerPC including Motorola's G4, IBM's G5 and POWER6 processors, and P.A. Semi's...
to their products. The multithreading allows for two virtual cores per hard core and one virtual core in an e6500 can often perform better than an entire e5500 core since Freescale essentially duplicated a lot of logic instead of just virtualizing it, in addition to other enhancements to the core.
Speeds range up to 2.5 GHz, and the core is designed to be highly configurable via the CoreNet fabric and meet the specific needs of embedded
Embedded system
An embedded system is a computer system designed for specific control functions within a larger system. often with real-time computing constraints. It is embedded as part of a complete device often including hardware and mechanical parts. By contrast, a general-purpose computer, such as a personal...
applications with features like multi-core
Multi-core (computing)
A multi-core processor is a single computing component with two or more independent actual processors , which are the units that read and execute program instructions...
operation and interface for auxiliary application processing units (APU).
Products
- QorIQ AMP Series with the T4240 as the first processor revealed with 12 cores.
- Two lower performance parts are announced but not named, with six and eight cores each.