05 May 2009

NXP ARM Cortex-M3 MCU Scores On Benchmark

NXP’s LPC1700 series is the industry’s highest performance ARM Cortex-M3 microcontroller, based on results from the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium (EEMBC).

The EEMBC results show that the LPC1700 executes application code on average 35% faster than the leading Cortex-M3 competitors when running at the same clock speeds. NXP’s performance advantage is even greater when the LPC1700 runs at higher clock speeds. The LPC1700 has been certified by EEMBC at 72,100, and 120 MHz. This increased speed and efficiency is due to the intelligent architecture of the microcontroller, its use of flexible direct memory access (DMA) and best-in-market Flash, the company said.

The LPC1700 series is targeted to operate high-bandwidth communications peripherals such as Ethernet, USB On-The-Go/Host/Device and CAN simultaneously with no bottle-necks. It is designed for use in a wide variety of applications, including eMetering, lighting, industrial networking, alarm systems, white goods and motor control.

"These certified EEMBC results highlight the fact that the design of the microcontroller and its memory interfaces is equally as important as the processor core itself," commented Markus Levy, president of EEMBC. "Furthermore, NXP’s motivation to have its EEMBC scores certified adds an extra level of assurance that the scores are repeatable and are generated according to the rules established by the consortium".

The NXP LPC1700 series is supported by the same variety of tool vendors available today for NXP's ARM-based 32-bit MCUs, including Keil (an ARM company), IAR Systems, Hitex Development Tools and Embedded Artists. Code Red Technologies offers support for the LPC1700 in their Eclipse-based Red Suite software development platform.