Industry Expert Blogs

When I had to define the various IP categories (processor, analog & mixed-signal, wired interfaces, etc.) to build the Design IP Report, I scratched my head for a while about the processor main category: how to define the sub-categories? Not that long ago, it was easy to identify a CPU IP core and a DSP IP core. As of today, if a DSP is clearly dedicated to process digital signal, a CPU IP may also support these type of tasks, on top of the main processing/control function it was initially designed for. Synopsys DesignWare new ARC HS4xD family is a perfect example of a RISC CPU IP core offering 5.0 CoreMark/MHz (so we should rank it in the CPU IP category), being also capable of high performance pure DSP processing (but can we rank it into DSP IP category?).

Click here to read more ...