Increased cache sizes and Dual Port RAM highlight additions to newest member of the MPC860 Integrated PowerPC™ microprocessor family.
AUSTIN, Texas, April 19, 1999. Motorola (NYSE: MOT) today introduced the MPC860 Plus (MPC860P), the newest member of its popular MPC860 PowerQUICC Microprocessor family. The MPC860P offers substantial performance increases with frequencies of 80 MHz, larger instruction and data caches, and additional space for microcode with a larger Dual-port RAM.
The MPC860P at 80 MHz provides 106 CPU MIPS (using Dhrystone 2.1) compared to the highest previous offering of 87 MIPS at 66 MHz. Additionally, the MPC860P has a 16 Kbyte instruction cache and an 8 Kbyte data cache compared to the 4 Kbyte Instruction Cache and 4 Kbyte Data Cache in previous versions of the MPC860. Depending on the application, the larger caches alone are designed to provide a performance increase of up to 30 percent over previous MPC860’s at the same frequencies.
The 8 Kbyte Dual-port RAM of the MPC860P is designed to provide more space to execute microcode such as Motorola’s AAL2 microcode, used in Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) systems that are prevalent in telecommunications infrastructure equipment. Even with these product enhancements, the MPC860P maintains pin-for-pin compatibility with previous versions of the MPC860 and its 3.3V operation and 5V I/O tolerance. This compatibility allows customers to immediately take advantage of the performance enhancements without modifying their existing MPC860 designs.
"By maintaining compatibility with previous versions of the MPC860 we are able to help designers of communications equipment reduce development cycles." said Mike Shoemake, program manager for the MPC860 PowerQUICC product family. "Additionally, the integration of the MPC860P allows developers the ability to introduce robust DigitalDNA system solutions while keeping system costs low."
Motorola plans to introduce the MPC860DP that offers the same performance features as the MPC860P but has only two Serial Communications Channels (SCCs) compared to four on the MPC860P. The additional offering of the MPC860DP will provide customers with a lower cost alternative to the MPC860P. Motorola’s MPC860P and MPC860DP are being offered at speeds of 50, 66, and 80 MHz. Both the MPC860P and the MPC860DP offer support for multi-channel HDLC, Ethernet, ATM, and more. Fast Ethernet is expected to be added to the MPC860P this summer.
"Motorola’s continued commitment to the MPC860 and MPC850 families has enabled our hardware debug suites to proliferate into new customer markets." said Lisa Evans, product manager for Applied Microsystems. "Global demand for our PowerPC development tools continues to be on a strong growth curve. With Motorola’s continued enhancements to the MPC860 and MPC850 families, we expect even greater market interest."
The MPC860 family, introduced in 1995, has become extremely popular since its beginning, generating over 500 design wins in communications systems such as SOHO routers, remote access equipment and telecommunications infrastructure equipment. Customers of the MPC860 family include a who’s who of networking and communications companies such as Alcatel, Cabletron, Fujitsu, Lucent, Marconi, NEC, and Motorola’s Cellular Infrastructure Group (CIG).
The MPC860 family’s highly integrated feature set, combined with the family’s strong development tool support, can significantly reduce customers’ development cycles and costs. The MPC860 family offers true system-on-a-chip solutions, integrating a high performance PowerPC microprocessor to run high layer software, including RTOS and networking software; a communications processing module with an independent RISC processor handling four, high-bandwidth serial communications controllers capable of multiple protocols; and a system interface unit containing a circuit board’s worth of system control functions, including a versatile memory controller.
The PowerPC Architecture also enjoys the broadest third-party tool support of any RISC microprocessor today. In addition to using PowerPC development tools, Motorola customers can use tools created specifically for the MPC860 family, offered by more than 40 third-party vendors. "Hewlett-Packard continues to see strong sales of our MPC860 development tools," said Chris Bernard, product manager at Hewlett-Packard Colorado Springs Division. "Due to the wide market acceptance of the MPC860 family, we are firmly committed to the MPC860P." For a complete listing of MPC860 tool vendors, please visit the Motorola Networking and Communications web page at:
The MPC860P at 50, 66, and 80 MHz is scheduled to begin general sampling in April with volume production expected in September. Pricing starts at a suggested list price of $60.80 for the 50 MHz MPC860P in quantities of 10,000 units while the MPC860DP pricing starts at a suggested list price of $50.80 for the 50 MHz version in quantities of 10,000 units.
As the world's #1 producer of embedded processors, Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector offers multiple DigitalDNA(tm) solutions which enable its customers to create new business opportunities in the consumer, networking and computing, transportation, and wireless communications markets. Motorola's worldwide semiconductor sales were $7.3 billion (USD) in l998.
Motorola is a global leader in providing integrated communications solutions and embedded electronic solutions. Sales in 1998 were $29.4 (USD) billion.
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Motorola is a registered trademark and PowerQUICC is a trademark of Motorola, Inc. PowerPC is a trademark of International Business Machines Corp., used under license therefrom. All other names, products and services are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
Technical Data
Technical documentation and additional information on Motorola’s MPC860 PowerQUICC microprocessors can be found on the World Wide Web at
Motorola is a registered trademark of Motorola, Inc. PowerQUICC and DigitalDNA are trademarks of Motorola, Inc. PowerPC is a trademark of International Business Machines Corp., used under license therefrom.