- 2070 Magh · 8 marks
ASIP vs GPP and processor selection
Short answer
GPPs serve any application with generic hardware; ASIPs are optimized for a domain with specialized instructions and on-chip peripherals, offering better performance and lower power for that domain. Selection issues include performance, memory, power, cost, I/O peripherals, real-time response, software tools, familiarity, availability, and time-to-market.
Differentiate between application specific instruction set processor and general purpose processor. Also discuss issues related to selection of a particular processor.
Difference between ASIP and GPP
| Point | GPP | ASIP |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | General computing, any application | Optimised for a class of applications |
| Instruction set | General | Specialised instructions (MAC, bit-handling) |
| Datapath | Generic ALU, register file | Custom functional units for the domain |
| Performance | Average across tasks | High for target applications |
| Power / cost | Higher for a given task | Lower for the intended task |
| Peripherals | Mostly external | Many on chip |
| Flexibility | High | Moderate |
| Examples | Pentium, ARM Cortex-A | DSP, microcontroller, network processor |
Issues in selecting a processor
- Performance: clock speed, MIPS, instruction cycle, pipeline and word length.
- Memory: program and data memory size, on-chip versus external.
- Power consumption: sleep modes, battery life.
- Cost: chip price and total cost including support chips.
- Peripherals and I/O: timers, ADC, UART, SPI/I2C, interrupts and pin count.
- Real-time response: interrupt latency and determinism.
- Software support: compilers, debuggers, RTOS, library and tool-chain availability.
- Familiarity and reuse: earlier code and engineer experience.
- Availability and quality: supply continuity, temperature range and package.
- Time-to-market: development kits and evaluation boards.
The best choice is the processor that just meets the performance requirement at the lowest cost and power with adequate tool support.
✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)
Related questions
- ASIP versus general purpose processor · Embedded System, chapter 2
- ASIP as compromise processor · Embedded System, chapter 2
- Embedded vs general purpose computing · Embedded System, chapter 1
- RTOS versus general-purpose OS · Embedded System, chapter 6 · asked 4×
- Fibonacci single-purpose processor · Embedded System, chapter 2 · asked 2×
- Single-purpose processor for power · Embedded System, chapter 2 · asked 2×
- Centralized vs distributed; design issues · Distributed System, chapter 1
- General river intake and site selection · Water Supply Engineering, chapter 5 · asked 3×