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why select ARM Cortex-A5

Started by zhan...@yahoo.com January 12, 2014
MYIR has released an Atmel SAMA5D3 ARM Cortex-A5 Development Board since April 2013 which has well received by customers worldwide. The board has one carrier board to support four different CPU modules for SAMA5D3 series processors. It is capable of running Linux and Android operating systems and offered with optional 4.3- and 7-inch LCD panels. It can work in harsh environment supporting -40 to +85°C extended temperature operation.

The Cortex-A5 core has its special superiority besides performance compared to Cortex-A8, Cortex-A9 and A15.

According to ARM official data, the ARM Cortex-A5 processor is the smallest, lowest cost and lowest power ARMv7 application processor capable of delivering the internet to the widest possible range of devices: from low-cost entry-level smartphones, feature phones and smart mobile devices, to pervasive embedded consumer and industrial devices.

It provides a high-value migration path for existing ARM926EJ-S™ http://www.arm.com/products/processors/classic/arm9/arm926.php and ARM1176JZ-S™ http://www.arm.com/products/processors/classic/arm11/arm1176.php processor designs. It achieves better than ARM1176JZ-S http://www.arm.com/products/processors/classic/arm11/arm1176.php performance, better power and energy efficiency than the ARM926EJ-S http://www.arm.com/products/processors/classic/arm9/arm926.php, and 100% Cortex-A http://www.arm.com/products/processors/cortex-a/index.php compatibility.

The Cortex-A5 processor provides full instruction and feature compatibility with the higher performance Cortex-A8, Cortex-A9, and Cortex-A15 processors - all the way down to the operating system level. The Cortex-A5 processor also maintains backwards application compatibility with Classic ARM processors including the ARM926EJ-S, ARM1176JZ-S, and ARM7TDMI®.

So whether from the size, energy efficiency or cost, we think Cortex-A5 should be a good choice for industrial applications.

MYIR’s MYD-SAMA5D3X series development boards include four models: MYD-SAMA5D31, MYD-SAMA5D33, MYD-SAMA5D34 and MYD-SAMA5D35. The four CPUs are fully pin-to-pin compatible with each other only have some minor difference with Ethernet, UART, LCD and CAN configuration settings. User can select according to their requirement.

Item
MYD-SAMA5D31
MYD-SAMA5D33
MYD-SAMA5D34
MYD-SAMA5D35
Processor
ATSAMA5D31
ATSAMA5D33
ATSAMA5D34
ATSAMA5D35
10/100Mbps Ethernet
1
0
0
1
1/100/1000Mbps Ethernet
0
1
1
1
UART
2
2
2
2
LCD
1
1
1
0
CAN
0
0
2
2

From above table, we can see if you need Gigabit Ethernet, except SAMA5D31, other three all can support; if you need two CANs, Gigabit Ethernet but no need LCD, SAMA5D35 is a good choice; if you want to evaluate the performance of this industrial board, SAMA5D34 has the most complete functions.

Key Features of MYD-SAMA5D3X:
- MYC-SAMA5D3X CPU Module as Controller Board
- 536MHz Atmel SAMA5D3 Series ARM Cortex-A5 Processors: SAMA5D31/33/34/35
- 512MB DDR2 SDRAM, 256MB Nand Flash, 4MB Data Flash, 16MB Nor Flash
- Two Seriel ports, Two USB Host, One USB OTG, RS485, MMC/SD, Micro SD, Audio
- Two Ethernet for SAMA5D35
- Two CAN for SAMA5D34 and SAMA5D35
- 4.3 or 7 inch LCD/TSP for SAMA5D31/33/34
- Ready-to-Run Linux 3.6.9 and Android 4.0.4

Know more about MYIR’s MYD-SAMA5D3X development board from:
http://www.myirtech.com/list.asp?idC2 http://www.myirtech.com/list.asp?idC2