Graphics chip for ARM processors?

"Peter Dickerson" <first{dot}surname@tesco.net> wrote in message 
news:Xt7xg.33229$v02.29198@newsfe3-gui.ntli.net...
> "Tom Lucas" <news@REMOVEautoTOflameREPLY.clara.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:1153754039.11604.0@proxy02.news.clara.net...
>> "Widget" <widget@alibaba.com> wrote in message
>> news:44c4c8a4$0$23900$88260bb3@free.teranews.com...
>> > Are there any good graphics processors which are compatible with 
>> > ARM
>> > architectures? Or ARM processors with a built-in graphics core?
>> >
>> > TIA
>>
>> Have you tried googling for keywords such as "ARM LCD Controller"?
>> Brings up a lot of useful hits.
>>
>> I use the Sharps and find them to be very friendly.
>
> I use Sharps too but I wouldn't call their offerings a graphics core, 
> just
> an LCD Controller. That is you have a pixel bitmap (frame buffer) 
> where all
> the manipulation is done in software. OK, you can play games with 
> start
> addresses to pan, and change palette register contents.
>

I think I must have misinterpreted the OP. I just read that he wanted 
graphical support. Still, an LCD driver will help that along. 

"Tom Lucas" <news@REMOVEautoTOflameREPLY.clara.co.uk> writes:

> "Peter Dickerson" <first{dot}surname@tesco.net> wrote in message 
> news:Xt7xg.33229$v02.29198@newsfe3-gui.ntli.net...
>> "Tom Lucas" <news@REMOVEautoTOflameREPLY.clara.co.uk> wrote in message
>> news:1153754039.11604.0@proxy02.news.clara.net...
>>> "Widget" <widget@alibaba.com> wrote in message
>>> news:44c4c8a4$0$23900$88260bb3@free.teranews.com...
>>> > Are there any good graphics processors which are compatible with 
>>> > ARM
>>> > architectures? Or ARM processors with a built-in graphics core?
>>> >
>>> > TIA
>>>
>>> Have you tried googling for keywords such as "ARM LCD Controller"?
>>> Brings up a lot of useful hits.
>>>
>>> I use the Sharps and find them to be very friendly.
>>
>> I use Sharps too but I wouldn't call their offerings a graphics core, 
>> just
>> an LCD Controller. That is you have a pixel bitmap (frame buffer) 
>> where all
>> the manipulation is done in software. OK, you can play games with 
>> start
>> addresses to pan, and change palette register contents.
>>
>
> I think I must have misinterpreted the OP. I just read that he wanted 
> graphical support. Still, an LCD driver will help that along. 

Also, he may not even need graphics processing in hardware, if the
application is not too demanding.

I had to write a gui on a Sharp ARM7 (LH79520), with proportional
fonts, with mono or 256 colour graphics. 320x240 display. A bit
daunting at first, so my plan was to write the simplest possible
brain-dead implementation, then optimise for speed. Everything went
through a single setPixel(x,y, colour) function, even clearing the
screen or drawing a rectangle was done by iterating over all the x and
y coordinates. I would then speed things up by writing contiguous bits
together using masks and shifts, etc.

It turned out it was already fast enough, so I left it alone!

-- 

John Devereux

"larwe" <zwsdotcom@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1153792383.812435.216170@m79g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...
>
> Widget wrote:
>
> > And how about the Cirrus EP9307? It'a an ARM9 processor with built in
2-D
> > graphics 'engine'.
>
> Analyze the tradeoffs! I haven't looked at the datasheet but most ARM
> SoCs with video capability have a single memory subsystem. This means
> that although the LCD/CRT controller might nominally support some very
> high resolutions, these modes are practically useless because they
> leave no SDRAM bandwidth for the CPU.

The EP9307 has a seperate SDRAM interface for high speed video memory.

>
> > I'm convinced that an ARM based computer is probably a better bet since
it
> > uses far less power, and ARM processors are cheaper and just as capable.
> > Drawback would be that some core Linux software is written for x86.
>
> Please note that nobody - not even the OEM (Great Wall Computers) - is
> going to make a profit off this $100 laptop.

If the processor only costs $9 in 10.000 quantities (EP9307) then I'm sure
that you can still make a decent profit with a $100 pricetag. The largest
cost will then become the screen ($20) and the 2GB Flash memory ($20). I'm
convinced there's quite a market for ultra-cheap, low power devices which
will run for days on a single charge (it will be powered by conventional
rechargeable AA batteries) with simple user interfaces but with almost all
of the capabillities of a full size laptop.

>
> But what's this about "core Linux software written for x86"? I think
> you'll be hard-pressed to find something essential that doesn't work on
> PPC, ARM, et al. (except possibly some binary distributed software).
>

You might be right, but there is a lot more experience on x86 and a lot more
tools which allows you to run it virtually 'out of the box' without the need
for fiddling around yourself with the source-code.

"John Devereux" <jdREMOVE@THISdevereux.me.uk> wrote in message 
news:87slkq56n0.fsf@cordelia.devereux.me.uk...
> "Tom Lucas" <news@REMOVEautoTOflameREPLY.clara.co.uk> writes:
>> I think I must have misinterpreted the OP. I just read that he wanted
>> graphical support. Still, an LCD driver will help that along.
>
> Also, he may not even need graphics processing in hardware, if the
> application is not too demanding.
>
> I had to write a gui on a Sharp ARM7 (LH79520), with proportional
> fonts, with mono or 256 colour graphics. 320x240 display. A bit
> daunting at first, so my plan was to write the simplest possible
> brain-dead implementation, then optimise for speed. Everything went
> through a single setPixel(x,y, colour) function, even clearing the
> screen or drawing a rectangle was done by iterating over all the x and
> y coordinates. I would then speed things up by writing contiguous bits
> together using masks and shifts, etc.
>
> It turned out it was already fast enough, so I left it alone!

I was suprised how fast the little fellas are! Mine tripped up at 16bpp 
VGA running from flash but it is fine running from RAM and has plenty of 
horsepower to spare.

Ernest wrote:

> > Analyze the tradeoffs! I haven't looked at the datasheet but most ARM
> > SoCs with video capability have a single memory subsystem. This means
>
> The EP9307 has a seperate SDRAM interface for high speed video memory.

Nifty.

> > Please note that nobody - not even the OEM (Great Wall Computers) - is
> > going to make a profit off this $100 laptop.
>
> If the processor only costs $9 in 10.000 quantities (EP9307) then I'm sure
> that you can still make a decent profit with a $100 pricetag. The largest

Well, read the press releases for yourself. The $100 laptop project is
not designed to make a profit. It is designed as a philanthropic
exercise. The hook for Great Wall is brand exposure and free access to
some US patents.

> > But what's this about "core Linux software written for x86"? I think
>
> You might be right, but there is a lot more experience on x86 and a lot more
> tools which allows you to run it virtually 'out of the box' without the need
> for fiddling around yourself with the source-code.

Not relevant to this product. It's not going to run off-the-shelf
binaries for other computers. It will be shipped with a preloaded
software bundle and only the illuminati will be able to build and
install new software anyway.

In fact, given the target market, it's likely the software distro would
be considerably locked-down to prevent kids from disabling the machine
by fiddling with it.

"Lee" <lee@merrick-inc.com> wrote in message
news:19n9c21crek78sbc28bu1ho5gjtshqputl@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 16:10:54 +0200, "Widget" <widget@alibaba.com>
> wrote:
>
> >Are there any good graphics processors which are compatible with ARM
> >architectures? Or ARM processors with a built-in graphics core?
> >
> >TIA
>
> Sharp has a series where the LCD controller is built in with
> touchscreen controller.  LH75401 is what I am using.

And I'm using a LH75410 i.e mono LCD and no CAN, but I have it on good
authority that they're all the same silicon with alternative bond-out.

Peter