New TX99/H4 Core

Toshiba America Electronic Components has introduced a new 64-bit, MIPS-based RISC microprocessor. The TX9956CXBG is the company's first chip to combine Toshiba's high-performance TX99/H4 core and 90-nanometer process technology.

Aimed at high-end set-top boxes and other embedded applications, the chip features a seven-stage, superscalar pipeline that can execute two instructions at once; 32K apiece of Level 1 instruction and data cache plus 256K of Level 2 cache; and a 64/32-bit SysAD interface with multiplexed address and data that's bus-compatible with Toshiba's TX4955/56 microprocessors. It supports real-time operating systems including MontaVista Linux and Wind River Systems' VxWorks.