Microchip has released a new SAM9X60 processor on its website, based on the ARM926EJ-S core design. With a frequency of 600MHz, it is a high performance, low power processor.

The chip was upgraded from Atmel's AT91SAM9260. First, the computing performance of the SAM9X60 has been improved. The previous generation CPU was clocked at 180MHz, and the SAM9X60 was upgraded to 600MHz, up 3.3 times. Secondly, the SAM9X60's Cache capacity has been expanded to 32KB I-Cache and 32KB D-Cache, which is four times larger than the previous generation. According to the parameters, the performance of the SAM9X60 is nearly four times higher than that of the AT91SAM9260.

The SAM9X60 reduces the core operating voltage from 1.8V to 1.2V, which allows for a lower power consumption level at higher performance. The SAM9X60 also upgrades the SDRAM interface to a DDR2 interface, increasing the data transfer rate.

The SAM9X60 adds a 24-bit LCD-TFT interface and a 2D GPU. It can drive up to 1024*768 resolution, which can meet the needs of most current applications for complex graphics and human-machine graphics interfaces. At the same time, with the support of hardware graphics processing, the CPU can focus more on computing tasks and execute user programs in more real time.

The chip is priced at $4.34 (based on 5,000pcs) and supports an operating temperature range of -40 to 105. This price is one of the best-priced chips in the ARM9 industrial grade chip from international semiconductor manufacturers. More information about the chip is available on Microchip's website.