The development of the first domestic productive ARM processor seems to be approaching the final point. According to a source, Baikal Electronics is preparing to start selling the Baikal-M processor before the end of this year. It is worth noting that the release of this chip has been repeatedly postponed, but now it seems that all the organizational, technical and production problems have finally been overcome, and the novelty is ready to take on real shape about a three-year delay.
Recall that the Russian Baikal-M project is a system-on-a-chip manufactured using a 28-nm process technology, based on eight 64-bit ARM Cortex-A57 (ARMv8-A) cores with support for NEON vector extensions and an eight-core Mali-T628 (MP8) graphics processor with hardware accelerated video playback in H.264 / H.265 formats. As promised by the developers, this processor is a versatile and productive solution, thanks to which it can be used in workstations, servers, thin clients, all-in-ones and laptops. The final clock frequencies of Baikal-M are expected to exceed 1,5 GHz with an estimated heat dissipation of about 30 watts.
Given the potential scope, it is not at all surprising that Baikal-M can boast of a fairly good set of external interfaces. The processor supports dual-channel DDR4 memory, and also has an integrated PCI Express 3.0 controller for 16 lanes. Other specifications include support for Gigabit and 10 Gigabit networking, 2 SATA ports, 2 USB 3.0 ports, and 4 USB 2.0 ports. Systems based on Baikal-M processors will support image output to monitors or panels with a resolution of up to 4K via HDMI or LVDS interfaces.
For the first time, potential users will be able to get acquainted with the specific characteristics and operation of systems based on Baikal-M at the international forum Microelectronics 2019, which will be held in Alushta from September 30 to October 5 this year. As expected, Baikal Electronics will demonstrate a working prototype of the processor and related motherboards at this site.
As for sales of solutions based on domestic development, they are expected to start in December this year. Buyers will be able to purchase boards with Baikal-M processors through the Chip and Dip chain of stores, the price of the platform is expected to be around 40 rubles.
Source: 3dnews.ru