msp432

[dannyf]

did you get the intro from TI on those 32-bit chips from ti? they are the low power consumption 32-bit chips. Pretty impressive ua/Mhz figures.

[vinicius.jlantunes]

It's being discussed at the 43oh forum for a while, seems like a nice chip. And its launchpad sells for 13 USD (+shipping), so not bad at all (well, depending on where you are, shipping to Brazil is 30 USD and I will be heavily taxed so not cheap at all, but not their fault I guess).

http://forum.43oh.com/topic/6446-a-new-msp430-coming-msp432-arm/

[neslekkim]

To bad it wasn't ready for pi-day, I ordered loads of stuff, $3.14 shipping

now, $21 shipping if I want to order that 432..

[photon]

http://newscenter.ti.com/2015-03-24-Texas-Instruments-introduces-32-bit-MSP432-microcontrollers-MCUs-Ultra-low-power-at-its-best-performance-at-its-core

[Sal Ammoniac]

They're based on the ARM Cortex-M4F. Based on the name, MSP432, I was expecting something like a 32-bit extension of the MSP430 architecture. I've always been a fan of that architecture (which reminds me of the PDP-11) and was disappointed that the MSP432 is just yet another ARM variant.

[photon]

Going with a standard ARM architecture is the correct move for TI. They will have increasingly lower margins on it, but will make some money short term. Staying with a proprietary ISA like the 430 just won't have as good a toolchain as the ones available for ARM, not to mention the large engineering pool that knows it.

[Rasz]

ti and arm? how big is the errata?

[nctnico]

They're based on the ARM Cortex-M4F. Based on the name, MSP432, I was expecting something like a 32-bit extension of the MSP430 architecture. I've always been a fan of that architecture (which reminds me of the PDP-11) and was disappointed that the MSP432 is just yet another ARM variant.

I agree. When I read the above I had a  moment. It's like what Microchip does with the PIC brand. They stick it on anything and try to fool people into thinking they buy something they know.

[Sal Ammoniac]

Going with a standard ARM architecture is the correct move for TI. They will have increasingly lower margins on it, but will make some money short term. Staying with a proprietary ISA like the 430 just won't have as good a toolchain as the ones available for ARM, not to mention the large engineering pool that knows it.

TI has had MCUs based on ARM for years (since they bought Luminary back in 2009). The MSP432 really isn't their entry into the ARM market, it's just their attempt to capitalize on the MSP430 brand.

[true]

I do find it strange that they decided on the M4F for a low powered core but I guess they do have experience with it seeing as that's all the Tiva line is. And I won't complain about a low-powered M4...

Pricing didn't look too outrageous either.

[Stonent]

Going with a standard ARM architecture is the correct move for TI. They will have increasingly lower margins on it, but will make some money short term. Staying with a proprietary ISA like the 430 just won't have as good a toolchain as the ones available for ARM, not to mention the large engineering pool that knows it.

TI has had MCUs based on ARM for years (since they bought Luminary back in 2009). The MSP432 really isn't their entry into the ARM market, it's just their attempt to capitalize on the MSP430 brand.

So Stellaris begat Tiva C, and Tiva C begat MSP432?

[nctnico]

Probably. TI renames all their products every few years. It's probably an existing device with a new name. Perhaps someone could check the datasheet and compare?

[enz]

The MSP432 is not just a renamed Tiva or Stellaris.

What TI did is to take the existing MSP430 devices and JUST changed the core (and some other details like manufacturing technology etc.).
So the peripherals are the same as in the original MSP430 series.
This provides existing MSP430 users with more CPU power but the rest of the chip stays familiar to the developers.
So there is no need to recode your peripheral device drivers.

Martin

[tszaboo]

Going with a standard ARM architecture is the correct move for TI. They will have increasingly lower margins on it, but will make some money short term. Staying with a proprietary ISA like the 430 just won't have as good a toolchain as the ones available for ARM, not to mention the large engineering pool that knows it.

TI has had MCUs based on ARM for years (since they bought Luminary back in 2009). The MSP432 really isn't their entry into the ARM market, it's just their attempt to capitalize on the MSP430 brand.

So Stellaris begat Tiva C, and Tiva C begat MSP432?

Bigger question is how many ARM families does it take to make one successful? How many does TI need? And how do they select the name? Like behead a chicken and look at the spilled blood for the name?
TMS570, MSP432, F28M3, TIVA, DM81, DM38, DM64, AM35 AM38, OMAP, 66AK2E, JKSDHF65456SDJFB87687HSVB8?
Hands up anyone seen a TI MCU in a serious product, which is not a cisco phone.

[Monkeh]

Hands up anyone seen a TI MCU in a serious product, which is not a cisco phone.

Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Palm, Sony Ericsson, Barnes & Noble, Archos, Amazon, Blackberry, Viewsonic.. And that's just one series.

E: Google, Panasonic, Sharp, Fujitsu, Sony, LG, Lenovo...

[photon]

Atmel has also switched to ARM, announcing a Cortex-M0 here:
http://www.atmel.com/about/news/release.aspx?reference=tcm:26-64317
They recently announced its ULP bench score which appears to be the current leader in low power, beating out the announced numbers for MSP432.
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1326124

[mtdoc]

Hands up anyone seen a TI MCU in a serious product, which is not a cisco phone.

I've seen them in several of the blood glucose meters that diabetics use.

[poorchava]

I'm wondering what is the rationale behind using a relatively powerful core and limiting the frequency to lowly 48MHz. Someone using a 48MHz processor is clearly not after processing speed,  so why not Coretx-M0?

On the other hand the DSP extensions in CM4 are next to useless...  What good does single cycle Mac do me,  if there is 6 or 8 cycles loop overhead?

[Fred27]

ti and arm? how big is the errata?

I've not had a chance to open mine yet (arrived at work today whilst I was off), but I believe the launchpad shipped with an XMS432P401R. The XMS bit means beta silicon, so beware.

Hands up anyone seen a TI MCU in a serious product, which is not a cisco phone.

Definitely. My Tado smart thermostat for one.

[dannyf]

I think it is a good decision. .They want to provide their msp430 users upward mobility (thus the same periopherals) and using the existing M4F core simplifies the process - the core is really irrelevant here.

[ttt]

I'm wondering what is the rationale behind using a relatively powerful core and limiting the frequency to lowly 48MHz. Someone using a 48MHz processor is clearly not after processing speed,  so why not Coretx-M0?

If I read the press coverage right TI will price these chips at $2.15/1000 which is significantly cheaper than what I can find for existing Cortex-M4F cores on Digikey ($3.06/1000 and up). At that price point it competes with some of the more expensive (mid to high end) Cortex-M0(+) parts. If you use floating point heavily this could be an excellent option.

[Gribo]

The aim of the MSP432 is low power applications, at last TI moved to 90nm which helped them reach their new low uA/MHz figure.
The MSP430 can be found in toxic gas sensors (serious application), running on a single 2/3AA cell for years.

[bitwelder]

To bad it wasn't ready for pi-day, I ordered loads of stuff, $3.14 shipping

now, $21 shipping if I want to order that 432..

Yeah, and 42 USD for shipping to Finland. 
Even shipping to Vanuatu or Samoa is cheaper!

[remixed123]

I should let everyone know this is now available, had mine for a week now....

Details: http://www.ti.com/ww/en/launchpad/launchpads-msp430-msp-exp432p401r.html#tabs

TI Store - https://store.ti.com/msp-exp432p401r.aspx

Glenn

[suicidaleggroll]

Received mine in the mail a few days ago.  I can confirm it uses the XMS silicon, so there might still be a few bugs in it.