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AM5K2E04: Looking for guidance for new project

Part Number: AM5K2E04
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: 66AK2H14, 66AK2E05, TM4C129XNCZAD, UCD9090

Hello,

I am interested in the AM5K2E04 for a new high performance computer design without any need for a DSP that would need long term support (7+ years) where we would likely be buying and building systems in large buys of CPUs for batches. Does the AM5K2E04 fit this scenario or would you recommend another CPU?

Thank you,

Mark

  • Mark,

    If your application requirement requires quad A15 device then this is the right device in the Keystone device family that will meet your requirements, 66AK2H14 is the other quad A15 device but also has 8 DSPs (which you don`t need). These devices are being used in industrial , mission critical/ defense applications so support and availability for the next 7 years should not be a major concern.

    From software point of view we offer these devices with free Linux and RTOS OS flavor of Processor SDKs and have long term plan to allow for users to scale from low end single core ARM Cortex A8 to higher end quad core A15 devices.

    If you are interested in a quick overview of the TI Processor portfolio for industrial and mission critical applications, I highly recommend you look at the following training from my colleague John:
    training.ti.com/how-enhance-mission-critical-designs-while-reducing-swap

    Regards,
    Rahul
  • Rahul,

    thank you for the insights. I am really interested in the XEVMK2EX evaluation board (I have no interest in DSP capability- just the AM5K2E04 CPU), but apparently it is not available from TI anymore as it is obsoleted. Do you have any knowledge of whether this board had problems or something? Why would the premier CPU part dev board for TI suddenly disappear after 3 years? Is there another dev board you would suggest? If so is it a big deal to go from that to a AM5K2E04 design utilizing the Sitara SDK?

     

    Thank you,

    Mark

  • Mark,

    This is the first i've heard of it so I have reached out to the marketing team to check on availability of these EVMs. These boards were built by eInfochips who is our design partner as you can see from link below
    www.einfochips.com/.../

    Their website indicates that the design is active and their sales rep mentioned that it is available so I need to check why it is not available from TI estore. I will post an update once I hear from the market team.

    As far as software is concerned, TI Keystone and Sitara processors are now supported using Processor SDK. I provided a link for downloading the installer for K2E devices:
    www.ti.com/.../PROCESSOR-SDK-K2E

    Regards,
    Rahul
  • Any updates about availability of the K2E Development Boards?

    Also- I am interested in knowing if I used the 66AK2E05 instead of the AM5K2E04, can the DSP core be turned off to reduce power if desired? How much more power to 66AK2E05 over the AM5K2E04.

    Thank you,

    Mark

  • Mark,

    The marketing team is still looking into this issue so I don`t have an update to share regarding EVM availability.

    For power estimation on this device, we provide a power estimation spreadsheet that can be found in the wiki article provided below:
    processors.wiki.ti.com/.../Power_Consumption_Summary_for_K2E_System-on-Chip_(SoC)_Device_Family

    The DSP on the AM5K2E04 part can be powered of using the PSC register corresponding to its power domain. Refer to power domains in datasheet:
    www.ti.com/.../66ak2e02.pdf


    e2e.ti.com/.../2422066
    Regards,
    Rahul
  • Rahul,
    thanks for the insights. As I am looking at the XEVMK2EX schematic and see that the ARM Cortex M3 (LM3S2D93) microcontroller that handles power sequencing, SOC reset, boot configuration and other tasks is now obsolete can I instead use a PIC MCU or PLD or other to perform these functions? Is there anything special about the M3 for this configuration?


    Thank you,
    Mark
  • Mark,

    I did miss providing one other useful detail to this discussion. We provide an TI reference design in terms of power up K2E processors using UCD9090. The M3 or the board monitor controller is just there to drive the boot switches and send control messages to the UCD controller when a reset is required. On our more latest K2G (single core DSP and ARM) device, we have used TM4C129XNCZAD (Tiva C MCU ) for the same function.
    There is nothing special about the MCU as far as I can tell but I will loop in a hardware expert to confirm my comment.

    Regards,
    Rahul

  • Hi Mark,

    There is nothing special about the MCU. Most customers don't include an MCU in their design at all. An MCU was needed for compatibility with the AMCC bus standard so we added the power sequencing and some test automation control. Unless you need it for some other purpose, the MCU can be removed from your design. 

    Regards, Bill

  • Rahul,
    I did notice one thing that is troubling me with respect to the AM5KE20x power estimator excel spreadsheet. I notice that the DDR Clock in the spreadsheet is limited to 800MHz, but apparently this chip is capable of supporting DDR3 @ 1600MHz according to this diagram www.ti.com/.../overview.html.

    I am assuming that was a typo somewhere and that what was really meant was 1600 MT/s ?

    thanks,
    Mark
  • Hi Mark,
    DDR3 operates as a double data rate interface with data latched on both the rising and falling edge. The clock frequency will always be half of the data rate so 800MHz is the correct limit.
    Regards,
    Bill
  • Hi,

    I am wondering if the AM5K2E04 uses UART0 with the Sitara SDK to console into the Multi core version of Arago?

    Thank you.

    Mark

  • Mark,

    If you look at the EVM schematics provided from the eInfochips (board manufacturer for K2E EVM), you will notice that SOC UART0 is the UART that goes to the UART to USB connector for serial IO.
    einfochips.com/.../K2E_EVM_SCH_16_00175_02.pdf

    I confirm that this is the UART instance being used in Processor SDK as this is the only SOC UART instance available for debug logging on the platform.

    Regards,
    Rahul
  • Thanks you for all the replies.
    I am also interested in understanding the power sequencer. So, does the power sequencer require programming or can it function by itself bringing up rails for the ARM? Also, I am assuming that ALL it does is manage the rail power up timing- not modes for the CPU or something?

    I would like a simplified approach that did not require additional logic or micro controllers to perform this task.

    thanks,
    Mark
  • Hi Mark,

    There is a TIDesign specifically for power sequencing of the K2G using the UCD9090.  The UCD9090 does require programming but need only be programmed once. It only controls the order that the power supplies are sequenced and provides voltage monitoring to detect if a supply has failed.

    Customers generally pick one bootmode and set the bootmode pins using pull up and pull down resistors. These two functions will eliminate the need for the micro-controller in most designs. 

    Regards, Bill